In this exclusive, Kai Hattendorf delves behind the recent news headline to explore how a German Messe is re-programming its industry DNA with British partners:
Germany’s industries have long been known for something very German: tradition, precision, excellence – from automotive to exhibitions. Yet as markets shift and audiences evolve, leadership now depends less on process and more on partnerships, adaptability and creative speed. In this transformation, and through a new German-British partnership, Messe München is plotting its own course.
With Stefan Rummel, the company is on a mission to reshape itself into what they are convinced a modern Messe can be: no longer a historically subsidised ‘state-owned’ business. Instead, a highly profitable, diversified global organiser, with sustainable growth.
For decades, German trade fairs set the world’s benchmark for size and professionalism. Today, success depends on agility and purpose, not just production. The shift is part of a deliberate strategy to turn Messe München into a ‘platform business’, built on collaboration.
With this blueprint, the management team has gone to work. 2025 is one of the company’s busiest years on record, yet they are deliberately using this momentum to pilot a new partnership model that combines the group’s B2B excellence with external innovation.
A new partnership with the UK’s Raccoon Media Group showcases this, aiming to reinvent ISPO, the key annual trade fair for the sports and outdoor industry, whcih will move from Munich to Amsterdam, and become a co-production between Raccoon Media Group and Messe München. (See EW News, 28 October).
Behind the scenes, Stefan Rummel and Raccoon chairman Doug Emslie (pictured above) are driving what could become a game-changer for the industry in Germany and beyond.
“This is a milestone for all of us”, Rummel said in an exclusive interview. “For the first time, a German Messe and a UK organiser are setting up a joint venture to take an existing German show brand, a ‘Leitmesse’, and to bring it to a new location outside of Germany to reform it and to adapt to a changing market.”
“It’s about expanding capacity,” Rummel explained. “We accelerate our own transformation and open ISPO to new communities and ideas. We stay in the cockpit, but we are flying faster – together with a pilot who brings a complementary skillset.”
He listed the win-wins: “We secure the future of the ISPO show and brand in its European home market. Then, we can build on the work with ISPO as an example for how Messe München can develop and scale event brands globally.”
What Rummel sees as a ‘growth accelerator’ for his company is a significant scale-up for Raccoon, a move typical for Doug Emslie, its chair. Over two decades, Emslie built UK-based Tarsus Group into a global organiser that was eventually acquired by Informa in 2023. Not resting on his laurels or the cash payout, Emslie has since invested in a series of businesses.
“Raccoon has a reputation for building events with community at its centre and delivering what the market needs. Their events deliver return for exhibitors and inject fun and energy for the attendees. Messe München are one of the largest, international and professional players in the German market. Post the pandemic market shift they have been one of the most dynamic messes in terms of their entrepreneurial outlook,” Emslie noted. “We are excited to be working together with our German partners, to reimagine ISPO and to take the event into a new era.”
Germany and UK-based industry giants have long lived in a kind of “splendid isolation”: as new global markets opened up, they expanded into new territories in parallel. As ‘pure play’ organisers, many UK players held a reservation against the integrated German model that combined venue operations with running shows, fearing that Messes would set up competing shows to those they would book into German venues.
But this has changed over recent years as more UK-based organisers bought and brought business into Germany, notably RX (with the acquisition of MackBrooks), CloserStill and Clarion.
2022 brought a watershed moment when Clarion Events was awarded the contract to run Berlin-based IFA, one of Germany’s most reputable trade show brands, by gfu, the association behind the show. Messe Berlin now acts solely as the venue for the rejuvenated event.
Raccoon and Messe München are now adding an entire new chapter to UK/German collaboration, and a timely one, according to Emslie: “With a new group of CEOs leading Germany’s trade fairs, there are fresh perspectives and new viewpoints on the industry and how it evolves. For me, Stefan exemplifies this. Munich is leading the way in its readiness and willingness to embrace the industry changes we see today. This makes them an excellent partner for Raccoon.”
The agreement combines German B2B know-how with British B2C expertise. Together, they want to evolve ISPO’s format. For this, they plan to activate their organisations’ complementary know-how. Rummel lists them: “There are the strong global connections and industry contracts from the German side and the lean organisational and operational structures common in the UK.”
The deal also shows how a willingness to look for new solutions has taken hold across the trade show industry, with the pandemic as a game-changer. Today’s industry leaders all share the pandemic experience, personally and professionally. Many got to know each other in person, while online, during these days, working together on industry advocacy. Relationships were forged, and surveys regularly show how the industry, albeit still competitive, has become much more collaborative.
This serves the sector well as new sources for growth are needed. For many years, ‘geocloning’ events into new geographies was a safe way to foster growth. Additional approaches are needed to maintain momentum as some show brands have peaked in their product lifecycles. Germany has seen the demise of some legacy brands, from Hanover’s Cebit to Frankfurt’s Tendence and Cologne’s Photokina.
ISPO’s future lies in renewing the brand’s promise and delivery. Trade show formats are changing. Lean organisers are driving new formats away from traditional sales-driven shows to experience- and network-driven business events. Such rapid diversification is today’s challenge for organisers who long invested in their own specialisation and now have to chase to become generalists. Emslie and Rummel are ready for ISPO to succeed in this.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
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