Emerald Expositions has moved up the date for Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2016 by two weeks to Jan. 7-10 in a bid to avoid competing against the Sundance Film Festival for housing and the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday for the attention of retailers.
The All Mountain Demo will continue to run on the eve of the show, which will now fall on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. The biannual Outdoor Retailer, which is held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City in January and August, is the largest outdoor gear, apparel, accessories and technology trade show in the United States. An estimated 22,000 people attended the last winter show Jan. 21-24, 2015.
Emerald Exposition said future Winter Market shows are slated to remain in that earlier timeframe as well, with the 2017 show slated for January 7-10 and the 2018 show scheduled for January 6-9. It did not, however, say whether it plans to keep the show in Salt Lake City beyond 2016.
OR’s move to an earlier Winter date pattern is supported by responses to research conducted and sent to well over 6,000 specialty retailers and exhibitors earlier this year.
“There are three major reasons the market prefers the new dates,” said Marisa Nicholson, VP and show director. “First, the move earlier in the sales cycle benefits specialty retailers looking to finalize or tweak orders before ordering deadlines and see new products and suppliers earlier. Second, we avoid being close to other industry events and away from the important Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Finally, the new dates allow us to avoid the Sundance Film Festival entirely, which will have a housing benefit.”
The shift in the 2016 show date ensures that the industry tradeshow will best serve specialty retailers by launching ahead of final ordering deadlines. As a result, Outdoor Retailer will provide a better platform to finalize orders, identify marketing and merchandising collaborations, and develop programs to drive consumer sell-through. Newer suppliers and products will benefit from being seen and considered earlier in the sales cycle as well.
“We have been listening to customer feedback from both retailers and manufacturers,” said Nicholson. “As a team, we are always looking for ways to improve the value of the show to not only our attendees and exhibitors, but to the industry at large. This adjustment will pave the way for us to increase ROI for our exhibitors while helping specialty retailers shop the show in a timeframe that maximizes their time spent on the show floor.”
“We look forward to Winter Market moving earlier in the season,” said Jennifer Mull, Outdoor Industry Association board chair. “This shift in dates, while not in front of early deadlines, does give retailers time to see final products at the show (prior to final deadlines) and to be more in front of the season with their business and marketing discussions. This is a positive step toward addressing the timing concerns expressed by some Outdoor Retailer attendees.”
The change in show days, now Thursday Sunday, with the All Mountain Demo scheduled for Wednesday, has also provided OR the opportunity to secure better housing options within the show’s block of rate-controlled rooms. The Outdoor Retailer management team continues to work closely with local community representatives to creatively address accommodations and transportation to and from the convention center.
OR Summer Market will stage August 3-6, 2016, with the Open Air Demo scheduled for August 2, 2016.
OR brings together retailers, manufacturers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation through tradeshows, product demo events and web-based business solutions. Produced by Emerald Expositions and based in San Juan Capistrano, CA, OR also provides and promotes retailer education, advocacy, responsibility and critical face-to-face business initiatives within the outdoor industry.
Consistently named among Trade Show News Network’s 25 fastest-growing tradeshows by attendance, OR connects approximately 50,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Summer and Winter Market shows, and thousands more through its year-round online resources and platforms.
