GDS focuses even more on Information and Art

16 Sep '09

5 min read

Reliable information presented in concentrated and competent form. The lecture area Speakers Lounge located centrally in Hall 7.0 convinced visitors with interesting lectures in German and English on exciting themes like store design, motivation, add-ons and fashion trends provided the audience with new perspectives and helpful support concerning themes currently moving the shoe sector.

Kicking off the lectures on Friday was the company Schleifenbaum Design & Project. Fashion retail expert Hanns-Jürgen Assent thinks shopping is about pure seduction and desire. Like in a play at the theatre the main protagonists, the shoes, have to stand out from the crowd with their authenticity, winning over the hearts of customers with successful staging. This creative mind behind this idea presented new, forward-looking ideas to make shoes in stores and shop windows a tactile and emotional experience.

Nobody needs shoes! It was with this provocative statement that motivational speaker and sales instructor Hans Meurer presented himself to his audience. “If we only sold the shoes people need we would have all gone bankrupt long ago.” So, for need read 'want to have'. Social recognition, security, trust, self-respect and independence are the factors that make for 'motivational', emotional selling.

“People don't buy products, they buy feelings,” says a convinced Meurer. This is because products are interchangeable. What counts is the appreciation you show people. Membrane specialist Sympatex presented a little revolution in shoe breathability. Thanks to their newly developed Air-Jet technology breathability is achieved here not only via the sole but also via the leg. An innovative high-tech combination of uppers and lining makes for maximum dynamic breathability and 100% waterproofing and this innovation will be used for the first time in some of the shoe collections presented at GDS for the 2010 Spring/Summer season.

What will fashionable kids be wearing next summer? This question was explored by the firm Ricosta as part of the Kids' Business Brunch. Demonstrating how important and necessary fashion know-how is when advising even the youngest customers amongst us was Ricosta's successful combination of trend lecture and floor presentation. In cooperation with the children's fashion manufacturer 667 – baby of the beast the audience was given many fashion inspirations and specific order tips for the 2010 summer season.

Footwear accessories as lucrative generators of revenue – were a focal theme of the accessories seminar Furnituren-Special by the firms BNS und Pedag. Thomas Timm, Managing Director at Pedag, recommends exact target group analysis so as to cater in an even more intensive and targeted manner to customers' individual needs when selling footwear accessories. Pedag offers special shoe and foot care items tailored to urban, lifestyle and best-ager concepts. Thomas Ehlers, Sales Manager at the Mainz supplier BNS, relies on dialogue and friendly advice in the sales pitch.

More IGEDO Company News... More Fashion News - Germany...