Eagle Creek to exchange old wheeled luggage for new at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market

Going to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market? Want an incredibly good deal on a brand new piece of Eagle Creek luggage? Have an older wheeled luggage you want to part with—brand doesn’t matter? Then Eagle Creek has a can’t-miss offer just for you. Trade in your old wheeled luggage at the company booth, pick up something new (preorders only), and leave knowing your luggage-exchange donation will be given to homeless shelters operated by YWCA, South Valley Sanctuary and The Center for Women & Children in Crisis.

This Eagle Creek offer to the trade is an expansion of the company’s Gimme Shelter luggage exchange program rolled out to consumers in 2005. That year, 150 retail doors participated in the United States and Canada and more than 500 wheeled luggage pieces were delivered to homeless and women’s shelters. The program also generated widespread media attention for the important work that shelters are doing throughout North America.

“We wanted to roll out the Gimme Shelter program at Summer Market to help increase retailer awareness of and participation in our North American consumer program,” Adam Ziegelman, Eagle Creek’s director of marketing, told SNEWS®. “And, we wanted to do something meaningful and tangible for those in need within the community that hosts our trade show twice a year.

“Gimme Shelter is working,” he added. “It contributes positively to those in greatest need, builds goodwill in our partner retailers’ local communities, and attracts new customers to Eagle Creek, lending yet more support for the communities in which we conduct business.”

Ziegelman elaborated that Eagle Creek is committed to this program because of the importance of addressing the real needs of homelessness in the United States. Nearly 800,000 people are homeless on any given night in the United States, while more than 50 percent of all homeless women and children are fleeing domestic violence situations. There are 1,500 shelters for battered women in the United States.

Collected luggage will be impressively displayed in a large collection bin located in the front of the Eagle Creek booth.

Program Details
Preorders are required to participate in the program. Pre-orders may be made by contacting Eagle Creek Customer Service at 800-874-1048. Trade participants will be instructed to bring their luggage exchange to the Eagle Creek booth (#36037) where it will be included in a large display at the front of the booth. Participants will then receive their new luggage item. Two hundred and fifty pieces will be available for trade-in/discount at Summer Market.

Three items will be offered in the exchange-discount program:
>> Tarmac ES 22 (Black Only). Suggested retail is $235, pro deal price is $94, but your price through the luggage exchange program is only $85.
>> Switchback Max ES 25 (Palm Only). Suggested retail is $300, pro deal price is $120, but your price through the luggage exchange program is only $85.
>> ORV Trunk (Palm Only). Suggested retail is $240, pro deal price is $96, but your price through the luggage exchange program is only $85.

Show participants who have preordered new luggage can collect their new luggage by exchanging any clean, empty and usable wheeled luggage at the Eagle Creek booth during the 2006 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market from Aug. 10-13.

You don’t have to buy something to participate! To contribute wheeled luggage pieces with no need for an exchange and/or make financial contributions to the important work of local shelters, drop by the Eagle Creek booth anytime during the show.

The program doesn’t stop at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market
Beyond the trade event, retailers are invited to sign up for the consumer version of Eagle Creek’s 2006 Gimme Shelter program, which is set to run Oct. 1-Nov. 15, by contacting Nicole Milici at nmilici@eaglecreek.com. Consumers returning wheeled luggage to the participating retailer will receive an immediate $25 rebate toward any Eagle Creek wheeled product. Eagle Creek splits the $25 discount with its retail partners. Retailers collect used luggage and donate the wheeled pieces to local women’s and/or homeless shelters.

Marketing support for participating retailers includes: an Online Toolkit retailers may use to make the promotion visible on retailers’ websites; publicity support materials and backing to support local retailer and shelter publicity efforts; package inserts to alert customers of the program; point-of-purchase kits; and corporate marketing and national public relations support.

More than 175 doors in North America have already signed up for the 2006 Gimme Shelter initiative, SNEWS® has been told.