It may only have been "half a show", half of its former scale in booth and visitor number terms, but though smaller, it was perfectly formed and performed perfectly.
Of course, the lens through which I view shows is very different to the one that motorcycle manufacturers and PG&A vendors see through. However, down the years (32 'Milan' shows and counting) I have become sufficiently adept at reading between the aisles to understand what is going on.
In the case of the 78th EICMA, it can't be said to have been business as normal - after all, what's normal about a missed show, a global pandemic, booming demand and product shortages? It was definitely not a return to normality - in fact, it was an abnormally big leap into the unknown. But maybe we have now had our first insight to the "new normal" that people have been talking about. One that will prove to be a business landscape in which the sands shift with even greater and more unexcepted speed and outcomes than ever, and one in which market instability really is the "new normal".
There has always been change, of course. Indeed, although it is a cliché, the time to worry is when there is no change. Change is the engine room of the business dynamic, the driver of progress and the builder of profits.
But the kind of changes that the current complex matrix of generally conflicting and often counter- intuitive pressures is producing takes a lot of careful analysis - the suspension of orthodoxies and the embrace of the unknown is emerging as the new platform for business planning.
"an awesomely good thing"
We here at International Dealer News (and our sister magazine American Motorcycle Dealer) were as incredulous at the apparent closedown of business activity that we appeared to be facing in March 2020. Now we are just as incredulous about how this particular so-called 'recession' has played out.
I know we all have to cope with the law of unexpected outcomes, but where we are now is off the scale compared to where many, myself included, initially thought we would be by the end of 2021.
In our case, demand for both editorial content and advertising space is running at post 2007/2009 financial crisis record levels. In our case, the 'Now More Than Ever' message has resonated and IDN (and AMD) has provided a much needed lightning rod, channel of continuity and communications platform at a time when all appeared likely to go dark.
In the case of the industry we serve, dealer inventory shortages and vendor supply chain issues have resulted in a business picture that is quite unlike anything I for one can ever recall experiencing throughout my 32 years of visiting EICMA.
It is tempting to say that what we are seeing currently simply does not compute but, in fact, there is underlying logic to what could otherwise be interpreted as weakness - and therefore the potential for market strength and opportunity.
The fact is that we are in an industry where demand for our primary products is robust - this is a good thing. This is an awesomely good thing.
At a time when the greater transport industry of which we are a small cog could, theoretically, be facing potentially existential challenges, ours are the challenges of growth. Rather than failing to meet the challenges, we are turning them into opportunities.
For example, one of the most striking trends we saw at EICMA wasn't the panic that impending sustainability requirements were inducing, but the willingness to reshape, rebuild and embrace the opportunities that sustainability represents. Reduce, reuse and recycle, as Mauro Orlandi of GPR Exhausts puts it.
Far from being the end of the world, we are in fact eyeing the birth of a whole new way of building and judging balance sheet health - and the air smells good.
From exhaust and brake pad manufacturers to apparel, helmet and, yes, even performance engineers - EICMA provided a much needed and timely showcase for so many new directions that it was as if it had always been thus. When (not if) shows like EICMA do 'build back', they really will be better.
I am perfectly sure that if we look back at pictures of EICMA 2009 through the lens of 2030, the change that the show will bear witness to will have been dramatic.
One advantage of seeing EICMA 'cut down to size' was that the increasing number of forward-facing businesses, especially the electric vehicle makers, are shown in stark relief against a much smaller vendor head count. In particular against an OEM sector that is proving to be a lot less agile in its response to future business opportunities than one would have hoped and expected.
Only a very small percentage of the electric vehicle start-ups we are seeing today will still be around in a decade, and a large percentage of those that will be around haven't even started up yet. However, in among the slew of poorly designed, ill-conceived and clearly undercapitalised budget-spec 'me too wannabees' was a reassuringly growing number of well capitalised, well conceived and very promising entrants from which tomorrow's market leaders will emerge.
The brand values that consumers are already showing that they expect from an electric vehicle maker, in the PTW industry especially, are already making it difficult to see how all but a very small number of the existing motorcycle and scooter brands and factories are going to be able to 'crossover'.
Brands associated with internal combustion engine transport solutions will likely be able to sell to their existing customer base - they will be able to leverage their brand meaning with their dealer network footfall.
But will they any longer be able to compete with other manufacturers of the same pedigree? Will a Honda dealer be able to lure an historically loyal Yamaha customer, or will any of the existing 'players' be able to compete for non-brand loyal, non-legacy new generations of customers looking for vehicles in a competitive environment that will reward platform-specific credentials and authenticity?
Some, no doubt, will square the circle and leverage their existing status and resources. But of the other established manufacturers, only a few will survive. Add into the mix the say that returning legacy brands are likely to have in the future OEM line-up, alongside the winners from the purpose-specific entrants, and ten years from now EICMA will indeed look very different compared to ten years ago - it already does.
