November Shows in Milan and Brno

MAARSSEN, The Netherlands – Two important shows are taking place beginning next month; EICMA in Milan and Bike Brno in  the Czech Republic. The biggest of the two is of course the EICMA in Milan that as last year is again a combination of the motor and bicycle show held from 4 – 9 November.

At almost the same dates also Bike Brno takes place (from 6 – 9 November) which is growing into THE event for Eastern Europe and in particular for bike makers that have set up shop in this region.

Forced by the changing landscape of international bicycle shows, the EICMA created an ‘interesting experiment’ as the organizers called it last year. The results were so promising that they decided to continue this ‘experiment’ by combining the motorcycle and the bike show in 2008. This year’s motorcycle show is the biggest ever, on 66,000 square meters with a total of 1,358 exhibitors from 37 countries.

EICMA Bici will again feature four days of track racing. After the taster a year ago, with ‘Bikes4Show’, which involved four days of competitions and proved a huge success, Milan’s ‘Six Day Event’ is now really back: from 4th to 9th November, in hall 7. Milan’s ‘Six Day Event’ has already been included in the international calendar of events. The attendance is already guaranteed of the twice world champion and winner of the gold medal at the Athens Olympics, Paolo Bettini, who is always at ease in track races.

Italian Style

The question for the EICMA 2008 is: will the e-Bike industry finally break through in this country of scooter, motorcycle and car enthusiasts? At the last show the number of e-Bike suppliers was remarkable, indicating that a large number of businesses were expecting such a breakthrough. The EICMA retains its characteristic Italian style with exhibitors like Campagnolo, Colnago, De Rosa, Bianchi, Olmo, Esperia, Casati, Columbus, Deda, Santini and Wilier Triestina. The international character of the show has remained with the presence of brands from the U.S., China, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, France, The Netherlands and Croatia.

Bike Brno is part of the International Sports Fair called Sport Life. This is one of the most significant sports occasions of its kind in the Middle and Eastern Europe. Bike Brno has over the years evolved in a show that offers a gateway for companies looking for business in Eastern Europe. That business can differ from setting up shop in one of the Eastern European countries or finding distributors to cater for local markets in this part of Europe or even further East like Oekraine, Belarus or Russia.
Last year about 370 exhibitors from 13 countries participated in Sport Life while 9,500 trade visitors attended the show.