Getting Outdoors More

Separate winter sports tradeshows are each doing fine on their own

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 2/14/2005

Salt Lake City—It's a great time to be a tradeshow manager for the winter outdoor sports industry. Your showfloor brims with happy retailers, and your biggest problem is the growing wait list of manufacturers that want to get in. Things are so good, you've put all that talk of merging behind you — at least for now.

During a two-week period last month, the Southwest hosted three Tradeshow Week 200 outdoor sports shows: SnowSports Industries America's SIA SnowSports Show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Jan. 24–27; the Natl. Shooting Sport Foundation's Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Trade Show Jan. 28–31 at the Las Vegas Convention Center; and VNU Expositions' Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Jan. 29–Feb. 1 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

For retailers of skis, snow boots, camping stoves and all things fleece — many who are outdoor enthusiasts themselves — it's a high desert wonderland of the latest winter gear. But for some manufacturers of these items, it's a 12-day marathon of product pitches down the Las Vegas Strip and up Interstate 15.

"Yep, we were at Mandalay Bay last — what was it, Thursday? — and here we are today (the following Monday) at Salt Palace," said Laura Wisner, senior marketing manager for Spyder Active Sports. The ski and snowboard company, a longtime SIA staple, was exhibiting for the first time at OR to introduce its outerwear.

Spyder had a different booth for each show because of the one-day window between SIA's close in Las Vegas and OR's opening in Salt Lake, and the products on display being so distinct, Wisner said. Still, some of the same exhibit staff worked both shows.

Other companies, like sock maker Smartwool, had a larger presence at OR; still others, at SHOT. It all depended on who they wanted to reach, and who the shows had to offer.

"OR is our most important market, and our biggest booth," said Amy Albert, dealer services manager for Smartwool, which also exhibits at SIA and SHOT. "But all our shows are important because of the different retailers they bring."

Despite the overlap, organizers said the shows need to stay apart, and none of the exhibitions is suffering from a lack of companies interested in exhibiting.

SIA drew 450 exhibitors occupying 330,000 net square feet of exhibits. That compares with 426 exhibitors and 329,000 net sq. ft. last year.

SHOT attracted 1,725 exhibiting firms in 569,000 net sq. ft. this year, compared with 1,610 exhibitors in 529,040 net sq. ft. last year.

OR saw similar increases, with 2005's 740 exhibiting companies and 270,000 net sq. ft. up from 2004's 686 exhibitors and 254,248 net. sq. ft.

Participants in all the shows agreed this success is due to the vitality of the industries they serve.

"The sport is really hot right now," said Laurent Vrignaud, who described himself as a sales mercenary for Burton Snowboards. "It went through a tough time a few years ago. You could even question whether there would still be a show. But in my 20 years in the business, this is one of the most exciting times I've seen."

In fact, the challenges of a couple of years ago had SIA and OR wondering whether a collocation would be wise. SIA saw its base of specialty retailers — ski and snowboard shops — shrinking and being gobbled up by big-box sporting goods stores.

OR, meanwhile, was venue-bound at Salt Palace, with no place to put the hungry manufacturers beating down its doors. VNU's 13-show deal with the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas further complicated things for OR. So did sponsor Outdoor Industry Assn.'s threats to leave Salt Lake City if Utah didn't change its environmental policies to protect the land on which its members depend.

"Sure, we thought about collocating," said SIA President David Ingemie. "We kept trying to sell against (OR) and it wasn't working."

So, he said, the association did some research and found that, while there was a big overlap in vendors, that was less the case with products and attendees. Even if buyers came from the same company, the study found, they were from different departments.

Armed with that data, SIA salespeople went out and demonstrated to exhibitors that they could only reach certain people at their show.

OR concurred. "There are about 80 vendors out of 740 here that do both shows. You have unique markets on both sides. We probably have 4,000 buyers that don't buy skis. The same is true for SHOT," said Andy Tompkins, OR show director.

But, he added, the shows' managers "always talk."

One result of these conversations has been Project Overlap, operated by general contractor GES Expositions. The company drives a caravan of freight straight from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City overnight between SIA's teardown and OR's setup, allowing exhibitors in both shows that can't afford two booths a quick turnaround. GES also gives those who use the service a discount on setup.

Besides market distinctions, there are other reasons the shows shouldn't merge, organizers said.

For one thing, Salt Lake City has agreed to expand Salt Palace — mainly to accommodate OR. When show management polled OIA members last year about a potential move out of the city, most said they wanted to stay put.

"I'm glad the show is staying here," said Chip Parker, a buyer for High Country. "I wish there were more restaurants, but apart from that, Salt Lake City is the right place for us."

SIA, too, is happy right where it is.

"You can't beat Las Vegas," said Vrignaud, "and the cool thing about Mandalay Bay is that people stay here to work, eat, shop, everything."

Besides, Ingemie said he's not interested in growing SIA's exhibition, despite its wait list of a dozen or so companies.

"A hundred and fifty ski and snowboard shops went out of business this year," he explained. "It doesn't make sense to have more vendors unless we have more buyers." That's why the SIA is focusing the bulk of its promotional efforts on growing attendance.

In fact, preliminary registration counts from SIA, OR and SHOT all indicate that buyer attendance was flat, with only minor increases or decreases, at the three shows this year.

Still, nobody sees consumer enthusiasm for outdoor sports waning.

"It's a gathering of people who share a passion for the outdoors, with a great attitude and spirit," said Timberland Vice President of Marketing Jay Steere, who's on the OR board of directors. "Who wouldn't love that?"