Messe Düsseldorf offloads GDS shoe fair

After 60 year, things could not go on like that. Show organizers did everything possible to revamp GDS and tag it!, orchestrating a complete makeover with active input from the shoe industry. And then attendance to the show in the expansive fairgrounds of the Düsseldorf Messe dropped by 12,500 visitors.

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, President and CEO of Messe Dusseldorf, attributes the fewer attendees to changes in the shoe industry: “The industry has changed radically in recent years, and impacted the overall dynamic. GDS, a major industry event for more than six decades, no longer seems to be the right format for the current challenges within the shoe sector. For this reason we are now taking consistent action with new responsibilities and a new venue.”

Dornscheidt thanked the GDS and tag it! team led by Kirstin Deutelmoser, who he said had shown great commitment for many years and brought many innovative ideas to the shoe fairs. The fair boss is said to have a soft spot for industrial companies. During press conferences the past few years, it appeared as if the GDS shoe show was no longer the right fit for him personally.

Kirstin Deutelmoser also thinks that the Igedo Company acquisition of the show presents an opportunity for the industry: “The market is increasingly dynamic and requires a completely new solution. This can only be successful if it can be radically reconfigured, without having to accommodate existing structures and traditions. To that end, the Igedo Company is the ideal partner. I would like to thank all our clients and supporters, many of whom over decades actively gave us their input and helped the show concept to remain lively and relevant. I hope that they will seize the opportunity of the shoe fair’s re-boot."

Now all eyes are on Igedo. Will the new show organizer be up to the task? Managing partner Philipp Kronen is completely confident that his project manager Ulrike Kaehler will rise to the challenge. She has proved her talents with the Gallery Fashion, showing that an order show can be a success in the Areal Böhler fair ground, the shoe fair’s new home. This complex is a former industrial area in the northwest of Düsseldorf, which offers a much more welcoming atmosphere compared to the impersonal halls of the Düsseldorf Messe.

Messe Düsseldorf offloads GDS shoe fair

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