Welcome
As the new President of the European Outdoor Group (EOG), it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 17th OutDoor Trade Fair. Our industry looks forward to OutDoor as the perfect venue to present our companies, our products and our people.

OutDoor provides the perfect venue to renew and develop relationships, both business and social, and I believe we come away from OutDoor as a stronger and more cohesive industry as a result.

My role this morning is to give you a very short overview of what has been happening in the outdoor sector and what is on the horizon.

The situation last year
Exactly one year ago we were right in the middle of the biggest economic crisis the world has seen for some considerable time. From an outdoor perspective, we stated then that the outdoor industry was like a ‘Lighthouse in a stormy economic sea’ as our sector was still reporting positive growth. Yet at the same time we were cautious in our view of the coming months, stating that much would depend on levels of employment if our sector was to continue to see consumer confidence. So where are we now?

One Year On
Most countries have seen some level of stability return to their economies but we are still suffering from continued troubling economic news. The latest phase of the crisis is focusing on the levels of governmental debt. Across most of Europe we are seeing governments seeking to reduce their spending and lower their levels of national debt. With this comes the fear of cuts in state services and corresponding reductions in employment etc. In spite of this, we have stated before that we believe that outdoor activities are, for many consumers, a deep-seated passion that works as a necessary counter balance to the stresses of modern life, and nothing has changed since last year to make us doubt this. Our consumer study of last year, the growth figures from our companies and last but not least, the latest forecasts of turnover for our sector, all point towards the outdoor industry being in a healthy condition.

As an obvious source of information on the outdoor industry, the EOG is frequently asked to assist main stream newspapers and I would like to share with you a recent request from one of Germany’s largest daily newspapers, who’s Finance Editor is writing an article on the outdoor industry;

“I would like to ask you about the main reasons for the outdoor boom in the last years. I remember when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, hiking was the last and most boring thing to do for kids. Today my kids want a Wolfskin jacket, Lowa shoes and a coloured backpack and love to walk in the mountains…do you have an explanation for this phenomenon?”

You know, this is a re-assuring question to receive, as it is further anecdotal evidence that outdoor products are capturing the imagination of the public across all age ranges. More importantly, it is evidence that young people are interested in the outdoors and it is young people who represent the future of our industry. We are increasingly seeing societies reacting against the type of passive lifestyles that are leading to young people being overweight and unhealthy. Increasingly we see movement to promote a more active lifestyle for young people and outdoors is probably the finest way to achieve this. I believe this trend augers well for our industry for the future. Let’s be clear, outdoor products are great products and to be associated with outdoor activities is something to encourage – we see increasing evidence that our kids are starting to adopt this.

So, is the industry universally buoyant? Well if you take the figures recently released by NPD, then perhaps not. NPD’s survey of the market states that turnover in 2009 reduced by 1%, but from a specialist outdoor perspective (i.e. the brands that make up the membership of the EOG) we simply do not recognise this number. Many of our members have posted strong growth figures. For example: Jack Wolfksin, Fenix / Fjällräven, The North Face and Mammut Sports Group have all posted double digit growth figures in the last year.

Of course not every company is enjoying such growth, but even allowing for adjustment the EOG estimates that the specialist market grew on average by 2-3% during 2009, which in terms of our definition of ‘specialist’ gives a European outdoor industry turnover of approximately €6 billion. This is of course a lot less than the headline figure of €14.1 billion that NPD state, but please remember that their figure includes lots of areas we don’t include (e.g. ski, hunting, fishing etc and also includes the lower priced areas of the market that our members typically do not supply).

The differences between these figures highlights the difficulties of comparing market research data and more specifically how to define ‘outdoor’ within our industry. To ensure we continue to find solutions to this, the EOG is currently evaluating a new market survey system that we feel will empirically grow our knowledge significantly. We will update you on this at a later stage.

What are the key issues for the industry right now?
There are a number of new topics that the EOG is working on for the future and we believe it is important to have an industry wide approach to these topics.

