A total of over 900 footwear brands exhibited at GDS. At tag it! by gds, the second new concept premiered by the trade show, an additional 370 names were on show waiting to be discovered. This attracted visitors from over 100 countries, who gathered information on the up-and-coming trends at the beginning of the new footwear season.
Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf said that feedback from exhibitors was positive although also said that overall visitor numbers were only 91% compared with the corresponding edition last year when the show was held in September. Dornscheidt said that expected some decline in visitor numbers for this edition but that expected higher numbers for the February 2015 edition.
The new dates have been organised before the traditional summer holiday period in the Northern Hemisphere, especially Europe following requests by the trade to preview new collections earlier in the season.
At the latest edition, which included music from US pop star Beth Ditto, showcased collections for the 2015 Spring and Summer season.
