International Dealer News IDN 122 Dec/Jan 2014/15 | Page 4

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INTERMOT and EICMA confirm
continued growth and dominance
of the "premium" end of the market
HIS year's major industry shows both displayed evidence of
early stage market recovery being underway, in terms of
visitor numbers and with regard to the reports that we here
at IDN heard about sales in the aftermarket parts and
accessories sectors.
The Adventure Tourer and 'Naked' street bike sectors still appear to be the
primary focus for high-volume parts and accessory product lines, but with plenty
of top-end products (such as exquisite rearsets and wheels for the most recent
Ducati and BMW models in
particular), the trend towards
"premium" products in quality and
design terms, and towards rider
conveniences and ergonomics,
continues to dominate the direction
that is leading the vendor community
out of the downturn.
While both shows had unsold
exhibit space in their halls (especially
EICMA), and while there were still
notable absences from the exhibitor line-ups (also especially at EICMA), the
smaller booth habit that many parts and accessory vendors have been adopting
for some time now meant that there was still sufficient critical mass at both
exhibitions to keep even the most demanding dealers and consumers engaged.
As ever, the "real estate" was dominated by the OEs, though they too have
also cut down their footprints in recent years. Having embraced housekeeping to
ensure that they stayed in-the-game, the aftermarket is managing to make smaller
booth spaces pay off, with a sense of purpose and focus dominating their exhibits.
That's not to say that there were no spectacular booths, especially at EICMA,
and especially among the helmet manufacturers, where there continues to be an
arms race among the likes of Airoh, Nolan Group and LS2, as those who see
themselves as the brand "players" staking their claims for market leadership
moving forward.
NTERMOT has clearly reconfirmed its reputation as the leading "international
industry and public event" for high mileage motorcycle riders, which is obvious
from even the briefest comparative scrutiny of the visitor demographic on the
busiest of the consumer days at both shows.
With over 200,000 trade and consumer visitors packing the aisles of Europe's
fifth largest exhibition complex, this year the City of Cologne has been celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the first time the international motorcycle industry came
to town, with the albeit much remodelled Koelnmesse facility itself marking its
own 90th anniversary.
Meanwhile, four weeks later, EICMA marked its 100th anniversary with an
excellent series of retrospective 'Decade' exhibits that purposed much of the
unsold hall space with a well conceived series of exhibits that showcased the

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trends in the 100 years of market evolution seen at their shows.
ICMA's post show release said that their attendance was also up over the
last show, by a claimed 14.7 percent over 2013. However, there remains
widespread scepticism among industry observers and exhibitors alike in
connection with the total number claims that EICMA makes, in common, it has
to be said, with those issued by other motorcycle exhibition organisers in Italy.
EICMA say that 45,910 of the 628,000 visitors who "crossed the gates" at
the Rho Fiera Milano were "trade" visitors of one kind or another (with 31 percent
of them coming from outside Europe),
and that they hosted 1,053 exhibitors
from 34 countries.
In that other expo arms race, the one
of expo rivalry, INTERMOT claim around
960 vendors, from some 37 countries,
with visitors of one kind or another from
105 countries in total - indeed 69
percent of their exhibitor footprint comes
from outside Germany, which is certainly
a higher percentage than the largely
domestic Italian exhibitor footprint seen at EICMA.
Regardless of the numbers, the general view at both shows was that there is
the return of some kind of growth, and of a return to a market in Europe that
favours quality over price, with large displacement riding leading the way.
EICMA still has its much larger share of apparel, race and smaller displacement
exhibitors, and that remains a major differentiator between the two, and still a
major characteristic of the domestic Italian market.
INTERMOT on the other hand is much more connected to street performance
and robust longer distance riding solutions. Overall though, the conclusions to be
drawn from the two events are similar.
Despite the macro-economic concerns that continue to haunt the Euro currency
bloc, the modest growth now being seen in new motorcycle