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T H E O N LY M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E W O R L D W I D E V- T W I N PA R T S , A C C E S S O RY A N D P E R F O R M A N C E I N D U S T RY
BIG BIKE EUROPE responds to feedback with earlier date in 2014
JULY 2013
ISSUE #168
NEWS
Polaris profit up despite Victory sales being down
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MD Magazine is pleased to confirm that the acclaimed Big Bike Europe hall at Messe Essen in Germany is now available for the 2014 expo for the date originally intended for the show. The three-day trade and consumer show is slated for April 11th, 12th and 13th 2014, with the addition of a second hall expected to be confirmed in July, when the first draft show floorplan is unveiled. AMD Magazine publisher and Big Bike Europe expo organizer Robin Bradley said that “the issue of when a concept such as Big Bike Europe would be best held was always one of the important factors to research, and by the time the original launch announcement was made in August 2011, we had already spent two years taking industry feedback. “The first issue to resolve was whether to stage the show late in the year or to go for a Spring timing. There are still plenty of good reasons why something like a November or December date would be worth considering, but the weather and
crowded calendar at that time of the year definitely make a Spring date, closer to the cash cycle of the market, the better option. “We had originally looked at dates between February and May, and the one that we always favored was the second weekend of April. That date avoids any other major show commitments for exhibitors (on either side of the Atlantic) and is one on which Easter very rarely falls. “However, for this first year we were constrained by venue availability. Once we had seen the hall 10, 11 and 12 complex at Messe Essen (Messe Ost) we were hugely impressed by the nature of the space, but were forced into taking a risk with a May date that coincided with a public holiday in that region of Germany and various other industry and consumer distractions. “Three weeks before this year’s first annual Big Bike Europe we were informed that the date we originally wanted had become available for 2014 and on a moving forward basis. “While there are a slew of reasons why first year attendance was at the lower end of our expectations, not
least the late start to the season meaning that dealerships had only just started to get busy, we have to assume that the date we chose must have had something to do with it. “Either way, there is no question that our new date will make it easier for authorized/franchised dealers and independent shop owners to spare the time for a show visit, and although only four weeks earlier, those four weeks punch above their weight in terms of the buying and selling cycle of the market.” Altogether some 1,000 plus industry professionals attended Big Bike Europe this year, and based on the pre-registration scheme, at least 187 franchised dealers and independent custom shops were represented. Added to that, some 40 or 50 of the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building competitor community were dealers, and with exhibitors directly inviting dealers, and a handful who paid to get in, total “dealer attendance” for the first Big Bike Europe expo is being put at around 250 shops – plus a dozen or so international parts and accessory importers/distributors.
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PRODUCTS
2013 SHOW REVIEW II
Stealth Bullet by
Rough Crafts
AMD presents part two of its Big Bike Europe 2013 show review feature with more exhibitor and visitor reaction