Final Report FIBO 2009
Fitness and health sector unaffected by economic crisis
Record sales and new all-time highs characterise the course of the trade show
Fitness beats football as the number 1 popular sport
Essen. Hale and hearty instead of ailing, resistant to crisis rather than battered by the economic situation: with record sales, new all-time highs and an unbroken boom in the fitness and health sector, FIBO 2009 presented itself at its best. A nine percent increase in exhibitor numbers, a growth of three percent in visitor numbers and a remarkably high willingness to invest characterised the course of the leading international trade show for fitness, well¬ness and health. Altogether the organisers, Reed Exhibitions Deutsch¬land GmbH, registered a new exhibitor record with 517 exhibitors (+ 9,1% compared to the previous year) and good growth rates in visitor numbers with 48,800 visitors (+ 3,2%).
“FIBO as the most important international indicator provided significant im¬pulses for the future,“ Hans-Joachim Erbel, Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH, sums up the four days of the trade show. Exhibitors called it the “best FIBO of all times“, characterised by investments running into millions. The almost unanimous opinion: the fitness and health sector is currently not affected by the financial and economic crisis. “Innovation beats the crisis,“ comments Luca Ceccaroni, International Trade Marketing Manager with Technogym – The Wellness Company.
This is also emphasised by the results of an independent and representative economic survey conducted at FIBO. More than twelve percent of trade visitors placed orders with a value exceeding EUR 200,000, with a quarter of these even exceeding EUR 1 million. Next to training equipment, demand was particularly high for studio and practice equipment and furnishings in the health promotion and wellness segments.
Markus Hodyas, Marketing Director of ERGO-FIT GmbH & Co. KG, explains why this should be so: “The overall economic situation really has a positive effect on the health and sports sector since the rising costs in the health care system almost force people to invest in their wellbeing and to keep fit.“ Against this background the willingness to invest in one’s own person and to do something for oneself has risen considerably, as FaM Managing Director Reinhold Stärk also emphasises. A boom that many studios and health centres are specifically preparing for, as FIBO Director Olaf Tomscheit also points out: “The industry has adjusted very flexibly and at a very early stage to the changing health requirements among German citizens.“
With almost six million people exercising in fitness studios, the former fitness movement has long since developed into a popular sport: “If you add to this figure those exercising in the studios run by clubs and companies, you get 7.36 million active fitness aficionados – more than the German Football Association as the largest individual association within the German Olympic Sports Federation DOSB has members,“ says FIBO Director Olaf Tomscheit who also represents the industry’s interests in his capacity of Chairman of the German Fitness & Health Industry Association (Deutscher Industrie¬verband Fitness & Gesundheit - DIFG). Against this background, the time has come for sports and health politics to also do some rethinking and to incorporate the most widely practiced sport into its considerations; so far, support is given only to the activities of sports clubs, but not those of fitness studios and health centres.
The huge interest of the fitness community in their sport was also clearly apparent in those exhibition halls with programmes, products and services catering specifically to active fitness enthusiasts. More than 800 participants in the FIT FOR FUN Cycling Festival, booked-out Les Mills and DFAV Conventions and throngs of visitors in the FIBOactive area resulted in both participants and exhibitors such as Flexi-Sports commenting on a “remarkably good FIBO“ in these segments as well. Shopping also got its due: almost one in three of the total of some 20,000 fitness enthusiasts bought products to the value of more than EUR 100, one in seven dug even deeper into their pockets and spent more than EUR 500 for up-to-date sports fashions and new sporting goods.
The next FIBO will take place from 22 to 25 April 2010 in Essen.
Exhibitors’ comments:
“Innovation beats the crisis. We are surprised at the strong willingness to invest. Visitor frequency at our stand exceeded our expectations – in spite of the financial crisis we had both a large number and high quality of contacts. Interest focussed on products and business solutions. We are very satisfied! Our presence here is a must in our appointment diary. After all, for us FIBO is the most important trade show in all of Europe in the business-to-business segment."
Luca Ceccaroni, International Trade Marketing Manager, Technogym – The Wellness Company
“The mood at FIBO is very positive and fully reflects current studies of the market. This year, visitors and investors were particularly well prepared, spent a lot of time at our stand and knew precisely what they were looking for. Especially our new Schwinn A.C.-Bikes were a smashing success.“
Volker Lichte, Sales Manager Germany/Austria, Nautilus International GmbH
“To sum up the outcome of the presence of Precor and Amer Sports at FIBO, we can say that the mood is excellent. We invest in one of the most stable industries of our times, and our customers report good interim results after the first quarter.“
Mark Fest, Senior Sales Director Central Europe, Precor Amer Sports Deutschland GmbH
“Once again, the four days of FIBO are the highlight of the year. Customer acceptance, confidence in our industry continue unbroken and provide great motivation.“
Mathias Kiehn, Vice President Commercial Sale EMEA, Johnson Health Tech. Deutschland GmbH, Matrix
”We are very satisfied with our trade show success and location. Especially in the health and medical segments quality has improved once again compared with 2008. The same applies to the sales generated during the show.“
Dean Gröning, Marketing Manager, milon industries GmbH
“It was the best FIBO of all times. The mix of visitors from the fitness and the health sectors is perfect. In times of economic difficulties in particular, people concentrate more strongly on their own person and wellbeing and are also prepared to spend money on high quality products and services.“
Reinhold Stärk, Management, FaM Einrichtungssysteme GmbH
“The overall economic situation really has a positive effect on the health and sports sector since the rising costs in the health care system almost force people to invest in their wellbeing and to keep fit. The number and quality of our trade show contacts at FIBO came as a positive surprise for us.“
Markus Hodyas, Marketing Director, ERGO-FIT GmbH & Co. KG
“Interest in health as an issue has risen within the fitness industry. We also register a growing demand for holistic concepts. Customer quality is excellent. Visitors approach us with specific enquiries and are very well informed about current market developments. Altogether our expectations were exceeded by some 50 percent.“
Roland Stephan, Head of Sports Equipment Sales Division, proxowell
“FIBO 2009 clearly shows that the market participants have a strong desire to invest and that there is capital available for this purpose. Fortunately the fitness and health sector is currently not affected by the financial crisis!“
Patrick Schlenz, Sales & Marketing Manager, WHL Leasing Gesellschaft mbH
“At FIBO all age groups are represented. From adolescents to senior citizens – a large and varied range of customers visited our stand. Product quality is gaining increasingly in importance. Consumers are prepared to spend more on their fitness.“ Timo Wuttke, Branch Manager, cardiofitness GbR
“We had a remarkably good FIBO. For us, this year’s FIBO was the best by far. Studio operators and consumers were looking for high-grade products, quality is a priority.“
Barbara Klein, Managing Director, Flexi-Sports GmbH
“We are highly satisfied with the trade show and the visitor numbers at our stand. We have customers of excellent quality. I feel that customers are paying more attention to product quality and are more prepared to pay the corresponding price.“
Christine Deutsch, Managing Director, Sportlädchen GmbH
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Phone: +49 (0)211 - 90191- 128
Email: Mike.Seidensticker@reedexpo.de
Nadine Lente
-Press Officer-
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Email: Nadine.Lente@reedexpo.de
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