American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 221 December 2017 | Page 20

This year’s EICMA/’Milan’ Show (the 75th show in its 103rd year) saw its custom
content area dropped, but marked a clear turning point in the fortunes and trends of
the mainstream Italian and wider European motorcycle market. Italian new motorcycle
registrations have grown strongly in 2017 despite ‘patchy’ results elsewhere...
he attendance statistics
is sued by EICMA are
notoriously “loose”, shall
we say; indeed, being
decidedly “alternative” with
show traffic “facts” has been a
characteristic of all Italian show
organizers for decades.
The trade association behind the show
(ANCMA) does not always issue
attendance figures (which is usually a
sign that visitor or exhibitor numbers,
or both, were down) and when it does,
the use of statistics is so selective and
so inconsistent that it makes year-to-
year comparisons near impossible.
In the specific case of EICMA there
were next to no statistics issued at all
for 2016, and no more than three or
four expo news updates of any kind
were released at all in the 12-month
cycle since then. Those that have been
made, have been ‘random’ in their
content at best!
However, this year EICMA had an
“attendance” release issued within 48
hours of the show closing its doors.
Even though their use of math was still
characteristically “creative” and
deliberately designed to obfuscate
(something that all the other domestic
U.S. motorcycle industry news outlets
fell for unquestioningly), what cannot
be disguised, is that this year’s
attendance was excellent.
The number of exhibitors was definitely
T
+24%
increase in
attendance
up, and, for the first time in almost a
decade, the “vibe” among the Italian
vendors was positively enthusiastic.
EICMA attendance figures have always
been quoted as being in the region of
half a million people each year. In truth,
a figure of around 350,000 is probably
nearer the mark, and of those, it is
unlikely that more than some 200,000
are actually of riding age.
Nonetheless, there were enough
visitors to keep everyone happy.
I spent three days pounding the aisles
and can report that there was more
PG&A and OEM new product action
than has been seen for the past few
shows added together, and that
domestic Italian vendors, and those
who sell there, definitely had smiles on
their faces.
In a year that has been a tad ‘tricky’
elsewhere in Europe in new model
registration terms, the parts, accessory
and apparel sectors in Italy are in good
shape, even if there is still oversupply -
but when hasn’t there been?
+28% international
attendance
20
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2017
SBS: A new branding program is the latest in a series of upgrades to the
Danish brake pad manufacturer’s market presence that has also included
entry into new market sectors, including the brake discs market; ;
www.sbs.dk
Cardo Systems: Latest products from the ‘Scala Rider’ bike
communications and entertainment systems specialist include the rugged
Q-solo Bluetooth communicator for solo riders, Freecom 4 and Packtalk
DMC (Dynamic Mesh Communication) based Bluetooth communication
systems; www.cardosystems.com
www.AMDchampionship.com