Like operators of many businesses these days, the organizers of the Outdoor Retailer trade show recognize that “flat is the new up.” That's why their “goal” for the upcoming Summer Market is to have at least the approximately 21,000 overall attendees (including 2,500 retailers) that showed up in 2008. But they also recognize that flat growth would be “a big victory” at a time when travel budgets are getting squeezed amid the steep downturn.
The new realities of the economy led the management of the OR show to release a letter to the market last week detailing the many ways it's reducing costs for both exhibitors and retailers. Nielsen Sport Group, which owns the show, (which is arguably still the strongest show serving the sporting goods market) also released the results of a survey of approximately 1,500 retailers conducted in January that gave Summer Market 2008 high marks (see page 4). Respondents generally highlighted the show as a strong vehicle for finding new products, building relationships as well as placing orders, planning co-op strategies and finding closeouts.
“One of the general themes of the survey that jumped out at me was how important Outdoor Retailer is to the business life of most retailers in this market,” said Joe Flynn, VP of Nielsen Sports Group, in an interview with The B.O.S.S. Report. “They use the event as a gathering point to do intelligence on the industry. They use the event as a gathering point to develop key relationships with their partners. And they use the event to also write orders So unlike some other trade shows, Outdoor Retailer still plays a very important role in the overall intelligence and information gathering that retailers get in order to be competitive.”
Indeed, the roughly 8% drop in attendance for the 2009 Winter Market was seen as somewhat respectable given concerns over travel budgets in the downturn-especially compared with the steep double-digit declines reportedly experienced at other major shows.
Frank Hugelmeyer, president of OIA, which has a partnership arrangement with Nielsen supporting and promoting the show, noted that while it's clear that the drawing card of the show is the chance to find new vendors and new products, the show stands as “the most cost effective way to have face to face meetings with vendors and suppliers to discuss how to collaborate in this new environment.”
“We know its a tough business climate and marketing budgets are under scrutiny,” added Hugelmeyer. “Return on investment of trade show dollars is more important than ever.”
Addressing those cost concerns, Nielsen's statement appears to underscore its stated commitment to keep costs down. Nielsen already leverages across its many other trade shows (Interbike, Action Sports Retailer (ASR), Fly Fishing Retailer) to keep lodging and convention center expenses to a minimum. Operating in Salt Lake City is also a much more affordable option than other key areas. For instance, the cost per square foot on the floor for an exhibitor in SLC is around half the $40 fetched by the major apparel and footwear trade shows in Vegas.
But Nielsen also spelled out a number of existing and new cost-saving options attendees could expect. These include:
Discounted Booth Rates: OIA member companies will receive booth rate discounts of 5% in 2009, 8% in 2010 and 10% in 2011.
Affordable Hotel Options: An expanded hotel room block that the organizers say offer a savings of 30% or more compared to rooms outside the block or at other major convention city locations.
Controlling Drayage Costs: Since the Salt Palace is a non-union facility, the OR said it was able to negotiate labor and material handling rates that are as much as 50% less than union facilities in other cities such as Denver and Las Vegas.
Reduce T&E: The Open Air Demo has returned to a one day event to reduce exhibitors travel, meals & staffing expenses by a full day.
Cost Effective Booth Options: OR has programs to help exhibitors reduce booth costs through turnkey exhibiting solutions and other options that can save thousands of dollars on booth development, shipping, labor setup and tear down costs.
Cash Flow improvement for WM10: For Winter Market 2010, OR reduced the initial deposit required for booking space from 25% to 15%. OIA member exhibitors will receive flat main floor pricing to 2009 levels.
At the same time, the organizers detailed many ways it's adding more “value” to the content of the show. Many of the new initiatives reflect needs expressed in the survey. Noting the particular focus on finding new brands, the organizers are placing new exhibitors right between the main entrances of the show so the grand ball room serves as the focal part. A new exhibitor dossier-which includes a brief write-up of each company and where they're located-is also being introduced.
