•ispo summer is being canceled until further notice following discussion and agreement with purchasing and industry associations
• New offers in 2008: "Running" and "Sports Source Europe"
• Additional segment-specific trade fairs starting in 2009
• Messe München GmbH has concluded a strategic alliance with the largest North American sports trade fair organizer Nielsen Business Media / cooperation in all markets / planning joint trade fairs starting in 2009

Messe München GmbH has developed a new concept for its summer events in the area of sporting goods/sportstyle to do justice to the far-reaching changes in the summer sports market. Two changes are characterizing the industry: on one hand, strong segmentation in individual areas such as running, outdoor, canoe/kayaking, sourcing, etc. with their own actors, order periods, industry demands as well as lifestyles, and on the other hand rapidly progressing internationalization, "We as Messe München work closely with the sporting goods and sportstyle industries to detect developments at an early stage and consider them in our offers. The industry has confirmed to us in numerous discussions with exhibitors and retailers that the need for platforms in the summer remains substantial. As we have done for more than 35 years, we are also considering the new developments in the market now and will provide customized offers for the respective segments in the industry. In agreement with the purchasing associations Intersport and Sport 2000 as well as the industry associations World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), German Association of the Sporting Goods Industry (BSI) and Association of German Sporting Goods Retailers (VDS), we consequently decided to suspend ispo summer with its very wide range of offers until further notice. But there will still be summer platforms of Messe München for the sporting goods industry. With the Running Order Show and Sports Source Europe, we are already providing concepts in the summer
2008, which are customized to meet the specific requirements of these segments," Manfred Wutzlhofer, Chief Executive Officer of Messe München, stated.

Running Order Show will be the first B2B event for the Running segment worldwide
Messe München is holding the Running Order Show in the M,O,C, Munich Order Center from June 29 till July 1, 2008. "With that, we are providing the sole B2B platform worldwide for the running segment, which is the driving force of sporting goods retail sales with approx. 20 percent of sales," Tobias Gröber, Head of ispo Group, explained.
The trade fair will be held in collaboration with the LEX Group, the leading retailers' association for running and walking. "We are looking forward to working together with Messe München. Many of us often visited ispo with pleasure in the past. We expect that the Running Order Show will provide new stimuli for positioning ourselves on the market in the coming years," according to Christian Bossow, Managing Director of the LEX Group.
The Running Order Show is divided into the areas of shoes, clothing, accessories, triathlon, Nordic Walking, nutrition, running analysis methods and materials management.

Sports Source Europe will bring suppliers and exhibitors in Europe together
With Sports Source Europe, which will take place parallel to the new Running Order Show at the M,O,C, from June 29 till July 1, 2008, Messe München GmbH is creating a professional and independent platform in Europe for the growing sourcing segment in addition to the Sports Source Asia, which started successfully in 2007. "At our trade fairs, an increasing number of exhibitors and wholesalers with their own brands have spoken to us about an independent sourcing platform in Europe. It is a lot more efficient for them than visiting individual sourcing markets," Tobias Gröber explained. "Because sporting goods are becoming increasingly
more fashionable and more oriented to lifestyle, they are increasingly subject to shortterm trends. In addition to Asia as the leading production region for sporting goods, sourcing markets at the doorstep of Europe such as North Africa and Eastern Europe and especially Turkey and Portugal are becoming increasingly more important."

Another trade fair will be launched in 2009
Messe München is already preparing another trade fair in Munich. "We are paying special attention to the growth segment of sportstyle in this. Consequently, we are planning a platform for sports-inspired lifestyle in 2009", Manfred Wutzlhofer stated.

Strategic Alliance with Nielsen Business Media
Messe München GmbH has concluded a strategic alliance with the largest North American sports trade fair organizer Nielsen Business Media to be able to act in all important markets worldwide. "The creation of lucrative new markets, above all in China, is contributing to the continual internationalization of the sporting goods industry. Consequently, we have concluded a strategic alliance with the biggest North American sport trade fair organizer Nielsen Business Media. Together, we are represented in all important markets worldwide. Thanks to this cooperation, we can also expand our activities substantially in the important North American market. In addition, we are planning to hold trade fairs jointly on new markets," according to Manfred Wutzlhofer.

Contact:

Susanne Fischer
Messe München GmbH
Head of Marketing & Communications for Consumer Goods Trade Fairs
Tel: +49 (89) 949 20870
susanne.fischer@messe-muenchen.de

MK/sf