Sustainability
Growth in any sector brings new challenges and one of the most important is ensuring that what we do has the minimal impact possible on our environment. To achieve this, the EOG set up the Sustainability Working Group in July 2008 and since then the group has been working tirelessly with our US colleagues at the Outdoor Industries Association, to develop an index for outdoor companies to use to evaluate their company’s environmental impact and to develop strategies to reduce this. We are pleased to announce that the Beta testing phase of this index will be launched at the Sustainability Breakfast at 08:30 on Friday the 16th in Room Berlin. In addition to this, the group will be hosting a second breakfast meeting on Saturday the 17th to look at the launch of a new tool for companies to use to keep up to date on environmental regulations.

Social Responsibility
Another aspect of company stewardship that is of key importance to us as an industry is that of Social Responsibility. Our sector is largely made up of small to medium sized enterprises that have typically developed their own social compliance codes over the years. Whilst this has served the industry well and has provided us with a generally good standard of social compliance, we are finding that there are more and more pressure groups intent on gaining publicity by criticising anyone who does not have an internationally recognised social compliance partner. This challenge does not hold any fear for our industry and the EOG is currently discussing sector partnerships with a number of providers such as the Fair Wear Foundation, the BSCI and MADE-BY. We expect to be providing all our members with an EOG endorsed CSR compliance policy in the near future. We believe this will be helpful to our members but will also offer our customers and consumers an assurance of a strong CSR policy across our industry. One thing we can say with certainty is that the outdoor industry is not comparable to fast fashion organisations and that we generally make durable, quality products to a high standard of social compliance.

Economic Pressures
Whilst our sector is buoyant in growth terms, we should also mention some of the other pressures that we see as an industry. During the last 20 plus years we have seen the majority of manufacturing move to Asia. This has generally been a positive trend in that it has brought relatively lower prices to consumers and also enlarged the worldwide economy. However, over the last year or so we have seen a significant movement in costs. This is attributable to a whole host of reasons such as rising raw materials prices, currency exchange fluctuations, labour cost increases and probably quite surprising for some people to hear, shortages in the availability of skilled labour. These are, naturally occurring factors as the world economy moves forward and reacts to changing circumstances and a developing economic environment. Such is the nature of competition within our industry that we believe outdoor brands will do everything they can to ensure that their products remain competitively priced and attractively priced to consumers. However, it may be that the days of relative cost reductions from Asia are over and that we all have to prepare for rising costs as we enter the next decade.

Conservation
Once again we are delighted to say that the industry’s conservation group, the EOG Association for Conservation, has gone from strength to strength. Boasting over 60 members the Association is tireless in raising money in order to support conservation projects. So if you would like to get yourself some outdoor gear at special prices and by doing so contribute to the work of the Association, then visit their booth in the East Foyer.

Summary

• The outdoor industry is in good health and has so far, weathered the economic storm.
• We still predict some turbulent times with economic pressures and austerity measures still capable of impacting what we do.
• Outdoor products are universally appealing and probably more widely accepted now than at any time previously.
• We need to build on this and reach out to ensure that access to the great outdoors is there for everyone, from young to old.
• We are building on a strong foundation to ensure that our sector has the right policies on the environment, sustainability and social compliance.
• Finally, we are all fortunate to be working in a wonderful industry. It is full of people with a real and driving passion for what they do and who are determined to deliver ever better products to our customers and consumers.

Above all, this is our life and I believe we all continue to have great fun doing what we do!

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 55 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402
vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

Zug, Switzerland – The European Outdoor Group’s Sustainability Working Group (SWG) is inviting all attendees at OutDoor to join them for breakfast, on two days, with the aim of working together in providing a common industry sustainability solution.

