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The National Agricultural Exhibition Center in Beijing will open its doors on Wednesday, March 14th, to host the Ispo China Winter 07 for the first time. No other city is currently featured more prominently in the spotlight of the international sporting goods industry than China's economic, winter sports, and tourism metropolis. The move of Ispo China from Shanghai to the Olympic city of Beijing was certainly worth it: several weeks prior to the official opening the trade show was fully booked. This is further validation of the Ispo China's leading position in the sector of sports, fashion, and lifestyle throughout Asia.
From March 14th through 17th, 2007, more than 300 well-known brands will present their latest innovations and trends for outdoor, snow sports, board sports, team sports, sportstyle, as well as fabrics & fibres; among them 3M, Asolo, Atomic, Black Yak, Brugi, Burton, Buff, Colmar, Dakine, Elan, Exel, Fischer, Gabel, Garmont, Gore, Halti, Jako, K2, Laken, Lowa, Lowe Alpine, Marmot, Merrell, Northland, Ozark, Reichmann, Roces, Schoeller, Spyder, Symaptex, Tecnica Group, Ternua, The North Face, Toray, Trekstar, Shehe, Uvex, Vasque, Vibram, and Wintersteiger.
Not only did the number of exhibitors experience a boost, the booth size for a number of renowned industry members and repeat exhibitors has also increased substantially. In addition to the interior space the trade show will also make use of an additional 2,000 square meters of exterior space for a number of events. The number of online visitor registrations also increased by a considerable factor compared to the ispo china 06. This is most likely a result of the Ambassador Tour held prior to the trade show, which included personal visits by ispo china representatives to retailers in 16 cities, providing them with comprehensive information on the trade show.
In cooperation with the Chinese Outdoor Retailer Association (CORA) the ispo china presents a model shop demonstrating the best ways for retailers to arrange and organize their stores, in order to maximize customer satisfaction and economic efficiency. Well-informed CORA members will be on location to answer any questions. Companies such as Patagonia, Jack Wolfskin, and Coleman use this platform for their first launch on the Chinese market, thus selecting the Ispo China as a primary means for market entry.
In light of the high-caliber congress and event program the Ispo China winter 07 has all bases covered. A true highlight is the return of the Asia Pacific Snow Conference in cooperation with Toray and Volvo. On March 16th, retailers, industry representatives, ski resort managers, and the media will get together to discuss the development of the Asian winter sports industry. Appropriate for the primary topic "Safety & Education" the conference will be held at Beijing's indoor ski center "Qiaobo Ice & Snow World."
An already established event, the China Outdoor Retailing Conference, will be held for the third time on March 17th, in cooperation with Gore-Tex. The conference, enjoying a unique status within the industry, will feature the topic of "Enjoy & Respect," focusing on outdoor sports and environmental protection.
A new addition to the event program is the project "Interconnected Sportstyle Talents," initiated by Ispo China, Toray, and the fashion academy esmod. Young, talented, up-and-coming designers from Germany and China will work on a task with the same criteria, and the creations will be presented on the competing continent. The German design projects on the topic "Future meets Tradition" will be shown at the Ispo China opening party; 4 months later the ispo SPORTS & STYLE in Munich, will host the creations by the Chinese design hopefuls from July 8th through 10th, 2007. An international jury consisting of fashion, sports, and media representatives, among them WGSN, Promostyl, Bergans, and Marinepool, will select the two winning outfits, to be honored with a trip to meet their counterparts in China or Germany, respectively.
Of particular interest will be how each contestant interprets the topic depending on his or her cultural background. The plan calls for a future expansion of the project to include Russia and Japan as well. The Ispo China will feature even more of tomorrow's fashions and trends with the help of the WGSN (Worth Global Style Network) Seminar and the trend barometer by Promostyl Paris.
The Outdoor Experiencing Park sponsored by Ispo China, Gore-Tex, and the leading Chinese industry magazine Outdoor Exploration is a complimentary product test area. The return of the outdoor footwear test area from last year's event allows manufacturers to present their latest technologies and functional materials without being constrained to the footwear area. New features include an apparel test area, a test track, a special test room, a conference space, and a number of additional highlights.
Athletic action is provided by the National Bouldering Cup 2007 -- or to be exact -- at the Ispo China / Ozark Bouldering Contest. Held in cooperation with CMA (China Mountaineering Association), the event will pit top speed and difficulty climbers against each other. The m-cro International Slalom Open, the first World Freestyle Slalom Circuit in Beijing, will be just as exciting. More than 100 pros from France, Korea, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will celebrate the best of the best of inline skating at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center.
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