International Dealer News IDN 140 December 2017 / January 2018 | Page 16
This year’s EICMA marked a clear
turning point of the fortunes and trends
in the Italian market, and for EICMA,
hopefully, it is a foundation for
continued expo and Italian market
growth for years to come …
he attendance statistics issued by
EICMA are notoriously “loose”, shall
we say; indeed, it has been a
characteristic of all Italian show
organisers for decades.
The trade association 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
difficult.
In the specific case of EICMA there were next to no
statistics issued for 2016, and no more than three or
four expo news releases have been made at all in the
12-month cycle since – those that have been made
have been ‘random’ in the content at best!
However, after three days at EICMA, this year three
facts were obvious.
First, for the first time in a decade the show had a
really positive vibe, reflecting the fact that the
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domestic Italian market and the vendors who sell
there had definitely got smiles on their faces at long
last. Ironically in a year that has been a tad ‘tricky’
elsewhere in Europe, but regardless, the parts,
accessory and apparel sectors appear to be in good
shape even if there is still oversupply - but when
+24% increase
in attendance
haven’t there been more vendors than any national
market or specialty discipline could realistically
support?
Second, either there is someone new planning the
use of space, or exhibitor numbers were genuinely
up this year. The show occupied most of seven halls,
with much less vacant space than has been the case
INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018
Words & pictures by Robin Bradley
[email protected]
Additional photography by Sonja Wallace,
EICMA press office & Companies exhibiting
for the past six or seven years.
Third, and I guess it is largely because the organisers
continue to be hopeless at, and have no interest or
incentive in “policing” the theoretically targeted
specialist admittance that is supposed to
characterise the Tuesday and Wednesday, the
attendance during the first three days was certainly
up. Reports suggest that the show was full on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday too.
It therefore came as no surprise that a full attendance
news release was made within 48 hours of the show
closing its doors and one that, for once, backed up
the hyperbole with some (still carefully managed)
attendance statistics – so in recognition of a
successful week for the motorcycle industry in Italy,
here are the primary take-aways from their release.
This was the 75th EICMA, staged in its 103rd year,
and the organisers claim it ‘registered’ “absolute
records” and that it “confirms exponential growth
with all the indicators positive. A great success with