Continuing the breakfast workshop series, started at last year’s OutDoor, the SWG brings you ‘How sustainable is your business’, including the launch of the Beta Test phase of the Eco Index on Friday morning and on Saturday addresses Standards and Regulations with ‘Making regulatory compliance easier for you’. This will be a fantastic opportunity for everyone to update themselves; from 08.30am, Friday’s SWG breakfast will give an overview of work carried out so far in Europe and collaboratively on the US driven Eco Index. The Breakfast will be the platform to launch the Beta Test Phase and ask for your help in testing the system; the SWG will also give an overview of the work currently being carried out by the Standards and Regulations Committee and the End of Life Committee as they both strive to bring workable solutions to the industry; from 09.30am we will take a more in-depth look at the Eco Index providing you with the tools to be able to start working with it now.

Saturday’s SWG workshop will bring you a new tool for checking which standards and regulations you need to meet and which you have a choice about. The SWG has recently undertaken a Hot Spot survey to identify where the industry struggles and where best the Group can help, the results of this survey will be addressed during the meeting. The Workshop will also have Sylvain Chevassus, Project Manager for the Office of consumption and production managers, Commissioner General Sustainable Development, Department of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea from the French Government who will talk about the new legislation regarding carbon footprint labelling that will be launched in 2011. Again this workshop will be split, with the first hour from 08.30am giving you the overview and the presentation of the French legislation, then followed at 09.30am with a more in-depth workshop.

Two breakfasts and two very topical areas, both will take place in Room Berlin on the first floor in the East Entrance at Messe Friedrichshafen.

Friday 16th July 08.30am ‘How sustainable is your business’ – an overview of the Eco Index, followed at 09.30am by an in-depth how to use the Eco-Index workshop.

Saturday 17th July 08.30am ‘Making regulatory compliance easier for you’ – a new standards and regulations tool and a briefing on the French carbon footprinting legislation, followed at 09.30am by an in-depth workshop.

The Workshop’s offer companies of all sizes the opportunity to get involved, they are FREE for anyone attending OutDoor. All we ask is that you register to attend.

To register simply email your name and company to

For Friday to vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

For Saturday to tim.hudson1@btconnect.com

The work of the SWG is NOT exclusive to members of the European Outdoor Group; it is operating on an open source basis and welcomes involvement from all areas of the supply chain.

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 55 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, T: +44 1942 886402, E:vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) was established at an open meeting at the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany in 2008. The Steering Group of the SWG includes representatives from Vaude, Mammut, W L Gore, Salomon, Haglöfs, The North Face, Deuter, Petzl, SportScheck and the European Outdoor Group.

Further information about the Sustainability Working Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorsustainability.org
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, T: +44 1942 886402, E:vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

Mark Held, Secretary General, of the EOG commented, “As the industry itself changes, the European Outdoor Group has felt it necessary to restructure to ensure the appropriate flexibility to accommodate the requirements and demands of its growing membership and the industry itself.”

From the existing EOG Board, Albrecht von Dewitz of Vaude, announced his decision to step down from the Board. Rolf Schmid of the Mammut Sports Group, has stepped down as President and Claes Broqvist of Odlo, has stepped down as Vice President. Both Schmid and Broqvist will remain on the Board as ordinary members and this will aid continuity and ensure the EOG retains experience.

Additional changes are that Bernd Kullmann of Deuter has been elected as Vice President and Jean-Marc Pambet of Salomon and Eddy Codega of C.A.M.P. have formally joined the Board. Held further explained “With such a diverse membership base, we aim with the Board structure to cover as many nationalities, as many company types and as broad an experience base as possible. The objective being to have a Board that is truly representative of the membership.”

Eddy Codega has in addition also agreed to take over the role of Treasurer from Albrecht von Dewitz.

New President
With over 32 years experience working in the European outdoor industry, David Udberg, Managing Director, Lowe Alpine UK Ltd, has been voted in as the new President of the European Outdoor Group. Udberg has worked for Lowe Alpine for the past five years, previously holding international positions with The Mountain Boot Company/Mountain Range and Berghaus.

