While many outdoor industry folks are still unpacking from their hectic summer travel schedules, the staff at Outdoor Retailer is hard at work planning the upcoming Winter Market show (January 29th – February 1st, 2005) to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. OR is happy to report an increase in Nordic brands planning to exhibit at Winter Market 2005. This increase is part of Outdoor Retailer's continued commitment to offer the largest collection of products for telemark skiing, backcountry touring and Nordic racing.
After sitting out a few Winter Markets, key Nordic brands Fischer and Rossignol are returning as exhibitors after witnessing the success of last year's show. Fischer and Rossignol will join the current line-up of Nordic and backcountry offerings from Salomon, Black Diamond, K2, Garmont, Alpina, Atomic, Karhu, Life-Link and G3.
At last year's Winter Market, Rick Halling, Director of Outdoor Products at Atomic explained why his company returned to Outdoor Retailer after a three-year absence. “There are more retailers who are doing camping and climbing gear, as well as ski gear, and we see them all at Outdoor Retailer,” Halling said.
Atomic will have an even larger presence at this year's Winter Market, thanks in part to the success they experienced at the 2004 OR Winter Market Expo. Booth expansions are also in the works for G3 and Karhu.
“Obviously we're thrilled to see more Nordic brands coming back to Winter Market, which I believe reflects the renewed interest retailers and consumers are showing for backcountry, telemark, and Nordic gear. We've been able to integrate all of these product categories into our already strong core wintersports area of the Winter Market show floor. We're also excited to expand the categories and brands represented at our annual Backcountry Base Camp, which will give dealers the opportunity to test the latest innovation in wintersports equipment before they shop Winter Market,” commented Andy Tompkins, National Sales Manager for Outdoor Retailer.
The day prior to the Winter Market tradeshow, Outdoor Retailer will host the second annual Backcountry Base Camp (BBC) at the Brighton Resort and backcountry terrain of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Hundreds of pre-qualified retailers gathered last year for this first-time event and enjoyed over a foot of fresh snow. This year's BBC attendees will be testing the most innovative backcountry gear including telemark and Nordic ski equipment, transceivers, snowshoes, split boards, poles, packs and a wide variety of winter-specific gear. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in backcountry tours, kitchen set-ups, and clinics designed for avalanche safety and awareness.
