American Motorcycle Dealer 305 December 2024 AMD305 December 2024 | Page 22

EICMA 2024 : The ' Summa Cum Laude ' edition ?

Never known for its modesty ( nor accuracy where attendance numbers are concerned ) ANCMA , the Italian government backed motorcycle trade association that operates the annual EICMA (' Milan Show ') hailed its 110th year , 81st edition in November 2024 as its ' Summa Cum Laude ' Edition . However , EICMA may well be a uniquely popular ( and uniquely Italian ) fan-fest , but the largely regional , greater Milan urban area population from which the attendance is mostly drawn remains a characteristically low-mileage cohort . What ' s more , even after all these years , hundreds of potential and prior exhibitors now appear to regard EICMA as unproven in terms of its effectiveness as a profitable business opportunity . That said , it is still the largest annual motorcycle industry business opportunity in the world . The 600,000- attendance number cited is said to have been some 40,000 up on that seen in 2023 . The organizers are claiming a record volume of vendor and brand space occupied - some 330,000 sq m , or approx 3.55 m . sq ft of indoor and outdoor exhibit and feature space . More than 770 exhibitors were said to be representing 45 countries and presenting 2163 brands . EICMA
Barnett Clutches : Recent new products from the 1948-founded Ventura , California based manufacturer are a full line of stock and custom length cables . Features include a stainless-steel inner wire and an HDPE ( high-density polyethylene ) inner casing liner for smooth cable action . All clutch cables come standard with nylon coated silicon lubed " High Efficiency " inner wire . Available in traditional black vinyl casing , stainless steel braid with clear coat , or Platinum Series casing which features a bright silver-plated braid with clear coat which is guaranteed not to discolor from sunlight exposure ; www . barnettclutches . com exhibitor figures show that of those 2,163 brands , 622 were from mainland China , 121 were Taiwanese and a further 18 headquartered in Hong Kong . The 761 from those three ' Chinese ' markets compares to 1,105 from the 27 markets of the EU , 963 of which were from the EU ' Big Four ' with 770 of them from the Italian home market , 71 from France , 66 from Germany and 56 from Spain . Other notable market exhibitor counts included 80 from Pakistan , 17 from India , 32 from South Korea , 27 from Turkey and 23 from the UK . Interestingly there were only 31 exhibitors from the United States - one of which was a returning Harley- Davidson after a four-year absence , but conversely there was no Polaris / Indian Motorcycle booth this year . EICMA says that as many as 26 percent of the vendors present were exhibiting for the first time . That is a ' factoid ' that the organizers have deployed quite often in the post-Covid era , and one that they really should be hiding . EICMA claims that the number of " industry professionals " among its visitor footprint saw " more than 38,000 professionals coming from 126 different nations ". If true , then that is a poor number when set against the claimed 7 % growth in total attendance and the total available European industry personnel footprint . Similarly , the claimed media attendance is problematic . " The presence of journalists , content creators , experts and communication professionals grew , with a solid + 13 % over 2023 and a provenance from as many as 74 countries , almost reaching 8,000 such attendees ." If true , then that is also a surprisingly low number and one that simply compounds an increasingly poor post-Covid era media reach for the show . The change seen in OEM new model launch habits since the pre-2020 era also points to another very telling change in the real status of EICMA . The fact that the OEM community increasingly favors online media and consumer new model introductions goes right to the heart of the " who is EICMA really for " question . Especially since it is the Italian headquartered OEMs and the international vehicle import / distribution subsidiaries in Italy that are the primary effective show owners . The OEMs are still mostly buying booths ( all be it often on reduced footprints and certainly on favorable terms that are barely commercially viable ), but if they themselves no longer see the show as their primary new model launch pathway then there really is a proverbial elephant in EICMA ' s rooms . Save-the-Date : the 82nd EICMA exhibition in its 111th year will be staged at Rho Fiera Milano from November 4 to 9 , 2025 . www . eicma . it
more vendors this way
22 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2024 www . AMDmag . com