Did you hear?…SIA cracking down on early breakdown of booths at future shows

SnowSports Industries America (SIA) has given fair warning to its exhibitors: Start to pull down a booth and leave before the closing bell of its trade show and you may be subjected to a stiff financial penalty AND a loss of exhibit space priority.

What constitutes an early breakdown violation, according to SIA?

* Removing product from display cases, fixtures or mannequins during official show hours

* Dismantling of booth structure, fixtures or signage during official show hours

* Having visible boxes, crates or rolling racks in the booth during official show hours

SIA said in a statement, “In the future, any exhibitor who breaks down prior to the official closing of the show will be penalized with loss of exhibit space priority and fine of $500 to $10,000.”

SNEWS® View: We can’t say we blame SIA at all on this one. It’s quite frustrating to navigate through aisles that are becoming cluttered with boxes, rolling racks, crates and piles of product. It’s even more frustrating to rush over to a booth for a last minute visit only to find half, if not all, of the booth is in a dismantled state and no one is around or cares to answer any questions about product. It’s unprofessional, people!!! And, at this last SIA show, our team encountered a startling number of folks looking to fly the coop hours before the show closed. Apparently, business was so good there was no more business to be done at all — or not. It will be interesting to see just how seriously SIA membership takes this warning and how strong a stand SIA itself takes next year. Warnings are one thing. Enforcing penalties with customers you consider valuable and really do not want to make angry is quite another. It will be a fine line to walk, but good for SIA for at least taking a stand.