For organisers, exhibitors and visitors, there was said to be great satisfaction with the progress of this season’s Performance Days in Munich (13th – 15th April 2010) and Annecy (19th – 20th April 2010). New trends and innovations were presented together with the collections for winter 2011/12 and summer 2012 at the exhibition for decision-makers, designers and product managers from the world of sportswear and workwear.

According to organisers, the number of international exhibitors from Europe, Asia and the USA rose in comparison with the previous trade fair in November 2009 by 20%. All in all, about 70 exhibitors from a total of 16 countries were said to have presented on 1200m² in Munich and 1000m² in Annecy.

At the same time, the organisers say they also recorded an increase of 19.4% in trade fair visitors, who travelled from 11 countries, despite the fact that the trade fair period was compacted from 6 to 5 days and from the 3 sites of Verona, Stockholm and Munich into the 2 locations of Munich and Annecy.

At established attractions, such as the Trend Forum, an exposition of over 200 fabrics and samples from the exhibiting companies, the functional fabric sector of the ‘Workwear’ table is also said to have attracted a lot of visitors. In addition, the organisers say that the ‘Innovation Tower’ of Trend Forum designer Alexa Dehmel awoke the interest of the visitors, where products were presented to delegates using multimedia presentations and video clips for the first time.

“The newly introduced fringe programme met with particular acclaim. 5 lectures in Munich and 2 dialogues in Annecy informed, provoked and moved the visitors to interesting discussions and new opinions. The scope of the lectures held in Munich and Annecy ranged from much debated subjects such as nanotechnology, to aspects of sustainability, the presentation of new textile technology, marketing strategies and software solutions for clothing manufacturers and design studies or the new trends and colours for winter 2011/12,” a spokesperson for the show said.

 In Annecy, the fringe programme also included the launch of bioceramic membranes and the advantages of ecological innovations for communication. “Due to the major success of the lectures, the organisers are complying with the much expressed desire of speakers, the public and exhibitors and will expand the presentations in the future to be spread across all trade fair days,” an Annecy based spokesperson said.

The choice of the location of the French Performance Days was faithful to the concept of the road show at one of the most important regions of the international sports and outdoor industry. The premiere in Annecy was appreciated and honoured, particularly through the formal greeting and address of the Major of Annecy Jean-Luc Rigaut and the presence of the major’s representative of Annecy-le-Vieux Yvon Bosson. As a result, Annecy immediately established itself in the history of the road show.

The local cooperation partners “Outdoor Sports Valley” and “Eurosima” also honoured the official opening and presented the project with the presence of president Jean-Luc Diard. To the regret of the organiser, some of the advertised surf and sports clothing manufacturers from the French Atlantic coast had to cancel their participation in Annecy at the last minute due to cancelled flights.

The organisers of the Performance Days are taking stock of the extremely positive recent road shows and extend a warm thank you to all partners, exhibitors and visitors, who braved the volcano and resulting flight chaos and even more than 20 hours by car from Scandinavia to Munich and Annecy in order to be able to exhibit at the Performance Days.

The next Performance Days will take place on 18th – 19th November 2010 in Munich and on 23rd – 24th November 2010 in Annecy and will present the collections for summer 2012 and winter 2012/13.

Quotes from Exhibitors and Visitors of the Performance Days April 2010:

“The Performance Days are a meeting point for leading brands from the sports and activewear sector. For us as a company, it represents a time saving as we can meet all important customers in one place. More than a trade fair, Performance Days is a concentrated workshop. We get together and do business.”

Pär Gottfridsson, Sales Manager of Polygiene AB (Exhibitor/Sweden)

“Performance Days is a very good event in order to efficiently network and exchange information about “technical textiles” with the right people.”

Iklil Çeliktemur, CEO Pantera (Exhibitor/Turkey)

“Performance Days was a great show for us. It was very focused and most of the brands were in their early design cycle so the timing was just right. The atmosphere was relaxed and customers were not as rushed as they typically are at the larger shows. We really had some quality visits. The collection of new fabrics was impressive. It was a great opportunity for designers and product development people to see and learn about some of the latest developments in fabric technology.”  

Paul Zimmermann, Vice President Sales SuperFabric (Exhibitor/USA)

“For us as one of the leading companies for functional textiles based in Munich, Performance Days is a kind of “in-house trade fair” and a good opportunity to meet our partners and find out about Asian companies. Time and again, the organisers of Performance Days manage to bring renowned international suppliers to Munich.”

Michael Kamm, CEO Sympatex / Ploucquet Group (Exhibitor/Germany)

“The first visit to this trade fair pleasantly surprised me. The size was very reasonable – efficient, pleasant work and a concentration of all technical products from knitted to 3-layer laminates.

As a result of this concentration of offers, it was possible to visit and gather information from all important suppliers.”

Joseph Alain Scherrer, CEO jas ag (Visitor/Switzerland)

Information of the Fringe Programme of Performance Days April 2010:

Munich (15th April 2010)

11:00 Sustainability, Speaker: Detlef Fischer (bluesign)

12:00 Nano finishes on textiles, Speaker: Dirk Keunen (Nano-tex)

13:00 trends and colors, Speaker: Nora Kühner (IDEAS)

14:00 Thermobuffering, Speaker: Silvia Toledo (ADVANSA)

15:00 Product Management for high performance – create, develop, sell.

Speakers: Ms Gschwenter und Mr Janiszewski (KOPPERMANN)

Annecy (19th April 2010)

09:30 Official opening of the Performance Days in France

Mr Jean-Luc Rigaut, major of Annecy

12:00 Le point sur la Gold Reflect Line: propriétés, tests & développement  de la membrane biocéramique., Speaker: Thierry Heim (HT Concept)

17:30 Presentation of “Outdoor Sports Valley” project

Speaker: Jean-Luc Diard (Outdoor Sports Valley)

Annecy (20th April 2010)

11:00 Eco-communication, mode d‘emploi Comment faire de vos éco-innovations un avantage concurrentiel?, Speaker: Alexandre Pasche (Eco&Co)