GDS reverses its steps. Next year the Düsseldorf fair board will move its July event to September, following the group of leather-area shows that, after pushing hard for earlier dates, is now back-pedaling. Precise days have not, however, been announced. For GDS the risk of remaining slated for July was very high since the past summer edition saw the desertion of 140 exhibitors out of a total of 880, with a huge drop in visitors, from 15,500 (July 2015) to 12,500 this year. Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, said this about the decision: “Three years ago we scheduled GDS earlier after consulting footwear and distribution operators. A lot of things have happened since then and now everyone is talking about great market uncertainty. Even if the needs of individual players are extremely different, now, after intense discussions, it turns out that to give the show an international character again something needs to change. GDS will be held from Sunday to Tuesday to meet the needs of the owners and employees of small retail stores”. While not mentioning dates, Dornscheidt considers no obstacle the fact that re-scheduling GDS in September might overlap with other events slated for that period. (mv)
GDS: from 2017 the fair moves from July to September. Milano Unica does the opposite
