Now that weve come to the close of yet another marathon trade show season, its time once again to take a look at the shows as a whole and offer up our observations and thoughts about the potential drivers for the industry.
With the absence of any national sporting goods show, our overview and outlook reflect a consolidated view of the market by assessing the trends and energy seen at more than ten trade shows since the end of July. While no one trend jumps out as the central theme for the coming year, we can certainly point to where you will find the what that may help you drive your business.
Our travels took us to the far ends of the industry (and unfortunately to Las Vegas a few too many times), from the low energy and light traffic at the WSA shoe show to remarkable excitement and heavier traffic at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market and the MAGIC show. In between, we found market-specific energy at the smaller regional shows, Action Sports Retailer, Fly Fishing Retailer, and others.
It was interesting to see the changing attitude of the retailers in attendance as we moved through August and into September. Perhaps WSA suffered from the timing of the show coming after two weak retail months in June and July, a reality that clearly dampened the mood for those in attendance. Conversely, the MAGIC attendees appeared to be more upbeat about the tough retail environment as they looked for new ideas to stimulate their business.
The Outdoor specialty shows seemed to be less influenced by the difficult to read Back-to-School selling season but saw many retailers that were looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the big box players, while the ASR retailers and vendors looked to solidly defined segmentation strategies to protect their core businesses.
The retailers and vendors that rely more heavily on the fashion end of the business are clearly looking for the next new thing to help spark renewed energy on the sales floor. While shifting holidays, hurricanes, and the lack of tax rebates certainly took their toll at retail this past summer, a hard-to-pin-down shift in fashion trends may be the biggest culprit in keeping the consumer on the sidelines.
Yes, the shift away from licensed apparel is quite evident and almost universal, but the bigger question remains to be, whats next? Since apparel trends are clearly driving what is worn on the foot, the impact here goes to the health and energy of the footwear business as well. Is it the long sleeve striped wovens we all saw as an emerging trend last spring or is that over already and have we moved on to polos and a cleaner preppy look? Is the Classics category hurting or is that just a retailers strategy to try to shift the market to higher-priced performance product? And what about the shift to performance anyway? Is that a real shift to footwear with real technology to aid the user in achieving a higher level of performance or are we simply looking at visible technology as fashion once again?
These are the questions we are confronted with this season as we see this market play out through the fall doldrums and wait for a holiday season that seems to start ever closer to Christmas Day each year. One thing is for sure, the retailers are expecting vendors to be fresh, innovative, and efficient in bringing new ideas and product to market. While many vendors are still looking for that breakthrough product that will launch them to the next tier of business, the retailer needs a compelling story to tell at retail that can only be told through a broader offering of product that may define the total brand. Retailers may have to give up the vertical categorization of footwear product on the wall in favor of vignettes of footwear, apparel, and accessories that tell a brand story that connects with the consumer. Until then, vendors will choose to sell these better stories to the boutiques while the sporting goods and athletic specialty retailers will be forced to fight for market share based on price or which Nike models they can get.
To find a unique story, or to inject new ideas into an otherwise boring presentation of Classics, running shoes, and athletic apparel, we urge retailers (and vendors) to partake of the offerings of some of the shows you may not normally attend. MAGIC — and the accompanying Pool Show — has clearly established itself as the center of the trends that will drive this industrys fashion perspective. Outdoor Retailer and Action Sports Retailer provide energy and ideas from vendors that could well be your next key resource or competitor.
An open mind — and a new perspective — may help you stimulate your business…