Udberg on accepting the Presidency commented, “I am honoured to have been selected as the new President of the European Outdoor Group. I would like to say a special thank you to our outgoing President, Rolf Schmid who has done an outstanding job of steering the group from its formation to where it is today. I am delighted that Rolf will remain as a Board member as his input and experience will be invaluable going forward. The EOG exists to serve the interests of its members and to provide a mechanism to promote the interests of the wider outdoor industry, my aim will be to ensure that we continue to fulfil expectations and ensure a successful future for the outdoor industry.”

Portfolio Responsibility
To ensure that the Board has maximum coverage, each member has agreed to take on a portfolio of responsibility, working on their individual areas with the Secretary General. The areas are as follows:

• EOG Strategy, Government Affairs and Trade Bodies – David Udberg
• Retail Community and Trade Fairs – Bernd Kullmann
• Market Research and Statistics – Claes Broqvist
• Sustainability – Jean-Marc Pambet
• Finance and Standards – Eddy Codega
• Marketing and Communications – Rolf Schmid

Assessing how the industry approaches the important area of Corporate Social Responsibility will be the common responsibility of the full board.

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 54 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

Research like this can never provide definitive answers to the challenges being faced by an industry but it does provide an extremely useful insight into consumer attitudes in these two markets.

<strong>Germany</strong>
The research reveals a strong association between outdoor pursuits and health and fitness. The increased focus on wellbeing has made outdoor recreation more important as a means of retreating from the chaos and pace of people’s everyday lives. 94% of those surveyed said the outdoor environment allows them to escape the everyday pressures of life, while 96% said they enjoy being at one with nature.

The frequency of activity amongst those being surveyed was high, with 39% saying that they participate a minimum of four times a month and a further 28% saying two or three times a month. For vacation trends Germany shows a split in thinking, with 43% stating that they intend to stay within their own country, while 45% will continue to travel into other countries. On a positive note, outdoor enthusiasts remain resilient with 86% of those surveyed intending to spend either ‘more’ or ‘about the same’ as last year on outdoor related travel and accommodation.

Switzerland
Many of the findings for Switzerland are in line with those of Germany, with 91% of those surveyed agreeing that the outdoors allows them to escape everyday pressures of life and 98% stating that they enjoy being at one with nature.

The figures differ when you look at commitment to participation in Switzerland which is much higher at over half 52% participating in outdoor sports more than 4 times a month and a further 26% 2 or 3 times a month.

When it comes to vacations the Swiss are said to be the largest spenders per head of population in Europe. Just over half (52%) said that they intend to spend more of their outdoor activity or holiday at home, while 34% were undecided.

A reassuring 84% of those surveyed said that they expect to spend either ‘more’ or ‘about the same’ as last year on product. Quality came out as the top reason for purchasing for 98% of respondents and 96% of those surveyed confirmed that past experience influenced their purchases.

Future growth in the outdoor sector is well supported by favourable trends in participation, lifestyle and demographics for both Switzerland and Germany. All indications bode extremely well for the industry as we head into a new decade.

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 54 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

Continuing the breakfast workshop series, started at OutDoor last summer, the SWG brings you a reason to get up on a cold winter’s morning: the Sustainability Breakfast Open Meeting. This will be a fantastic opportunity for everyone to update themselves; the breakfast will give an overview of the SWG workplan and US driven Eco Index, a look at the resources available through the website, as well as provide two major industry speakers.

This is an important and highly topical Sustainability Workshop where speakers will cover carbon footprinting, organic fibres, materials and business resources. The Workshop will take place from 8.00am on the Monday morning of ispo, the 8th February, in Room Turmblick in Restaurant Am Turm. The Workshop will offer an opportunity for the industry to get involved, hear the latest developments, and the SWG are also inviting key industry professionals along to ensure that the event is of benefit to all in the industry.

Dr Klaus Radunsky, co-convenor ISO 14067, and head of Unit of the Emission Trading Registry Department of the Umweltbundesamt GmbH (Federal Environment Agency) in Austria, will provide the latest update on ISO 14067 in his presentation entitled ‘ISO 14067 ‘Carbon Footprint of Products’ From Vision to Reality”.

