The reaction from vendors and retailers alike was unanimous. Moving the Open Air Demo to Willard Bay changed the event from a good day on the water — if you can ignore the mud — into an event that buyers and vendors cannot and should not — miss. The longer drive was certainly worthwhile and everyone appreciated the sun and beach along with the ability to retreat into the shade as the day heated up. Vendors and retailers that missed out on the event certainly missed out on several opportunities.
“It took about 50 minutes to get out to the Demo, but it was an easy ride on the shuttle bus and the quality of the location was certainly worth it,” said Andy Knapp of Midwest Mountaineering, Minneapolis, Minn.
The usual paddle sports brands were in attendance, with Confluence, Johnson Outdoors, Bell Canoe, Prijon, and several others showing off their latest on-water innovations.
“As usual, the Open Air Demo provided a relaxed atmosphere to introduce our dealers to our new products and the new venue was fantastic. Its always our goal to get our dealers in as many boats as possible and what a spot to spend the day,” said Nando Zucchi, Johnson Outdoors Paddlesports.
The biggest change over last year, other than the location, was the sharp increase in the number of land-based brands. GoLite made their annual appearance at the Open Air Demo while Gregory, Mountain Hardwear, and Dunham showed up for the first time. Nearly every Nordic Walking brand in the U.S. market again made an appearance and managed to bring even more retailers out onto the trails.
The biggest presence from this contingent was clearly Mountain Hardwear. The company decided to go big with their premier appearance and displayed several tents, their new backpack line (See BOSS_0534), and even some apparel. The larger presence certainly seemed to pay off, with a consistent crowd of retailers around the booth. This increased presence from all of the land-based companies gave the event a well-rounded feel to it, and in the future will certainly attract more retailers.
Traffic was definitely up, with more people on the water and on land putting gear through its usual trials and having fun at the same time. Several more sails sprouted up across the bay thanks to an appearance by Hobie with their catamarans and kayaks.
Over 1,500 show attendees came out for the Open Air Demo and the crowd gave high marks to the new Willard Bay State Park location. The buyers were taking full advantage of the chance to try the gear and ask questions before getting to the show floor, and the buses heading back to the Salt Palace were full of retailers thumbing through catalogs.
