Project director, Kirstin Deutelmoser, has told footwearbiz.com that exhibitors and visitors at recent editions of the event have reacted positively to new initiatives such as the special “concept areas” she and her team have set up. They have given the exhibition a more fashionable feel, she said, claiming that this, in turn, had convinced important brands to renew their relationship with GDS.

According to Ms Deutelmoser, the European footwear retailers who make up the bulk of visitors to GDS are still under pressure to cut costs. In spite of this, she insisted that a visit to the event could help them build a positive marketing strategy. “It’s fine to focus on products,” she said, “but you can only build a proper marketing strategy, in my opinion, if you tell a story about who you are and what you’re doing. It could be that it’s a family-run footwear store, founded by the grandfather of the present owner, and that it still maintains the tradition of quality. It can be a great story, and I think they should advertise around it. The most important thing is that, whatever companies say about themselves, they should be authentic.”

She added that attending GDS can help footwear retailers put their stories together, help them decide the look and feel that is right for them and the consumers they serve.

As for exhibitors, Ms Deutelmoser pointed out that when, in November 2005, she took up her current role—having worked previously on lingerie exhibitions—she deliberately moved the focus of GDS “back to Europe”. European exhibitors still take up the bulk of space available at the event. “I am really sure now that this was a good decision,” she said. “We are a global trade show, but to attract visitors, we have to have good European brands around. Visitors, especially those from smaller retail companies, want to see the big brands.”

Her first 18 months in the job have been challenging. It’s no secret that GDS’s reputation had taken one or two body-blows in the first half of the decade. The project director said in her conversation with us that the recovery was well under way: Italian, French and Spanish exhibitors are starting to come back, and the last edition of the show in March attracted 33,000 trade visitors, mostly from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia.

Progress in the UK market has been slower, she acknowledged. UK retailers were among the last to give up on what she already refers to as “the old GDS”, so it’s no real surprise to her that they should take longer to come back. At the same time, she said confidently that a continued commitment to innovation would help win them round in time.

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