Andy Salm, program director Organic Exchange Europe will give an overview of the work undertaken by the Organic Exchange and highlight some of the newer areas of work as they broaden their scope into all sustainable fibres and textiles. In his presentation ‘The Sustainability Imperative – New Challenges in building textile Value Chains’ Andy will discuss how brands and retailers are now scrutinising their entire textile supply chains from both a social and environmental point of view and how this scrutiny is moving right back to fibre production, whether it is natural or man made. This implies developing a greater knowledge of the supply chains and converting them to value chains, where there are sustainable benefits for all involved.

The SWG will give an update on the work currently being undertaken by both themselves and the US Eco Working Group and will provide the audience with a new business resource that will allow them to find new sustainable information easily.

This meeting is for all sizes of companies, small and large alike and is FREE for anyone attending ispo. All you have to do is register to attend so that ispo security will allow you into the show early.

And, maybe best of all, as you’re expected to get up so early, the SWG thought they’d better provide you with breakfast, which The North Face® have very kindly agreed to sponsor.

To register simply email your name and company to info@europeanoutdoorsustainability.org

The work of the SWG is NOT exclusive to members of the European Outdoor Group; it is operating on an open source basis and welcomes involvement from all areas of the supply chain.

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 52 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) was established at an open meeting at the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany in 2008. The Steering Group of the SWG is currently made up of representatives from adidas, Vaude, Mammut, W L Gore, Salomon, Haglöfs, The North Face, Deuter, Globetrotter, Petzl, Bever Zwerfsport and the European Outdoor Group.

Further information about the Sustainability Working Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorsustainability.org
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

At the Steering Group meeting of the Sustainability Working Group (part of the European Outdoor Group) in November, Cortney McDermott (CSR & Sustainability Manager, The North Face EMEA) was re-elected as Chair of the Steering Group. Cortney has been a strong leader for the Group since it first started in 2008; she commented, ‘I am delighted that the whole Group has shown confidence and support of the work that I have been doing; as a team we are working well together, and without the Group’s support I wouldn’t be able to do the work necessary. During 2010 the Steering Group and the various committees working under our guidance will start bringing sustainable solutions to the industry that can be utilised by small and large companies alike. This is a fantastic collaborative industry initiative and we encourage more companies and individuals to become involved.’

At a vote just prior to Christmas the Steering Group also voted on the Vice Chairs of the Steering Group, retaining Anne Girard, Petzl and voting in a new replacement Vice Chair for Kilian Hochrein. Saskia Preenen, from Salomon has accepted the position of Vice Chair. Kilian Hochrein will continue as Chair of the Standards and Regulations Committee, a sub committee of the Sustainability Working Group and will now be able to concentrate on the progression of the work being undertaken in the area of standards, regulations and labels.

Saskia brings different skills to the position of Vice-Chair including a global overview of the product creation process and project management experience to bring real time solutions. On hearing that she had been voted in to the position of Vice-Chair Saskia commented ‘I am eager to take on the additional responsibility within the Steering Group, because I firmly believe in the work we are doing. The Sustainability Working Group can do so much more for the outdoor industry than as a single company and by working together we can make a difference.’

The work of the SWG is NOT exclusive to members of the European Outdoor Group; it is operating on an open source basis and welcomes involvement from all areas of the value chain.

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry. Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 52 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) was established at an open meeting at the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany in 2008. The Steering Group of the SWG is currently made up of representatives from adidas, Vaude, Mammut, W L Gore, Salomon, Haglöfs, The North Face, Deuter, Globetrotter, Petzl, Bever Zwerfsport and the European Outdoor Group.

The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) was started in 2008 as an industry led initiative and the Standards and Regulations Committee is now the second committee actively working on key areas of concern for the outdoor sector. Chaired by Kilian Hochrein from W L Gore, the Committee has members from Vaude, Polartec, Deuter, BlueSign, Outdoor Industries Association, Shirley Technologies, Aku, Dialog Textil-Bekleidung, German Fashion (Association), DSM Materials, Häglofs and Ferrino.

