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spoga horse autumn further expands its position as the most international innovation platform

spoga horse autumn came to a close after three successful trade fair days. In total, 432 companies from 33 countries (foreign share: 83 percent) presented the trends, highlights and developments of the equestrian sport industry. “The trend towards innovative materials, recycling and sustainability was clearly noticeable both at the stands and from the entries to the spoga horse award. The quality of the concepts and products was very impressive,” stated Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. “The fact that spoga horse autumn and spoga+gafa are held parallel to each other enables the synergies between the two industries to be exploited to the full.” In total, around 40,000 visitors from 114 countries attended spoga horse autumn and spoga+gafa 2018. At 64 percent, the share of foreign exhibitors remains at a constantly high level.

A consistent flow of visitors as well as excellent discussions at the stands ensured a positive mood in Hall 11. The quality of the trade visitors was also convincing: “spoga horse autumn is an important event for the industry. In particular, the high quality of the trade visitors as well as the high level of internationality impressed the members. This was reflected above all in the good discussions held at the trade fair,” summed up Monique van Dooren-Westerdaal, board member of the German Association of the Sports Goods Industry e.V. (BSI), on behalf of the BSI members. This impression was confirmed by an independent visitor survey carried out on behalf of spoga horse. 50 percent of the trade visitors stated that they are involved in procurement decisions in their companies, 26 percent are even decisive in the decision-making process.

In turn, the trade visitors also let themselves be convinced by the quality of the offer and the innovations of the exhibitors. From riding fashion, helmets, shoes, boots to saddles and bridles, through to care and feed products, accessories and services, once again this year spoga horse autumn offered a complete overview of the market.

83 percent of the trade visitors gave a positive feedback regarding the range of exhibits at spoga horse autumn. Furthermore, around 84 percent of the people interviewed were satisfied or even very satisfied as far as achieving the goals of their visit were concerned. In addition to the industry’s entire line-up of international key players, who were represented in the exhibition halls in Cologne – young, innovative companies enhanced the international new products show of the equestrian sport industry perfectly.

It’s a dog’s world

More and more specialised dealers from the equestrian sports industry are additionally offering dog accessories. The exhibitors and the trade fair management of spoga horse have reacted to this development, which was recognisable from the offer at the stands and on a separate special zone dedicated to the theme. Furthermore, the market research portal, HorseFuturePanel presented the initial results of a survey on the theme of the buying behaviour of equestrian sport athletes with regards to dog accessories, which was carried out on behalf of spoga horse.

Distinguished: the spoga horse award

The concluding highlight for the exhibitors of spoga horse autumn was the award ceremony of the spoga horse award. The expert jury had to examine just under 50 entries for the award, which is conferred jointly by Koelnmesse and the media partner equitrends in the three categories Innovations, Sales Concepts and Sustainability. Voss Faible convinced in the category Innovations with the Gentle Groomer. MM Cosmetic Zedan was distinguished with the first prize in the category Sales Concepts. The company was also able to secure itself the winning prize in the category Sustainability.

spoga horse autumn 2018 in figures:

432 companies from 33 countries, 83 percent of which were from abroad, participated at spoga horse autumn. These included 75 exhibitors from Germany and 357 exhibitors from abroad. Including estimates for the last day of the fair, around 40,000 visitors from 114 countries attended spoga horse autumn and spoga+gafa 2018. The share of foreign trade visitors was 64 percent.*