OR Summer Market Expects Record Attendance

The event being held at the Salt Palace Convention Center starts with the Open Air Demo held at its new location, Jordanelle State Park in Heber City, August 2, followed by the Expo at the Salt Palace Convention Center August 3-6. Pre-show numbers so far indicate that exhibitors will total 1,040, up 12% compared to last year. A total of 172 new exhibitors will present, a 48% hike over ORSM 2009. Store registration is so far up 13% with individual buyer registration up 18% versus last year. “I think it's very much a return to the pre-recession numbers of 2007 and 2008,” Kenji Haroutunian, Outdoor Retailer show director, told B.O.S.S.

Haroutunian said that reflecting the effects of the downturn, ORSM 2009's figures were down between 8% to 12%, depending on whether exhibitors, attendees or overall numbers are being measured.  The credit crunch in Spring 2009 particularly impacted the number of start-ups that attended.

 

The improving participation figures clearly reflects improving business conditions. “I think that overall there's a spirit of confidence that was missing last year in business,” said Haroutunian. “There was some shakeout but the companies are returning more fluid. They're back in the saddle from a margin standpoint, and from an inventory flow standpoint. So it's driven mostly by the health of retail and the significant growth in the first quarter in the outdoor sector speaks to that.”

In paddle sports, 27 more companies are exhibiting over last year including Johnson Outdoors. The show's growth also reflects the continued expansion of non-traditional outdoor categories. In particular, endurance sports are seeing strong growth in exhibitors at this Summer 0R.

 

The area is also promising to grow as several major athletic brands are in conversations to join the show. But footwear exhibitors in general have been increasing in number with many rugged or outdoor casual lifestyle vendors joining this summer, possibly as WSA becomes a less appealing. More surf crossover brands are also exhibiting, some related to the popularity of standup paddling  but also as beach lifestyle merges with the outdoor enthusiast lifestyle.

With the demise of Fly Fishing Retailer, OR is also attempting to be more accommodating to that community. The show already has around 50 fly fishing brands, but OR ran out of space before getting commitments from other fly fishing exhibitors. Haroutunian believes that OR is ideally suited for fly fishing buyers and exhibitors in coming years. “We have a good relationship with AFFTA (American Fly Fishing Trade Association) and they're doing their own event in Colorado in September so we're not antagonistic to their efforts,” said Haroutunian. “But we just feel that industry can't really afford to do its own stand-alone show. It needs to be partnered with a bigger industry that is bringing more buying power, more innovation and more ideas…”
Haroutunian said this growth across categories has started a conversation around how to find room to expand the show. Especially if other major athletic footwear vendors are looking to exhibit and other areas continue to grow. Also, organizers are also looking “at ways to make Salt Lake work,” including using parking structures that are nearby, to work through these capacity limits.

 

“If the summer show continues to expand at this rate, we're definitely going to look at other options and we've already started that conversation and started to explore those options,” says  Haroutunian. “But we love Salt Lake. There's no question that Salt Lake has been an excellent venue for Outdoor Retailer and continues to be. It's just reaching the limits of its holding capacity at this point. The question is how does the show grow if the market dictates that we should be embracing new categories.”