At a party celebrating the 20th anniversary of the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen last month, John Jansen, managing director of Keen Europe and president of the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA), publicly expressed a wish that the European Outdoor Group (EOG) should open itself up to outdoor retailers. He has been a member of the EOG's board of directors since the general assembly at the last Ispo show in Munich. Mark Held, secretary general of the EOG, says that this matter has been under ongoing discussion within the association and that is being re-examined in view of changes taking place in the market such as its growing verticalization. Any decision on the issue would involve the whole membership, but at present there is no concrete proposal.  The next general assembly will, however, vote on a new president for the EOG as David Udberg has made it clear that he plans to resign as part of his gradual retirement, after more than 35 years in the outdoor sector. Udberg has run the EOG since the beginning of 2010.  

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