In a letter to the industry, SnowSports Industries Americas President Nick Sargent responded to Outdoor Retailer’s recently announced changes to its trade-show calendar, expressing concerns that the schedule still stretches retailers thin.
“As the official trade association for the winter industry, it’s SIA’s job to look out for our membership’s best interest and the industry as a whole, including the support of any actions taken to reduce stress on the industry,” he wrote. “SIA applauds any effort to consolidate shows, however we are concerned that, starting in November of 2018, there will be four winter-specific national trade shows within the span of one year, with three being produced by Emerald Expositions. We feel that this will result in unnecessary stress and economic duress on the suppliers and retailers – not only for SIA members, but across all winter outdoor stakeholders.”
In addition to moving its Winter Market trade show to mid-November following Grassroots Outdoor Alliance’s Connect Show the week before, Emerald is also proposing to establish a new “Winter Expo” show in January 2019 for winter vendors (mostly hardgoods) that wouldn’t be ready to exhibit in November.
The new January 2019 show (which has yet to set a location or dates) seems to be an effort to pressure SIA into a partnership, observers said. SIA was part of the initial trade-show calendar conversations with Emerald Expositions, officials said.
Still, Sargent said there is plenty of concern in working with Emerald, which he notes runs shows that are more expensive.
“As a member-dedicated trade show, SIA’s priority is to facilitate business and our industry’s overall success,” he wrote in the letter. “The Snow Show has continually provided the lowest price per square foot to exhibit. We collaborate with rep groups and buying groups to facilitate retail business and provide tools and research with the Industry & Intelligence education. Being located in Denver, Colorado, the heart of the outdoor industry and a leader in outdoor activism, the SIA Snow Show also recognizes the importance of the value of advocacy and stewardship when it comes to climate change, environmental concerns and accessibility to the outdoors.”
Adding more spice to the pie, Colorado has aggressively been pursuing the Outdoor Retailer show to move from Salt Lake City to Denver.
Sargent ended his letter on a more hopeful tune.
“We are all part of one large industry eco-system and the lines are increasingly blurring between winter snow sports and the general outdoor market,” he wrote. “Therefore, it’s crucial that we work together to find a way to minimize the number of national shows, while better supporting the regional shows. SIA welcomes Emerald and OIA to engage in constructive dialog on how best to serve the entire winter outdoor industry and the invaluable role that the SIA Snow Show plays.”