The aim of the Committee is to provide the European outdoor industry (Suppliers, Brands, Retail, Media, Consumers) with practical awareness of relevant existing and emerging, product related Legislation, Standards, Labels, and Frameworks regarding chemical product safety (restricted substances) and environment. In addition it will also promote and support effective industry-wide, coordinated implementation.

Kilian Hochrein in discussing the aims of the Standards and Regulations Committee commented that “the industry is currently faced by diverse levels of information, it is extremely difficult for small and medium sized companies to have the resources to understand all that could be relevant and available to them with regards to sustainability issues, we hope that by working collectively we can provide a relevant tool that the whole industry will be able to make use of.”

Mark Held, Secretary General of the European Outdoor Group stated “As the SWG develops and grows it is vital to the relevance to the industry that we encourage as many companies and organisations as possible to become involved, all sizes and all parts of the supply chain through to retail are welcome. The website provides a vital link and acts as a resource for the industry. The more diverse and industry representative the membership of the SWG is, the closer the results will be to a true industry solution.”

The work of the SWG is NOT exclusive to members of the European Outdoor Group; it is operating on an open source basis and welcomes involvement from all areas of the value chain.

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 52 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

The Sustainability Working Group was established at an open meeting at the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany in 2008. The Steering Group of the SWG is currently made up of representatives from adidas, Vaude, Mammut, W L Gore, Salomon, Haglöfs, The North Face, Deuter, Globetrotter, Petzl, Bever Zwerfsport and the European Outdoor Group.

To this end, Anne Girard from Petzl, who is co-chair of the EOG’s Sustainability Working Group and Jill Dumain from Patagonia, who is chair of the OIA Sustainability and Fair Labor Advisory Council will lead the coordination efforts between the two groups.

Anne Girard commented, “Informally the two organisations have been working together since inception, but we have now reached a formal agreement which will bring clarity to the relationship, over the coming weeks we will aim to find ways that the various committees can work together to ensure a cohesive approach to sustainability for the whole industry.”

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 48 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on this website. Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402
Email: vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

The Sustainability Working Group was established at an open meeting at the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany in 2008. The Steering Group of the SWG is currently made up of representatives from adidas, Vaude, Mammut, W L Gore, Odlo, Salomon, Haglöfs, The North Face, Deuter, Globetrotter, Petzl, Bever Zwerfsport and the European Outdoor Group.

Further information about the Sustainability Working Group can be found on the website: www.europeanoutdoorsustainability.org
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402
Email: vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

Information on the OIA Sustainability and Fair Labor Advisory Council can be found at:
www.outdoorindustry.org/research.working.php?action=detail&researh_id+53

Started in 2008 as an industry led initiative the Sustainability Working Group (SWG) now has committees actively working on key areas of concern for the outdoor sector. One of these is the End Of Life Options Committee (EoL Committee) which is Chaired by Adrian Huber from the Mammut Sports Group and has members from Vaude, Salomon, W L Gore, the University of Applied Sciences HTW, Azimut, Advansa, Eco Guides (NGO), Klättermusen, Polartec, Bergans, Helly Hansen and Invista. The aim of the Committee is to provide and promote cooperative End of Life solutions to the outdoor industry, including:
• A sustainable business model
• Quantified key impacts (economic, ecological, and social)
• Concrete solutions which optimise economic value versus ecological footprint
• Approaching and engaging consumers and key stakeholders

In talking about the End of Life business model, Adrian Huber commented that “the industry currently has programmes running at company level but we aim to provide a business model that can help the industry as a complete entity, therefore providing a cohesive high impact solution. Whatever the final model looks like it is important that it works for all sizes of company and all parts of the value chain.”

The EoL Committee has already planned its strategic objectives; the plan will be to have at least 10 major brands committed to the End of Life business model by 2012; it will involve stakeholders at all levels in utilising existing End of Life infrastructures; it will take into consideration existing best practice examples and these will be worked with and improved; the business model / End of Life solutions are based on real business, all stakeholders involved must receive a benefit; whatever route is chosen must also be adaptable, useable by the textile and fashion industries.