“Dealers want to see the new brands and product and they're often hard to find,” suggests Kenji Haroutunian, Outdoor Retailer show director. “We often hide them in the corners of the show because we don't have enough space. So we're providing a new exhibitor dossier that will include a little write-up of all the brand new exhibitors at the show and (we) distribute it to dealers that attend so that they have something to work from in finding and identifying the new brands.”
More than 120 new exhibitors are planned for the upcoming Summer Market. These include: Avia, Ryka, Jackson Kayaks, Trident SUP, Avisphere, Shinfuji, Scott Hawaii, Rocket Dog, K-Swiss, 2XU, Rawson Kayaks, Klymit, 5.11 Tactical, Cobian, Briggs & Reilly, Flexfit, The FRS Company, Old Guys Rule and Casio.
The show has also become a strong show for running brands and other endurance sports products.
Haroutunian also noted that Columbia Sportswear is returning to the show with a 4,000 square foot booth after a two-year absence. As far as categories, footwear and endurance sports (performance sports/running) are being notably expanded at the show, with the endurance area driven by the growing popularity of triathlons.
Another major effort for the OR team is around helping relationship-building for “the different tribal elements in the industry.” The goal is to increase networking opportunities among sport-specific brands and retailers alongside athletes and media.
For paddlesports dealers and sellers, for instance, the show has created space for a Paddlers Zone, managed by Outdoor Retailer and Paddler Magazine, and available to all members of the paddlesports industry to gather and relax while watching paddlesports videos on a large screen TV. There will also be paddlesports “happy hours” planned on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as a Paddlesports 360 Seminar featuring a panel of six industry leaders. The show will also include a new “Boat Loft” display to allow attendees to compare boats side-by-side. For the first time at Open Air Demo, attendees will be able to demo whitewater boats in their element on the Ogden River.
“As important as it is to have opportunities for partnership bridging across categories, it is equally important to rub elbows with your peers and partners at the specialty core of your business,' said Haroutunian. “What were doing for paddlesports reflects our approach to highlighting the community aspect of the show for all of the market sectors that gather here.”
Similar efforts are planned for sports such as climbing and endurance sports.
Also new for the upcoming Summer Market are twice-a-day merchandising tours, in which ten of the best merchandisers among brands will offer merchandising tips to dealers in specific categories.
To drive new buyers to the show, Haroutunian said his team is placing a greater emphasis reaching more buyers from military, institutional and education organizations, which collectively make up a “huge buying audience.”
Organizers are also pushing efforts to attract retailers from the east coast to the show, including a scholarship program for first-time dealers from the east in paddlesports. The group is also paying for 20 dealers to come out to experience the show and attend an orientation dinner with some dealers who attend the show every year to learn more about the show.
Meanwhile, the show organizers continue to explore “the perennial issues – beer, dogs and kids.” Allowing kids on the show floor is the smallest complaint, but the cost of a child care center can be expensive without huge demand. More complaints are heard around dogs (fights/inappropriate bathroom breaks) and beers (kegs coming out too early) because some attendees see these aspects as not conducive for business.
“We're working to soft control those things before we do any draconian clampdown kind of treatment,” said Haroutunian. “But this is pretty much a business show and a lot of business gets done.”
Finally, Haroutunian says that the Outdoor Retailer website is being beefed up to serve more as a “gathering point just like the show,” and also planning to stay in touch with attendees through additional surveys and polling by taking advantage of all the emerging social media tools. As the pace of change in business continues to accelerate, it's become more important to communicate on more of a regular basis with attendees.
“We have more ways to listen now more than ever with all the different Twitter accounts and what not that we have,” said Haroutunian. “So being aware and listening with big ears is one of my big goals as a show director. You've got to hear as much as you can and discern the voices. It's our job to feel out the edges of things and sometimes we blow it and we do Hummer test drives at the Open Air Demo and sometimes we get it right and we're ahead of the curve on things as well.”
