Outdoor Retailer and SIA try to ease exhibitor woes of butting shows

With back-to-back trade shows in 2003, Outdoor Retailer and Snowsports Industries America (SIA) have been devising strategies to assist overlapping exhibitors with booth setup.

Debbie Brown, trade show director of SIA Vegas, estimates that 100 manufacturers will be affected by the shows’ dates. SIA Vegas runs Jan. 27-30, and Outdoor Retailer Winter Market’s booth show is Jan. 31-Feb. 3.

“Because there are so many dual exhibitors showing at both SIA and OR, and with the shows being back to back, it’s pretty much impossible — unless the company has two booths that they can get from one place to the other — to set it up and merchandise it all,” Brown said.

Exhibitors that are exhibiting in both shows and sign up for SIA’s Operation Overlap will receive rental wall systems from GES’s designer series for no charge for the 2003 show only. Participating exhibitors will pay for the labor fees for installing and dismantling the exhibit, and additional services and features. They also receive discounts on displays, with a 10×10 costing $807 and a 10×20 costing $1,380.

SIA is also offering the Hot Shot Express to get product samples from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. “If a company is exhibiting their product in our show and they need to get it to [Salt Lake City], we will guarantee that it’ll be delivered to the OR floor by 6 a.m. Friday morning (the first day of Winter Market). GES will take it straight from our show floor, get it packed and loaded into a truck, and drive all night to get there by the next morning,” Brown said.

SIA exhibitors can opt for the Hot Shot as late as Jan. 29. Brown said prices would vary depending upon shipment size.

Outdoor Retailer’s Expo Express service provides exhibitors with booth set up and tear down, plus various fixtures and furniture, for a set price. Depending on the package, exhibitors will arrive to a booth space completely furnished with walls, drape, lighting and carpet. At show’s end, tear down is taken care of by GES. Costs for 10×10 packages are $450 and $1,920, while 10×20 prices are $500 and $5,190. Packages are also available for the On-Snow Demo, Jan. 29-30.

“Due to the heavy schedule for many exhibitors this January, we wanted to offer an easy one-step solution for those who want to showcase their brand at (Winter Market),” said Peter Devin, trade show director of Outdoor Retailer, “but simply don’t have the bandwidth to go through the normal planning, design and set-up process.”