The annual Outdoor Retailers Summer
Showcase is now underway in
Salt
Lake City. It is a huge show and held in the Salt Palace, in the
downtown area.
It runs through August 3. Streets in that area will be congested.
People traveling into the city are encouraged to use
public
transportation.
The show totally fills hotels in the
downtown area, and participants spill over into surrounding
communities.
Yesterday participants spent the day in
the field testing products displayed at the show. Today was the first
day indoors.
Retailers set up shop as Salt Lake
is still the place for premier outdoor trade show
The Outdoor Retailers Association
provided the news release below:
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Kicks
Off in Salt Lake City
SALT LAKE CITY - The newest stand up
paddleboards (SUP), canoes, kayaks, shoes, apparel and more hit the
open water and trails at Jordanelle State Park yesterday as Outdoor
Retailer Summer Market kicked off with the Open Air Demo. The show
continues with the start of the four-day event in Salt Lake City
today.
A day in the mountains of Utah gave
retailers a chance to put the latest offerings from outdoor
manufacturers to the test and get a first-hand feel for gear ranging
from paddlesports to trail running before making buying decisions
later this week at the Salt Palace.
"Every show we hear the same thing
from retailers: Having a chance to test this equipment is invaluable
in the decision-making process," said Kenji Haroutunian, vice
president at Nielsen Expositions and OR Show Director. "With the
scope of products at the Demo, retailers can test gear for every
corner of their shop all in one place."
Some of the events at the Open Air Demo
included a SUP vs. canoe race, the Paddle/Pedal Challenge, which
pitted retailers against the clock on a SUP and mountain bike race,
the O'Neill Psycho Joust, Redington Casting Competition, fun runs,
Magellan GPS Treasure Hunt and more.
"In terms of tradeshows in either
surf or outdoor industries, this is the show where all the retailers
are, it's the right time of year for us to start taking orders and
it's unbelievable to be able to come here and have the on-water day;
it's the whole package. Participation is continuing to grow in this
sport, and OR is at the heart of it all." Huntley Dornan,
Surftech
"The best thing about this
environment is that everybody gets to try out everybody's boats. By
retailers coming here they get to see first-hand on the water the
changes we're making so they're educated for their buying and
educated for their customers. This is the hub of the industry,
everybody comes here." Damon Bungard, Jackson Kayak
"Open Air Demo is a chance for us
to get some of our newest product on the feet of shop employees and
people who run shops, plus we get feedback here to find ways to
improve product, improve the booth space and have a better event. The
retailers that come out early to take part in demo days are the ones
who we really want to be speaking to because they're the most stoked
and they want to check everything out. It's a great audience."
Mark Hofmann, Patagonia Footwear
"I'm here to meet with vendors to
discuss possible equipment and clothing that could help the US
military. The Demo and Outdoor Retailer are great because it brings
everybody throughout the US to one central location so we can have 80
meetings in three days." John Hurley, US Army
"We're really trying to take our
fly shop in a direction that's not so much selling equipment as it is
selling fly fishing. Open Air Demo is a great opportunity to come out
here and paddle around, check out the stability, see if I can stand
up and cast from them in order to provide something for my customers
that is really brand new. Right now I can learn the difference
between types of kayaks because I got to use them and experience the
tradeoffs you couldn't see if you were inside." Dave Leinweber,
Angler's Covey, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Attendees now head to the Salt Palace
Convention Center in Salt Lake City for Summer Market 2012, four days
of business education, events, networking and finalizing buying
decisions. The indoor portion of the show runs August 2-5.
For photos of Outdoor Retailer Summer
Market and the most recent show happenings, visit
www.facebook.com/outdoorretailer or www.twitter.com/outdoorretailer
and #orshow.
About Outdoor Retailer
Outdoor Retailer (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 Nielsen
Expositions and based in San Juan Capistrano, California, Outdoor
Retailer also provides and promotes retailer education, advocacy,
responsibility and critical face-to-face business initiatives within
the outdoor industry.
Recently named among Trade Show News
Network's 25 fastest-growing tradeshows by attendance, Outdoor
Retailer (www.outdoorretailer.com ) connects approximately 46,000
attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Summer and Winter Market
shows, and thousands more through its year-round online resources and
platforms.