Grassroots Outdoor Alliance (GOA) will hold its Connect buying show in Kansas City next month.
Scheduled to take place from November 7-10, Grassroots Connect will gather “more than 1,000 attendees at the Kansas City Convention Center for 9,343 pre-scheduled appointments, including 8,230 total meeting hours. Buyers at the show will represent 132 retail stores and 220 total doors—a retailer attendance number that is a 15 percent increase from the Spring 2022 show, which exceeded pre-pandemic attendance levels,” said GOA.
Grassroots Connect will also gather “more than 150 brands from around the country—a record tally that includes 116 brands on the show floor and 38 participating in a new one-day Discovery Marketplace held the night before the show begins,” GOA continued.
“Grassroots Connect gives both retailers and vendor brands a level of efficiency and predictability that is unique in the trade show landscape. People know whom they’re going to see, and they know they’re going to conduct a lot of business there,” said Gabe Maier, president, GOA. “At the same time, what makes independent specialty retailers great is the freshness of their product selection, which is why we’ve added some new discovery tactics for both attending brands as well as prospective exhibitors.”
The Grassroots Connect schedule of events begins November 6 at the Loews Hotel, with retail membership meetings in the morning and an afternoon education session open to all retailer attendees from noon to 4 pm. Following the education sessions, the Discovery Marketplace and retailer happy hour will be held from 4 pm. to 7 pm. in the Loews Hotel ballroom. The Discovery Marketplace will feature a curated selection of 38 invited brands, each with a booth and limited product selection. A second discovery event will be held on the show’s main floor from 6 pm to 8 pm on November 8.
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