The new concepts of the shoe trade fair duo GDS – International Event for Shoes & Accessories – and GLOBAL SHOES – leading trade show for sourcing - have been well received by both trade and industry. The majority of the exhibitors and visitors agreed that the new hall layout and reorganization of exhibit category locations has noticeably stimulated the trade fair business. According to preliminary counts, approximately 33,000 buyers visited the shows (6,500 of those attended GLOBAL SHOES 2008) at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. With these figures, both trade fairs closed almost with the same results as last year (33,500 visitors at the September 2007 event) and stood their ground despite the current tight market situation. A total of 1,269 exhibitors (820 exhibitors with just under 2,000 collections at GDS 2008 and 449 exhibitors at GLOBAL SHOES 2008) from 40 countries present shoe fashion for Spring/Summer 2009 on 1.6 million square feet of exhibit space.

Almost every second visitor at GDS 2008 came from outside of Germany( from 83 nations), with the Benelux countries, Italy, Great Britain, France and Denmark as the leading foreign visitor nations. With 55%, the proportion of foreign visitors at GLOBAL SHOES 2008 was even higher. The visitors were from 59 countries, with the largest foreign visitor contingents coming from the Benelux countries, Poland, Spain and Israel.

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, commented: “Before the start of the trade fairs we were very anxious to see how well the new concepts would be received by the market. At the end of the day the intense efforts of the past few months have more than paid off. The positive response across the board shows that GDS and GLOBAL SHOES have taken a further step in the right direction."

Ralph Rieker, Managing Partner of RICOSTA Schuhfabriken, agreed: “We are pleasantly surprised. Customer numbers and quality were right, we were pretty busy on all three days and our order books were also filled well.” In his function as President of The Federation of the German Footwear Industry (HDS), Ralph Rieker commented: “The restructuring of the two trade fairs has produced noticeably positive results. Separating the dates and exhibit area of GDS and GLOBAL SHOES is the right decision and has been received very well by manufacturers. Furthermore, the shorter distances to walk in the halls and the reorganized exhibit category locations allow visitors to look around more and perhaps to discover something new. I can only say: Keep it up!”

“The situation in German and European shoe retailing is anything but relaxed these days. We were therefore all the more pleased with the positive mood felt throughout the exhibition halls,” stated Fritz Terbuyken, Member of the Board of anwr – Ariston-Nord-West-Ring, one of Europe’s largest purchasing cooperatives with 1,700 independent specialist shoe retailers and 800 German specialist sporting goods retailers. “The fashion statement of GDS was right to the point and the ancillary program an asset for every retailer, some of which still have to get used to the new “routing”. It is good to see that many retailers have used GDS again as an information and order platform. After all, transparency is now key for retail. And GDS has “explained” the coming season very well.”

Italian prime label Attilio Giusti Leombruni also reported a successful participation: “There were more customers at our stand than before including excellent new contacts from Russia,” said owner Attilio Giusti. "Despite the difficult current situation, retailers have placed some good orders with us. GDS is an indispensable trade fair for us.”

In 2009, GDS will take place from March 13 – 15 and September 11 – 13 while GLOBAL SHOES will be held from March 12 - 14 and September 10 - 12.For further information on visiting or exhibiting at GDS or GLOBAL SHOES 2009, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com. Or visit the web site http://www.mdna.com.