BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
However, the sales spiel given to show exhibitors during the show was very upbeat, say exhibitors.
One of the sales team told exhibitors that Saturday’s gate beat the best ever single-day attendance at a UK bike show.
Show organiser Ayesha Daly will be back in the office on Thursday and will – hopefully – present preliminary figures, possibly as yet unaudited but a good indication of how successful the venue transplant turned out.
The sales team told most exhibitors that the average age of show visitor had risen this year, perhaps by as much as 8 years, taking the average age to 24+ years.
Krien Dawson of Vario, the French bike maker, said The Bike Show was still mostly an MTB show but the change of venue bodes well for the future:
"Before the show opened I personally felt the same way as many of my trade colleagues and customers, that Haymarket Exhibitions’ organisation and communication were badly managed, verging on the farcical on occasions.
"However, for Vario, the show was a incredible success as a flag flying exercise. I hope consumers will have taken good first impressions of our long-established but little-known French micro brand away with them. By way of bonus we have come away with some very good business done over the course of the three days, to both trade and end users.
"This show still is nowhere near perfect, and is still very much a MTB show, but if that’s your market then in my opinion it’s a good investment to be there.
"Can it be improved for next year? Yes, if Haymarket invest added value in the show and its services such as the test track facility."
