Sometimes change is needed, regardless of the amount of pressure to maintain the status quo. In the case of the annual SIA Snow Show, the move to Denver and away from Las Vegas was clearly a change that was needed. The 2010 show opened with a large media contingency ranging from endemic publications like Transworld and SKI to local and national broadcast media. The show organizers were certainly able to increase the hype with press conferences and staged ribbon cutting ceremonies, all of which added to the perceived size of the show.
The Denver venue also helped. While Vegas offered neon lights, the Colorado Convention Center let the outside in, and with snow falling on Day one of the show, it certainly put buyers in the mood for new gear.
The overall footprint of the show was considerably smaller than it was in Vegas, and several booths were cut down in size. However, many attendees felt like the show was more “right-sized” than down-sized. With many hardgoods manufacturers cutting production by 30% to 50% over the past several years, it was inevitable for their trade show to right-size as well.

 

SIA was also able to pull in more buyers from the local Colorado area. Sports Executive Weekly spoke with several front range retailers who skipped OR Winter Market but went to SIA instead because of the ease of access. However, several East Coast retailers certainly made their voices heard regarding the new venue and even more chose not to attend. One vendor told SEW that the majority of his Eastern dealers asked him to bring hardgoods to the regional apparel & footwear preview shows because they would not be at SIA. This vendor said that Eastern retailer attendance was down 20% to 40% for his brands.

 

Many vendors made their feelings about Vegas apparent as well. Vegas-themed booths were prevalent to the point where it almost seemed cliché. Raffles, poker tables, roulette, and wheels of fortune were around every corner. Burton had the most audacious Vegas booth, with nearly a third of their floor space dedicated to gambling.

 

The on-snow demo was also a highlight that was heavily touted by SIA, but it was not whole-heartedly embraced by vendors and retailers. One retailer told SEW that he was simply too busy to take the extra time off after the show to demo gear. One vendor said that the demo was a great concept, but after he looked at the list of attendees, it became clear that it would be more of a party than a place to do business. “It looks like the demo will be a great place for us to say thanks to all of the shop kids who sell our skis every year. There are a lot of secondary and tertiary level employees who will be there, but not many buyers. Now, I really like the idea of saying ‘Thank You’ to these kids, because they are the ones on the front line, but I’d rather do it in March when we aren’t so busy selling,” this vendor revealed.

 

Many of the snowboard companies were also rather vocal about the move to Denver. Since several of the core, smaller brands are located in Southern California, Vegas was an ideal location within driving distance with inexpensive hotels. Denver makes attending SIA a much more expensive proposition for some of these smaller brands-adding airfare, freight, and hotels that are two to three times more expensive.

 

In spite of the vocal complaints coming from both sides of the show, the majority of the retailers and vendors who spoke to SEW agreed that the move to Denver changed the look, feel and mood of the show for the better. With 2010 as the first year in a new location, there were certainly some growing pains. But in the end, Denver appears to be the perfect host for the snow sports industry.