Eat x Drink x Smoke x Chat = Do Work
February 13, 2012

Fresh off the plane from Denver through Washington, we arrive at the ISPO trade fair in Munich, Germany. I don’t want to give you the wrong idea on how business gets done in Europe, but it's definitely different than the states. Shows in the states typically start with meetings followed by food and drinks at night. At the largest winter sports show, ISPO, it happens all at once. When I first came over here in the early 90’s, I was blown away. Now I’m used to it, the mandate for SIA next year is that we’re all gonna be Europeans (minus the 8 week vacation schedule). The entrance to the 686 booth was packed.

Stephane is our GM for Europe and isn’t it fitting that he has this waiting for me? Which Hell should I choose?

We brought the RECLAIM PROJECT design contest to Germany this time around. With ISPO’s support, it was cool to see how everyone reacted to the new environment.

72 hours to sew a fully functional garment is a difficult thing regardless what country it is.

Not the best part of the show, but it is what it is

The ISPO show is HUGE. 15 halls of brands in the snow and sports field is overwhelming. Brands I’ve never heard before are living large. The market potential is big, but also very difficult. We have a solid network of direct European reps and exclusive Distribution partnerships, all of which I’m sincerely grateful for. One person who deserves a lot of the credit for keeping people in order is our head of customer service, Alda. She’s always on the lookout and able to speak 5 different languages, she cuts some mean Cheese.

Swiss cheese and Hell. What more can I ask for?