BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Snow and freezing conditions failed to stop thousands of visitors descending on London’s ExCeL for the 2013 London Bike Show, held alongside The Outdoors Show, The Active Travel Show and the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show.
The attendance for The London Bike Show, The Outdoors Show and The Active Travel Show was 37,684 – a substantial increase of 18 per cent on 2012, organiser VOS Media reported.
You can take a look at our Facebook gallery from the show here. There’s a report on the show in our forthcoming mag (Feb edition) too. There’s also more on the show here.
Next year will see the show take place later in the calendar: The London Bike Show, The Outdoors Show and The Active Travel Show will return to ExCeL London from February 13th to 16th 2014.
When the show launched in 2011 it had 50 exhibitors over 3,000sqm in size. In comparison the 2013 show had over 200 exhibitors and covered 14,000sqm. This year the show hosted the IG London Nocturne for the first time, using a 500m track that – when not in Nocturne use – doubled up as the RCUK test track.
FACE Partnership MD James Pope said: "The IG London Nocturne racing at The London Bike Show was a huge success, and a great way to launch our 2013 event at Smithfield Market in June. From the
Norglide Elite Criterium to the Brooks Penny Farthing race, we were delighted to bring a new dimension to the increasingly popular London Bike Show."
Cycle celebs like Sir Chris Hoy, Danny MacAskill Jody Cundy MBE, Mark Colbourne MBE and Martyn Ashton (via the Animal Bike Tour) appeared at the show, which also hosted a significant number of pro team launches, including Madison Genesis, IG Sigma Sport, Spin Rotor Primal Europe Originals, the CTC women’s team and Team ASL 360.
VOS Media’s Group Show director Geraldine Reeve commented: “The progress The London Bike Show has made in just three years is tremendous and the 2013 show was one of the busiest shows I’ve personally ever been involved with. We knew after the successes in the Tour de France and at the Olympics we had a fantastic opportunity and we delivered. Exhibitors, sponsors and partners benefitted from the large, good quality audience and we’re delighted the industry is seeing great value in being part of the show.
“Exhibitors have put their faith in VOS Media since day one and they’ve helped shape and develop the show over the past three years. We have excellent events knowledge which has been built up over many years and we know what visitors and exhibitors want from an exhibition, but we couldn’t have achieved the
success on our own. This year saw the amalgamation of the IG London Nocturne with the show which was the perfect fit and added a new dimension to the show.”
VOS Media has also passed on a number of exhibitor testimonials:
“This year’s London Bike Show was yet again a huge success for Madison. It was great to see the show so packed, despite the snowfall over the weekend, and our stand was exceptionally busy at all times. We also chose to launch our new Madison Genesis road team at the show on the Saturday, to a packed audience. This was followed by a win in the elite race at the IG London Nocturne, by one of our riders, Ian Bibby. Fantastic start to the race season.”
Kellie Parsons, Head of Marketing, Madison
"Loved the show. As an online brand it’s really important for us to give people the chance to see and get their hands on our product. The show delivered a fantastic audience and doing the show again next year is a big priority for us" Alex Palmer, UK Country Manager, Canyon
"We felt it was a huge success. Visitor numbers were above our expectations and many of the visitors were serious about purchasing. Following the show our retailers have been pleased with the business passed on from inquiries at the show." Guy Farrant, Director, ATB Sales
"Once again the London Bike Show proved its ability to attract a wide range of cycling enthusiasts with a great level of footfall across all 4 days. The show gives Sigma Sport a great platform to get in front of a new audience and deliver our brand message through face to face interactions, something we still believe is invaluable even in the digital world. The added element of the IG London Nocturne gave the show a unique dimension which helped it stand out from other shows around the UK."
Calvin Cox, Marketing Manager, Sigma Sport
‘It was great to see the London Bike Show even busier and more popular than last year. It’s been a great opportunity to meet people who have already taken part
in one of our bike rides or are keen to get involved. There’s nothing like being able to talk about our exciting bike programme with the passionate bike show visitors. We’re looking forward to 2014 already’ Ali Rulton, Events Project Manager, British Heart Foundation
"The 2012 show was great and the largest numbers we’ve experienced in a long time. We were amazed that the show was so much busier in 2013. Keep doing what you do LBS we are definitely coming back." David Smith, UK Market Manager, Clif Bar
