From Munich to Amsterdam: An inside look at ISPO's overhaul

The German sportswear industry has seen much discussion about the domestic trade fair landscape in recent days, particularly as news spread of ISPO's plans to leave Munich. The restructuring, carried out by a newly formed joint venture between Messe München GmbH (MMG) and British trade fair organiser Raccoon Media Group, will see the sporting and outdoor goods trade fair move to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

This week, The International Running Expo (IRX), a Raccoon trade fair focused on running, aptly took place in RAI Amsterdam. FashionUnited visited the event to get a first impression of ISPO's new co-organiser. Mike Seaman, the group's CEO, provides insight into the new strategy.

Mr Seaman, how did the agreement with Messe München for ISPO come about?

We approached MMG with a vision for how we could make ISPO a market-leading trade fair again. It was a rather radical proposal that I shared with MMG CEO Stefan Rummel.

Stefan saw the opportunity and liked the entrepreneurial approach and acted quickly. His decisive action and the support of his wider team ensured that things moved forwards incredibly quickly.

Why did you choose Amsterdam as the event location?

We wanted to evolve the show into a global event. One of the factors contributing to this is the change of date, as the previous date clashed with Thanksgiving, an important US holiday. This was not possible in Munich.

The strong sustainability criteria, the professional venue and the exceptional transport links were decisive factors in the final decision to choose Amsterdam. Several brands also have their headquarters here, and we are familiar with the exhibition centre [RAI Amsterdam, ed.] through our 'International Running Expo', which would be well suited as a co-location.

Are there already initial concrete plans for how the trade fair is set to evolve?

We have confirmed the new floorplan and approach: the main headlines are in four tranches. Tranche 1 is the format - ISPO will now be a one-day C-suite conference, followed by a two-day expo. Tranche 2 is a new scheme where Raccoon will make a one million euro investment in buyer recruitment. Tranche 3 is a one million euro investment in the content programme to really make ISPO a moment that matters and can't be missed. Tranche 4 is a one million euro investment into good causes - ensuring that the event is a force for good.

Does IRX already offer a small taste of ISPO with its programme?

Yes, in some ways. It shows a little bit of what Raccoon stands for. It's obviously a much smaller event and launched from nothing, but it was widely well received and we expect it to be a valuable companion to ISPO. It also shows how we want you to feel about our events - we want to deliver real business value (the head) but also a fun time and a positively engaging social experience (the heart).

Recently, fashion and sportswear have converged more closely at ISPO. Will you maintain this approach?

I think that is for the market to decide. At Raccoon, we believe that ISPO is an event that serves three core communities; Outdoor, Sporting Goods and Winter Sports. In my opinion, there are no longer clear lines between functionality and fashion, and I think that should be reflected at ISPO, but in a way that is sensitive and led by the communities that we serve.

The announcement mentioned optimisations. Does this also pertain to the number of exhibitors and the exhibition's size?

We want to create numerous pathways for stakeholders to engage with ISPO. In relation to size, we want to grow the event of course, but we want to grow it in a way that delivers well for exhibitors and sponsors in equal measure. At Raccoon we always measure the visitor-to-exhibitor ratio carefully and that is quite an important driver.

Are declining exhibitor and visitor numbers a concern for you as an organiser?

Yes, of course, and they factored into our thinking. However, we have the luxury of a few months before this year's event to actually start selling next year. The feedback has been amazing and we are very excited about the scale and the growth you will see in 2026.

What about the ISPO Awards?

We are reviewing this, of course, and reserve the right to do things slightly differently, but we intend to keep valuable things like the ISPO Awards and ISPO Brandnew.

This interview was conducted in written form.