Uncertainty and confidence: The mood at Ispo Munich, which is ending today after three days, is changeable but optimistic and reflects the challenges of the current situation in retail and industry.
Many came to Ispo Munich, which reopened on Monday after a forced break of almost three years, with mixed feelings. “I’m really excited to see how it will turn out,” says Otto Leodolter, Managing Director of Löffler, right at the beginning. Because even before the fair it was clear that it would be different from the previous events. Around 1,500 exhibitors from 55 countries had announced their presence this time. That is about half as many as in January 2019 (2,943 exhibitors) and January 2020 (more than 2,800 exhibitors). Instead of twelve fully booked A and B halls, this time there were only six, plus four C halls, which were reserved for the topics sourcing, text trends and health.
Many big brands of all categories were missing, in the clothing sector as well as in hardware, ski brands as well as outdoor brands. While brands like Bogner, Mammut and Columbia stayed away, all the more visitors swarmed the stands of Jack Wolfskin, Vaude, Patagonia, Scott, Maloja, Gore-Tex and Schöffel. Because that also quickly became clear: it was full and happy anyway. Not only on the stands, but also on the event areas and lecture stages. The conclusion: The desire to finally experience oneself and the industry together and live is great!
Sluggish consumption hits sports and outdoor industry
The challenges in the industry are currently great. Although many brands and retailers have survived the pandemic well, some even brilliantly, many are now being hit all the more unexpectedly by the ongoing reluctance to buy while costs are rising at the same time. In addition, the autumn was too warm in many places, and the classic weather protection topics did not go well. “No one knows what the next season will bring,” says Peter Räuber, CEO of Maloja. If winter sports become (even) more expensive because mountain railways and hotels have to raise their prices, many assume that people will save on equipment and not buy new products. “For families in particular, winter sports are increasingly becoming a luxury,” says Ingo Jost, Director Central Europe of the Finnish L-Fashion Group, which owns the brands Icepeak and Luhta. A lot of goods have already been sold in stores today, and many assume that this will not change in the coming weeks. That’s always a risk.
Call for shorter lead times
Ingo Jost sees the danger that fewer and fewer children will find their way into sport if the products are becoming more and more expensive. In addition, the young target group prefers other sales channels. Jost: “I’m convinced that the young target group isn’t buying enough from specialist retailers.” This needs to become more attractive and, above all, closer to demand. “The winter goods are hanging in the shops at a time when many people are not even thinking about winter sports.” The industry must tackle this issue together. Many also see the long lead times as problematic. The sports and outdoor industry has long recognized that their comparatively long lead times are a risk because they make agile, needs-based action more difficult. During the pandemic, when the demand for outdoor products suddenly exploded, they couldn’t keep up with producing the goods. Today, the sluggish supply chain prevents unneeded goods from not being produced in the first place.
Megatrend number 1: sustainability
The big, overarching trend in the industry is still the issue of sustainability. While clothing brands in particular have been concerned with becoming more sustainable in recent years, more and more shoe brands and hardware suppliers are now going in this direction: from skis, which were partly made of Spinnova fibers by Pusu, to headlamps a case made from a hemp blend by Silva, to sneakers made from undyed, partly recycled wool and a sole made from 31 percent FSC-certified natural rubber from Icebug. The innovative sports and outdoor industry had some new developments up their sleeves.
New fiber combinations
Of course, this also applies to the clothing manufacturers. For example, the Italian knitwear specialist UYN presented sports underwear that consists of 100 percent regenerative, bio-based materials. The innovative fiber combination: Kapok, Biolight yarn (made from beech cellulose), Flexicorn (spandex alternative made from corn) and Natex (made from the castor bean plant). “The great thing is that these fibers are even superior to petroleum-based fibers in terms of strength, drying speed and breathability,” says Marco Redini, CEO of UYN.
Tencel also had a seamless yoga set consisting of a shirt and leggings as a prototype that was made 100 percent from Tencel and Tencel Luxe, the new filament fiber from Tencel.
Colours: Brown and red tones on the rise
As always, there were similar trends in color as in fashion: nude tones are still very popular, along with earthy colors, undyed looks and at the same time bright pink, in combination with red or orange. The more conspicuous, the better, was the motto here. The topic of brown became really strong, at least with the products on display. Braun showed not only with the progressive snowboard and freeski brands such as Picture Organic Clothing or Scott, but also with outdoor classics such as Jack Wolfskin. However, it remains to be seen whether the trade will also consider the color to be suitable for sports.
Focus on versatility
And another topic popped up with many new collections. Versatility. While in the past they offered products that were specific to one sport and designed down to the smallest detail just for that purpose, many brands are now developing products that serve more than one purpose and are instead multi-purpose. On the one hand, the manufacturers are reacting to a new awareness among consumers who want to consume less, and at the same time it provides a good sales argument, especially in tense times like these, because people want to save.