Across the U.S. snow belt, lakes may still be frozen and average temperatures are still near freezing, but paddling enthusiasts who have had enough of winter are again anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring.
On March 6-8, the 1st Annual Northeast Paddlesports and Outdoor Expo was held at the Saratoga City Center in Saratoga Springs, NY.

 

Sponsored by Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company, the first major outdoor expo of 2009 drew more than 2,300 paddling enthusiasts.
John Nemjo, owner of MOSC, who has operated the on-the-water Adirondack Paddlefest for 10 years, decided to launch a second early season show. Nemjo described his rationale for the new show. “People have had enough of winter. They want to see spring.  If that can’t happen they want to go somewhere where they can at least think of spring.”


Although Nemjo had some concerns about the impact of the economy, he reported that when it came to spending money, show attendees didn’t stop with the admission fee.  “The vendors were pleased to see that at the first test of the paddling season consumers were willing to spend money on outdoor recreational products, especially canoes and kayaks,” he said. “People bought more higher end accessories and higher priced boats than expected.”


Nemjo consulted manufacturer reps from major paddlesports brands to find an appropriate date for the inaugural event.  He said, “There was some concern about weather in early March but we wanted to be the bellwether. Let’s be first for the rest of the industry and see what happens. The reps liked this event and the risks I’ve taken with my business because we are trying to grow the industry and increase participation.”


One week later, the Rutabaga Paddle Sports 28th annual Canoecopia event was held March 13-15th at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI.


Despite the troubled economy outside the event, organizers and vendors saw little evidence of a recession on the show floor. Jeff Weidman, the former co-owner of Rutabaga who retired in 2007 but still works at the event, said, “I really think people want good news and they want to feel good. Close to home recreation is going to be very strong this year. Friday night attendance was up over last year. Saturday’s traffic was super strong and sales conversion is right on target. We are really pleased.”   


Weidman reported that Native Watercraft sold a boat in the first 30 seconds of the show. Andy Zimmerman, founder of Legacy Paddlesports and the Native Watercraft brand said, “This show sets the season off. There’s always a great buzz here. People have cabin fever and they want to get out. People just walked right up. They were waiting to shop at Canoecopia to take advantage of the deals. We sold the second boat of the show a minute later.”


Attendance continued strong on Saturday. Jim Miller, marketing manager at Werner Paddles commented, “It’s been incredible. We are really impressed with the amount of traffic Rutabaga has been able to draw into the show. We were busy from the moment the doors opened until the end of the day. It’s been great for us.”


Jedd Culler, manufacturer’s sales rep for Johnson Outdoors, agreed with this  sentiment, “Boat sales on Friday and Saturday were up over last year. On Saturday we had people sitting in every boat in the booth all day.”


While sales of homes and automobiles have experienced steep drops in sales, paddlesports seem to be weathering the recession.  “People’s wallets were open on Saturday,” Miller said. “We have paddles priced from $100 to $400 and we had no trouble selling our $400 products. If this is any indication, paddlesports is recession-proof.”


In fact some brands anticipated increasing sales in 2009. Culler said, “I have not talked to one customer who talked doom and gloom.  Everyone here is upbeat. We are anticipating an up year.  It’s not recession proof but people still need to get out and recreate.”
Michael Duffy, sales and marketing director at Kokatat, reports the company recorded its best-ever January in terms of sales. Duffy said,” We’ve had very good traffic. We’ve written a number of orders for special order dry suits and we are out of certain sizes of PFD’s. We’re not seeing any signs of the economic downturn here.”


Zimmerman noted that the slumping economy is hurting different distribution channels for paddlesports products. “I’m hearing that the big box business is hurting. They are as much as 40% down. Joe’s Sports is filing for bankruptcy and Sportsman’s Warehouse is closing 29 stores and selling 15 more. You are going to see more of that.”


He continued, “The bigger consolidated manufacturers went heavy with the big box stores and now they are having to go back to the specialty stores and almost beg for more business. I think it’s a little too late. I think smaller companies like us are benefiting right now even with the downturn of the economy. Since we have affordable recreation. I think we are in a good place.”


Since Canoecopia is scheduled so early in the season, the event also serves as an informal consumer focus group. Werner used the opportunity to fine-tune a retail education program. Wearing white lab coats, Werner’s staff used prescription type questionnaires to create the “prescription for the perfect fitting paddle.” Miller explained, “Retailers can be enthusiasts who overwhelm the consumer with too much detail without filtering it. On the other extreme is the sales person who sells boots that is scared when called upon to sell paddles.”
She continued,  “The questions help qualify the customer. We have a lot of skus and fit options. This program makes it easier for a retailer to sell our product.”


Zimmerman attends Canoecopia to hear customer feedback. He said, “I learn so much from the consumer that uses our products and comes back with compliments or complaints. This is the pulse of the business and I love being here and learning about what people think is good and bad about our product.”


Although it’s still far to early to call 2009 a good year for paddlesports, attendance at two early consumer events offers some positive feedback.