In total 29,500 trade visitors used the three-day event to gather information on the 2010/11 Autumn/Winter season and place their orders. Prevailing in the exhibition halls was a concentrated working atmosphere. The unanimous mood among exhibitors was that buyers were in good spirits and the talks they held struck a positive note that had not been felt for some time.

Kirstin Deutelmoser said: “GDS was a key indicator for the sector. Retailers have substantially benefited from the long and cold winter. Their stocks are depleted and need to be replenished for next winter. We felt optimism and a good mood paired with a concentrated though relaxed working atmosphere on all three days.”

Commenting on the changed days of the week she explained: “Together with the Advisory Board we decided on changing to weekdays. We are confident this move will make GDS and Global Shoes even more attractive. Thanks to the new days we have avoided the day with the highest retail sales – Saturday. This means retailers no longer have to decide between visiting the trade fair and selling.  The 111th GDS will run from 16-18 March 2011. For the forthcoming GDS the Friday to Sunday format will remain unchanged.”

Almost half of the visitors came from abroad. At the same time, the trade fair duo succeeded in widening its reach within Germany, welcoming a higher number of buyers from Southern Germany. Visitors included renowned retail firms as Alsterhaus, Amazon, KDW, Prange, Tretter, Zumnorde (all German), SOK (Finnish), Jones Bootmaker and Office (British), Apollon & Afrodite (Norwegian), and Aleksi 13 (Finland). Three-quarters of visitors were buyers with a say in the decision-making process. Around 94% rated GDS as good to very good and were very satisfied with their visit. In addition to the versatile ranges on show visitors praised the “proximity to trends”, the information side events and the GDS fashion shows.

The shows were held at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre attracted 1,120 exhibitors from 40 countries. At GDS, 1,750 collections were exhibited for the 2010/11 Autumn/Winter season along with trends for the current season.

The next GDS / Global Shoes fairs will be from 10-12 September. For 2011 the exhibition dates are 16-18 March and 7-9 September.

For more visit www.gds-online.com and www.globalshoes-online.com.