Early figures released by the organisers of The London Golf Show report that in total 16,000 visitors attended the event, held at ExCel 1st – 3rd May.
This compares with the final paid attendance figure of 20,201 reported for the show in 2008 when the event took place 25th – 27th April and therefore did not coincide with the May Bank Holiday weekend.
This year the event organisers had to move the date from their preferred mid-April timing in order to avoid a clash with maintenance work on the Docklands Light Railway which serves ExCel and is the preferred route for many visitors.
Exhibitors reported that the visitors were keen to spend money. TaylorMade is a regular exhibitor at the event and experienced positive results from the 16,830 golfers in attendance.
The company’s trade marketing executive for the UK, Ireland and Holland, Michael Stoker, said, “It’s been a good show for TaylorMade. We’ve had appointments booked solid all three days which is very good and we’ve had good sales so we’re happy. It’s good to be in front of the consumers to get some feedback and see what they think of the product and it’s a good showcase for the brand.”
It wasn’t just the big names in equipment that enjoyed a successful show, Clive Wood, managing director of Gel Golf, was full of praise for the event. He said, “It’s a very good show, it’s great for people to get brand awareness and feel our product and learn what we’re all about. The footfall we’ve had has been very good and we probably need a bigger stand next year to be honest.
“We’re very happy with level of sales we’ve made and it’s more than we expected to make. There has been a cross range of people, from good golfers and professionals to 28 handicappers and beginner golfers – it’s everyone across the board.”
Other exhibitors echoed these thoughts, Rewards4Golf.com’s commercial director, Colin Whitehead, said, “The show’s been fantastic, we’ve probably signed up in excess of 1,000 new golfers to the scheme, it’s been really well received.
“I’ve been very surprised by the number of people coming through over the last few days, and we’ve had a great take up. If you want to speak to golfers the London Golf Show is the place to be and we’ll be back with a bigger stand next year.”
And Rob Hart, brand director for clothing company Bunker Mentality, said, “It’s been a great show for us, a bit frenetic to be honest, and consistently busy all three days. I know there’s a recession but people are spending money, so it’s been a very good show. This is our fifth London Golf Show, we’ve been to them all, and if the show keeps doing what it’s doing we’ll be back.”
It wasn’t just returning exhibitors who fared well; The European Tour was exhibiting for the first time and was equally effusive about the show’s success.
Lucy Kenny, the Tour’s marketing assistant, said, “It’s been a very good three days, the people that have come to our stand have really taken on board our message and I think there’s a greater awareness because we’re here.
“The visitors all seem like pretty hard golf fans and people we wouldn’t have otherwise been in touch with which is good. We don’t do too many consumer-facing activities and we’ll definitely be looking at coming back next year.”
Colin Brunton, chairman of the Golf Show Group, said, “Putting a show together in the current economic climate has not been easy but we did it and seeing so many smiling faces at our fifth event made it all worth while.
“The feedback we’ve had from visitors and exhibitors alike has been positive and as always we’ll be looking to build upon this success and come back bigger and better next year.”
London Golf Show www.londongolfshow.com