Anyone who goes to a huge trade show like SIA in Vegas can understand the hoopla you can get caught in. Running around to all the vendors, trying to set up appointments to fill your days and make the most of your time, all the while trying to chase down salesman in the various booths. SIA Vegas has NOTHING on ISPO. ISPO (we are still not sure what it stands for) is a huge global trade show for all manufactures of sporting goods. It is by far the largest show of its kind in the world. Our main mission for the trip was to hunt for more carving gear that we can bring back the the carvers here in the USA.

I actually didn't know what to expect when I came here. I had been to Vegas, but I figured that ISPO was much bigger. Unbelievable!!! After standing in 3 different lines for over an hour just to get our tickets, we finally got a map of the show. Most of the snowboarding booths were in the first 3 halls containing "winter sports". When we couldn't find some of the big names we expected to see there, we kept searching. We found them in "World of Fun and Action Sports". The Germans have their own way of interpreting things, I am sure of it.

The first day was spent just looking and trying to find things. Literally, it was about 7 hours of running through these halls to find everyone. All I can say is I am glad I am not a clothing retailer. How many jackets and pants can you possibly look at before you just lose it and go postal?! There were 13 total halls that you could go into depending on the outdoor activity you where buying for. We didn't even make it out of the first 3 in 3 days, I can't imagine trying to make all 13 in 4 days. Appointments were made and we spent the next two days trying to keep them. Between chasing down the guy you made the meeting with and him stopping to talk to 15 people during your "time". Then you had to go from hall to hall amid one bazillion other people trying to do the same, kind of like moving around a New York subway station all day and never leaving. Complete chaos.

In the midst of it all, things did go well. It was so nice to see a huge selection of carving gear available. The Euros take carving much more seriously and it shows with there products. The carving market is definitely bigger in Europe than in USA. They use it in a different way than we do. From what we could demise, the market there is more "family" oriented, with the majority of the people carving are those who are either cross over skiers, or those who want a little bit stiffer free ride. All of the big name guys were there. Nidecker, Raichle, Oxygen, F2, Rossignol, Sims, and Völkl. We also talked to a few of the smaller "hard-core" European board companies, like Virus, GML, and Pogo. They were all very excited to hear and see the Bomberonline site. I think it finally showed them that we do carve in North America.

The biggest let down we experienced was how far behind they were in attitude about the Internet. The way their phone systems work over there, the Internet has not grown to what it is in the US. Therefore not many people use it, so they are still uncomfortable with it. Try mentioning the words "online sales" or "dotcom" and watch them look at you funny and say "I am zorry, ve cannot help sou with dis INTERNET zale". After talking to so many people about this problem and trying to understand their point of view, I am still bewildered. "Zat is not pozzibl, zorry, goodbye". Although we did have a few companies that did not have a problem, most of them are against it. We'll work on that.

One thing I do have to mention is a BIG plug for Munich the city. What a great place to have a conference, a vacation, or anything for that matter. It is such a great city! Lots of great food, sausage, doener kebabs (sort-of a Turkish hamburger), homemade bread, Nutella, and the beer. Lots and lots of beer everywhere. You can't ask for more! And if you really want to fit in smoke at least a pack a day and make sure to smoke at the breakfast table.

In any case, the show was fantastic. I guess a better word would be an "experience". We gained lots of insight into the carving world of Europe, and learned how the Internet applies (it doesn't). ISPO is a great place to go if you want to get a hold of the European market, or just go for the beer. The vendors don't' give out swag like at SIA Vegas, they give beer, Red Bull, and sausage. So by the end of the day if your head was not yet spinning from all the meetings and endless sprawl of sports equipment, have another beer and sausage.