Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2016 Delivered the Outdoor Industry an Invigorating Platform for Retailer Meetings, Media Presentations, Order Writing and Relationship Building
Outdoor Retailer, a premier outdoor product tradeshow, welcomed specialty retailers, brands and media for four days of order taking, media presentations, networking and industry celebrations early this year. As market confidence builds, and the outdoor industry economy continues to strengthen, exhibiting brands previewed countless numbers of new products, leading the industry in innovation and fashion trends.
New tools and resources designed to support the needs of specialty retailers helped them better navigate the show floor, identify new products and sharpen their skills. And while business was the focus, no one failed to mention that Winter Market is the perfect event at which to connect with colleagues, business associates and friends.
The outdoor industry community made the annual pilgrimage to Salt Lake City, with an estimated 22,000 overall attendees, and more than 1,060 exhibiting brands. Attendance remained on par to Winter Market 2015 and the fact that 19 percent of exhibitors were new shows the strength and growth of the industry.
The All Mountain Demo kicked things off, giving retailers and media the first opportunity of the year to test gear in the environment for which it was made. Hosted at Solitude Mountain Resort, Wednesday, January 6, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., the All Mountain Demo focused on backcountry and avalanche safety, but also featured an array of wintersports products, events and activities.
“Outdoor Retailer is the gathering place for specialty retailers and industry brands. This event is the epicenter of our industry, where the entire community can come together not only to conduct business but to celebrate the people and the accomplishments, and to collaborate and engage in a more personal, face-to-face way,” said Marisa Nicholson, vice president and Outdoor Retailer show director. “The outdoor industry is connected by its passion, and Outdoor Retailer is the heart.”
The Winter Market 2016 lineup included something for everyone.
“Our store in Fayetteville wouldn’t be the same without Outdoor Retailer. All the brands we’ve had in there we’ve met and built personal relationships with due to Outdoor Retailer and grown them throughout the years,” said Devin O’Dea, partner/CMO, Fayettechill. “It’s been absolutely crucial to our success.”
“Like-minded people. Everyone is in it together. Everyone is here for the same reason: the love of the outdoors. In the outdoor industry, no one wins if someone loses,” remarked Jen Singley, director of retail, United By Blue.
“The benefit of the Winter show is making connections. I don’t have any other opportunities where I can see everybody in one space. Even regional shows will have some of that, but don’t come close to this scope,” said Mike Ruschman, buying department manager, Midwest Mountaineering. “For me, it’s not so much seeing new products at the Winter show, but really establishing those connections. We’re talking about things like marketing initiatives. As a specialty retailer I think that’s imperative.”
“This is my first Outdoor Retailer, and it’s been fun to see all the new products and brands that I haven’t seen before and it’s great to see the brands that we already carry and see the new products they have coming out,” commented Mike Kelly with GardenSwartz Outdoors, Durango, Colorado. “Overall the show has been a great experience.”
“The great thing about Outdoor Retailer is the varied crowd,” mentioned Rebecca Carew, Scott Sports. “It’s not just people solely interested in the alpine sport. We get people from across the board. For Scott Sports that’s a great opportunity since we are in many divisions. We can show our running and trail goods here. We can show our trail bikes and integrate that with our skis and really get a good message to our dealers and consumers.”
Outdoor Retailer (OR) brings together retailers, manufacturers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation through tradeshows, product demo events and web-based business solutions. Produced by Emerald Expositions and based in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Outdoor Retailer also provides and promotes retailer education, advocacy, responsibility and critical face-to-face business initiatives within the outdoor industry.
Consistently named among Trade Show News Network’s 25 fastest-growing tradeshows by attendance, Outdoor Retailer connects approximately 50,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Summer and Winter Market shows, and thousands more through its year-round online resources and platforms.