The work of the Sustainability Working Group is NOT exclusive to members of the European Outdoor Group; it is operating on an open source basis and welcomes involvement from all areas of the value chain. Mark Held, Secretary General of the European Outdoor Group stated “The European Outdoor Group works on behalf of the whole outdoor sector; we would encourage everyone wishing to get involved with the Sustainability Working Group to go to the website and sign up. The more diverse and industry representative the membership of the SWG is, the closer the results will be to a true industry solution.”

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 48 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the whole European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

The Sustainability Working Group was established at an open meeting at the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany in 2008. The Steering Group of the SWG is currently made up of representatives from adidas, Vaude, Mammut, W L Gore, Odlo, Salomon, Haglöfs, The North Face, Deuter, Globetrotter, Petzl, Bever Zwerfsport and the European Outdoor Group.

Further information about the Sustainability Working Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorsustainability.org
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com

Welcome
On behalf of the European Outdoor Group a warm welcome to the 16th OutDoor Trade Fair.

Since our last fair, the world has been taken up with stories of economic crisis and difficult times for many industrial sectors. We hope that OutDoor 2009 will prove to be an oasis in troubled times, that will refresh you and leave you feeling more able to face the world. In fact the very feeling we are left with after being out in the great outdoors that we love so much.

But describing outdoor as an ‘Oasis’ doesn’t mean that we are necessarily immune from the world’s woes and neither would I want to give the impression that we are anything other than aware, ready and prepared to do what we have to to keep our companies successful in difficult times. But the simple fact remains that so far; outdoor has weathered the crisis remarkably well.

So I will touch on some of these issues and will also update you on our initiatives in other areas such as sustainability, lobbying and the great work the EOG Association for Conservation is doing to protect wild areas.

Outdoor and the Economy
It seems to me that every time I listen to the news, or read a paper, the ‘Credit Crunch’ is the main topic. (Not withstanding Michael Jackson of course!). Nothing but bad news and with it, the potential for us all to talk ourselves down into a deep, collective abyss. But national media with its fixation on a single unified message completely misses the fact that economics have a differing impact on different sectors. Outdoor activities are for many of our customers, a deep-seated passion that works as the perfect antidote to the stresses of modern life. I have stated previously that I didn’t believe that our consumers would stop their outdoor activities as a result of this crisis and every single day they are proving me right. Which means of course that the outdoor sector has not been as badly affected as other business areas, a fact I know only too well from the results of industrial companies in our group.

But what does this mean in reality? The common agreement about the figures for 2007 was for a growth figure of 3.4%. Giving an overall size of the European Outdoor market of between €5.4 to €10.4 billion depending on which part of the market you focus on. The European Outdoor Group looks at the top specialist end of the market and hence the 5.4, whilst NPD’s figure of 10.4 billion figure takes the whole of the wider market including own label, fishing, hunting and snowsports. So that was the position at the end of 2007, but what about 2008? By the end of the year the European sports sector is estimated to have lost 1% of its total turnover, whilst the US market is estimated to have shrunk by 2%. But in the outdoor sector things have panned out differently with the latter half of 2008 benefitting from a cold and snowy winter, in fact perfect conditions for the outdoor and ski industry. Now before we get carried away, I am not unfortunately about to announce record growth, nor am I about to show you a chart with definitive figures, as the current situation is complex and difficult to assess. What I will say however is that the current estimates from a well known organisation of 1% growth for the wider, 0% growth for core outdoor, seem to us to be difficult to reconcile. What evidence you might ask do I have for this statement? Well for a start I find myself thinking about the results of some of the key companies such as The North Face, Jack Wolfskin and my own company, the Mammut Sports Group. For these three companies alone the average growth for 2008 amounted to over 16%! Sure there are brands that have not done as well but qualitative information that is available to us indicates that the companies that exhibit at OutDoor have collectively seen a modest increase in turnover for 2008 and perhaps more importantly, have relatively healthy orders for 2009. Putting a figure on this is as I have explained a difficult task and we have to consider that some markets are healthier than others, but overall our estimate for 2008 was for a growth of between 1.2 and 1.4%. This means that we believe the core specialist market to be worth between €5.745 billion and €5.755 billion Euros at retail prices.

