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SIBEC UK 07 Broadens Horizons for Schools and Universities

With a mix of Schools, Universities, Trusts and Local Authorities attending the SIBEC UK 07 forum, it is clear that these sectors of the leisure industry are now recognising the value of this event and embracing this entirely new format. The face-to-face meetings provide the opportunity to focus attention on key products and services of interest and also gain a broader knowledge of new and innovative offerings within the wider leisure market. SIBEC UK invited 50 'buyers' to meet with leisure suppliers from 62 companies resulting in a total of over 1000 highly focussed 20 minute meetings over the two days on May 16-17 at the Belfry Hotel.

Simon Harris, Director of Specialism at Wilson Stuart School and Sports College, attended SIBEC for the first time and comments: “SIBEC UK is an event which allows schools with any size of budget the opportunity to meet suppliers of a hugely diverse range of health and fitness equipment and services. In the incredibly busy and intense world of teaching, this event is a much more time efficient way of buying equipment and obtaining the best deals for your school. It also ensures that product ranges and pricing structures are fresh in your mind when meeting competitors and manufacturers of similar products. Meetings that over a period of weeks would have been crammed into time slots before school, at lunchtimes, after school and PPA time, can be completed over an intensive two day period. I would highly recommend any school which has a budget for improving their health and fitness provision, to attend SIBEC UK as it has been without doubt one of the most effective uses of my time this year.”

Arthur Morris, Head of Sales and Marketing for Gladstone Health and Leisure, a regular attendee of SIBEC UK, comments: “At this year’s SIBEC UK our meetings were of the highest quality I’ve experienced at any forum event in seven years. Of the 16 formal sessions with senior company representatives, I am confident that at least ten will lead to realistic and valuable opportunities. Of course we have a good offering, but it’s clear that the SIBEC format provides an exceptional return ratio.”

Niall Sturrock, Head of Sport and Recreation, University of Strathclyde, comments: “This was my third visit to SIBEC UK and I would advise anyone who is a serious participant in the leisure industry to consider attending the event. It provides a great opportunity to meet a wide range of suppliers and keep abreast of the developments within the market. It has been particularly useful for us at the University of Strathclyde as we move towards our new sports facility but it also has value for on-going developments that may be happening in the sector.”

The Trust and Local Authority markets were also impressed with SIBEC’s successful meeting formula, commenting on how the pre scheduled twenty minute meetings, were carried out in such a relaxed environment. Victoria Branch, Group Marketing Manager, SOLL Leisure said: “This was SOLL’s third year attending SIBEC UK and still an incredibly efficient way to spend two days. From the 21 suppliers I met through the formal meeting sessions, at least 12 will be useful contacts within SOLL’s business. In addition, taking the time out to discuss partnerships and strategies with current suppliers and network with colleagues in the industry is always enormously beneficial.”

Meetings on the first day of SIBEC UK concluded with a networking dinner, offering both buyers and suppliers additional opportunity to informally meet. This networking element is viewed as an important component of the event allowing further contacts to be made and more time to develop propositions and discussions raised earlier in the day.

NEWS - 22/11/2007

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• SIBEC UK 07 Broadens Horizons for Schools and Universities

  With a mix of Schools, Universities, Trusts and Local Authorities attending the SIBEC UK 07 forum, it is clear that these sectors of the leisure industry are now recognising the value of this event and embracing this entirely new format. The face-to-face meetings provide the opportunity to focus attention on key products and services of interest and also gain a broader knowledge of new and innovative offerings within the wider leisure market. SIBEC UK invited 50 'buyers' to meet with leisure suppliers from 62 companies resulting in a total of over 1000 highly focussed 20 minute meetings over the two days on May 16-17 at the Belfry Hotel.

  NEWS - 22/11/2007