Bogner’s VR Experience Showcases Sportswear Company History To Consumers

At ISPO Munich, a massive four-day trade show focused on sports markets and products, German sportswear company Bogner and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits presented a virtual reality experience from Holodeck VR in response to the digitalization of the sports goods trade.

When visitors to the Bogner booth slid VR headsets over their eyes, they were transported to the top of a magnificent, sky-scraping tower that stood proudly among snow-capped mountains. In panorama, the beautiful scenery and stunning height felt all too real for some. Those who dared to venture along the narrow beams at this great height found a collection of Bogner photos from decades past, a testament to the company’s history.

Fashion designer and former alpine ski racer Willy Bogner Jr. noted the innovative nature of the company’s undertaking. “We’ve always been quite a long way ahead in our efforts to integrate the digital world into retail. Imagine. In our stores, too, people are going to be experiencing it with these glasses.”

Of Bogner’s VR experience, Klaus Dittrich, the Chairman and CEO of Messe München, said, “You really do get the feeling of ‘one more step and I’ll fall off the edge.’ It’s really very close to reality. This really is incredibly powerful. And I believe it will revolutionize a great deal in sports and the sports goods trade.”

Bogner CEO Alexander Wirth excitedly pointed out the possibilities at the intersection of virtual reality and retail. “We have customers between 25 and 50, where we’ve noticed that they’re coming to us via social media, through our action shoots and our film stories. That’s where we’ll create the link to our collections,” Wirth said.