These figures would have been even better but for one area, and this is the wider lifestyle market that is suffering in much the same way that general clothing retail is suffering.

So to summarise, our key points are:
1. Outdoor is a success story of the economic crisis
2. Outdoor activists are as committed as ever
3. Lifestyle sales are the most vulnerable as these are subject to general retail trends and this brings into focus the danger of chasing popular trends
4. In many respects it is the weather that is the dominant factor
5. The outlook for our sector in 2009 is good considering the circumstances and in particular the figures for Germany look set to outstrip the growth in 2008
6. We are as an industry hugely grateful for the positives that we have but are very much on alert and prepared for any changes that might alter the situation.

Sustainability
Whilst the economic situation has been uppermost on many people’s minds, as an industry we cannot allow such issues to halt progress in other areas. I won’t labour the point in too much detail, but I would just like to state that as an industry sector that relies on the natural environment, we are taking our responsibilities in terms of sustainability very seriously. A year ago we held an open meeting at which any company involved in the outdoor sector was welcome and at which we discussed how we collectively approach and develop the issue. Out of this meeting the Sustainability Working Group was established and has been working hard ever since. Chaired by Cortney McDermott of The North Face and Co Chaired by Kilian Hochrein and Anne Girard of WL Gore and Petzl respectively, this group has been assessing the current situation and how we need to develop to ensure our companies are at the forefront in terms of sustainability. Core sub groups are working on issues such as Standards and Regulations and End of Life Options and they are also working closely with their sister group in the US. Here at OutDoor they will be holding an open meeting to give an update on progress and some industry specific information on the EU REACH regulations. I would urge anyone interested to attend this meeting, which will be held tomorrow at the early time of 08:30 in this room.

Industry Representation
There are aspects of the work of the European Outdoor Group that are not often seen publicly and one of these is the lobbying work done on behalf of not only our members, but the whole outdoor industry. In particular the European Outdoor Group has been very active in the EU areas of Anti Dumping Duties, Personal Protective Equipment Classification and it is now working on regulations concerning Biocides. On the international stage, the outdoor industry is only as strong as its collective will and determination to have a joined up approach to legislation. The European Outdoor Group provides this.

New Facilities at OutDoor
I am sure that all of you will be aware of the opening of the new facilities here at Messe Friedrichshafen. We believe that these will add to the scope, quality and presence of OutDoor and we would like to offer both our thanks and congratulations to the team at Messe Friedrichshafen for this wonderful achievement. Similarly we would also extend the same thanks to the hard working OutDoor Project Team led by Stefan Reisinger, who do a fantastic job of working with our industry to ensure that OutDoor remains the most important fair in our sector.

On a positive note
I would like to end by reminding everyone of another great news story about our industry.

I have already mentioned our reliance on there being a natural outdoor environment in which we can undertake our activities, and taking this to the next step we feel strongly that we should be actively involved in protecting this environment. The EOG Association for Conservation was set up three years ago to raise funds from within the outdoor industry in order to support grass roots conservation projects. Since its first small steps and including this years grants, the Association will have given over
€500,000 to environmental projects which range from natural forest regeneration to protecting endangered species. Many of these projects are in the former Eastern block where there are still large areas of natural habitat, but there are also major economic pressures and with these, threats to the environment. The Association represents yet another side of the collective will of the industry and I feel proud to be part of a sector that is reaching out and making a real difference. We feel half a million Euros is just the beginning and there is much, much more we can do, so I urge you all to attend the Association’s press conference and find out first hand. The press conference will take place tomorrow at 13:00 in this very room.

Have a great OutDoor
On behalf of the Board of the European Outdoor Group, it is my pleasure to wish you all a successful and enjoyable OutDoor 2009.