Mixed Reactions to GolfExpo

GolfExpo 2000, Britain's leading golf trade show, did not attract as many visitors to the NEC as the organisers had hoped, but possibly more than they feared in the wake of the storms and rail chaos which swept the country earlier this month.

Some 6,026 members of the golf industry attended the first two 'trade only' days of the exhibition, incorporating the annual clubhouse exhibition which the NEC recently acquired, while 10,086 enthusiasts attended the public days at the weekend. The total attendance was almost 20 per cent short of the projected figure of 20,000.

The number of PGA members attending was 972, a marginal increase on the turnout for the previous golf show staged at the NEC in February 1999.

None the less, the NEC's exhibitions manager Rene Bros remained upbeat. "The general reaction from the exhibitors was that the trade days were very good. Obviously, we will review what worked well and the areas that can be improved upon."

Spalding's Cliff Dews, who is chairman of the European Golf Industry Association, also reacted positively. "I am very pleased with this show. At Spalding we set ourselves a sales target for the whole show, and we reached that target by two o'clock on the first day. We had people waiting on the stand before we got there to open it in the mornings."

"The fact that more than 10,000 people attended over the weekend certainly demonstrates the need for a public golf show," said Graham Guy of Titleist & Footjoy. "To get 10,000 people there despite all the travel difficulties was quite a good number. All things considered we were relatively pleased.

"It would be fair to say that the trade days met our expectations. Even though the numbers were not overwhelming there were quality people there. The opportunity of giving professionals one-on-one demonstrations of our Titleist Launch Monitor was of real value to us and served to illustrate Titleist's position in the club market which is firmly in the direction of the better players."

Spalding marketing manager Ian Stringfellow said: "We always look to support the industry's key show. We had a steady throughput of visitors to the stand on the trade days and secured a lot of orders for our Strata, Topflight XL2000, Etonic and Ben Hogan brands. The public days have been very busy and we've seen lots of knowledgeable and enthusiastic visitors."

Offering a more objective point of view, yet still relatively positive, was Paul Steels from Golf Pride Grips. "Even though some of the major brands were not exhibiting this year, almost all of the people I wanted like to see at least visited the show, so instead of me walking around to their stands they were coming to the Golf Pride stand to see me."

Steels also recognised that not all exhibitors would be satisfied. "I have noticed a distinct lack of golf pros at the show, which will disappoint the club manufacturers."

There is no denying that GolfExpo was short of major consumer brands such as Nike, Callaway, Cleveland and Taylor Made. The underlying problem may be that there are too many golf shows competing to attract exhibitors. With annual events in Orlando, Munich, Birmingham and now Marbella, companies are torn between which to attend as they cannot afford to go to them all.

Dews added: "The industry needs one big show [in Europe] but there are different organisations that want to provide it. They really need to come together but it's very difficult to achieve that."

With GolfExpo 2001 set to co-coincide with The Ryder Cup at The Belfry from September 21-23, attendances ought to rise. "We have already invited the manufacturers to review and plan for next year," said Bros. "The event will be huge - you can't get a bigger partner than the Ryder Cup. Our exhibition expertise, coupled with the prestige of the Ryder Cup, will ensure that Birmingham is the European capital of golf next year.

"Golfexpo was put together at the request of the industry to represent the PGA, EGIA and the many suppliers of golf products and services. The show was a great success and we want to build on that success for next year. Obviously we will review what worked well and the areas that can be improved upon."

Andy Bough of Glenmuir echoed this sentiment, saying: "We were pleased with the opportunity GolfExpo provided to launch Glenmuir's Ryder Cup 2001 European Team Collection to the UK golf trade and consumers, and were very happy with the reaction from suppliers and the public alike. So for Glenmuir, Golfexpo 2000 was a success.

"With regard to the future of the show, and of golf trade shows in general, it is clear the industry has some way to go to provide a meaningful forum that encourages golf professionals and high street retailers to attend a British Trade Show in significant numbers. Once we have seen the success or otherwise of the Première Golf show in Marbella, we really must pull together a clear strategy that includes all the major players in the industry. If not, our customers will continue to make their buying decisions in the comfort of their own shop, which I do not believe is in the best interests of either retailers or suppliers."

The EGIA will discuss the issue further at a general meeting of its members on December 5. Dews added: "We all realise that whatever we do in 2001, we must do it together. It is impossible to plan for the future without the input and support of the membership."