Their efforts were successful. Moreover, the Fedas conference added further important impulses to the foundation of the association.

The common conviction is that Spain being a classical sports goods manufacturing and trading country is an integral part of the European core states. This situation should become even more apparent by the successful foundation of a national organization crowning years of discussions in this context.

Eduardo Moya, president of the Madrid-based sports goods retailers’ association Atdm and also a driving force behind the foundation of a Spanish sports goods retailers’ association (Federación Española de Tiendas Deporte) received a Swiss cowbell from Secretary General Claude Benoit in order to remind him of the fact that a Spanish federation will hopefully soon form part of a strong European syndicate.

Alongside the Spanish colleagues, their French neighbours actively godfathered the creation of a Spanish federation. The general director of the French retailers’ association, Pierre Gogin, and his colleague André Pierre Doucet, pointed this out once again in Madrid together with their President and the entire board.

The Fedas member associations from France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy explained in detail in Madrid how national associations are in a position to interfere into national economic and sector-related matters, and what the members of their associations expect their officials to do on a national and a European level. In the framework of this presentation a survey of the related national markets was given.

In accordance with President Werner Haizmann, Secretary General Claude Benoit emphasised the opinion voiced by the umbrella association that Fedas, in view of its experience, is not only an appropriate discussion partner when it comes to uniting both independent retailers or chain stores under the roof of a single association, but that it will also be active when it comes to solving Spanish market problems in a European context.

For such problem solutions, they said, Fedas created a liaison office at the EU in Brussels, which is working in successful cooperation with the agency of the European industry federation, Fesi.

Secretary General Benoit, and the Austrian Fedas delegate Aichinger, pointed out at the Madrid meeting that the cooperation between the European retail trade and the European industry might serve as a model for Spain. They assumed that a sectoral association may produce similarly good results here as in Austria.

The Spanish colleagues assured their discussion partners from Europe that they would take this important, trend-setting meeting as a reason to lead further professional talks with the different corporations and chain stores so as to be in a position shortly to give birth to the proposed common national federation. Not least of all, many a Spanish sports goods retailer thinks that both politics and society are posing profession-related problems, which cannot be represented or solved by the headquarters of the corporations alone. That is why the interests of both Spain and its sports goods retailers have to be focussed reasonably in a top association on a national and a European level.

At the internal Fedas consultations, which were held in line with the federation’s statutes, the delegates dealt with the necessary formalities and the federation’s work during the past year. President Haizmann and Secretary General Benoit supplied the corresponding reports.

Fedas made positive mention of the fact that currently the long years of work on the introduction of a Fedas goods group code are producing the first fruits. The association is sure, therefore, that this Fedas standard will shortly gain general recognition. Major tasks are still lying ahead of the association in this context, since the Fedas index requires a reasonable complementation with a new size and colour code.

The work of the Fedas office in Brussels shall continue to be harmonized with the different tasks that are essential for the European sports goods trade and that need to be solved. The head of the Brussels office, Alberto Bichi, has already undertaken various steps to ensure that the Fedas lobbying work is running even more smoothly than before.

Finally, Fedas president Haizmann thanked the Spanish hosts for the organization of the meeting; Secretary General Claude Benoit for his commitment; the delegates from the different nations for their outstanding reports; and the honorary chairman Adriano Testa for his excellent translations.

The next Fedas Meeting will be held in Marseille in June 2004.