Outdoor Retailer moves winter '04 show dates one day

VNU Sports Group announced today it will change the 2004 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show dates to solve a one-day overlap with SIA. OR’s new 2004 show dates run from Friday, Jan. 30, through Monday, Feb. 2, in Salt Lake City, Utah. SIA’s trade show runs from Jan. 26-29 in Las Vegas, Nev. Winter Market’s 2004 dates had originally been scheduled for Jan. 29-Feb. 1.

“We needed to do what was best for the industry, and for both sides of the aisle the adjoining dates are a better situation given the scheduling challenges presented to the two markets,” Peter Devin, OR trade show director, told SNEWS.

“Unfortunately, this puts our show more on top of ispo which impacts our international customers — exhibitors and retailers,” added Devin.

Devin also communicated to SNEWS that this is a short-term solution while all sides continue discussions toward a long-term and workable show schedule that will provide a timeline that is most beneficial for attendees, exhibitors and reps in the outdoor and snowsports marketplaces.

David Ingemie, president of SIA, thanked VNU and Outdoor Retailer show management for, “their ability to move the show by one day to make a difficult situation better for both markets. We appreciate what they did for the industries involved.”

SNEWS View: We know both sides worked very hard on this to find a solution that would work. In the end, Mandalay Bay was the sticking point. The Las Vegas hotel has three business units: one for casinos, one for the resort, and one for the convention. The casino and resort units would not give up a Friday or Saturday to allow SIA to move unless SIA would guarantee a ludicrous amount of money to make up for the possible loss of resort and casino business. That left OR holding the ball and they did the right thing. Of course, the best solution is to find a way, somehow, for both industries to co-locate their shows in a time and manner that will alleviate the worry manufacturers have about choosing one show over another, eliminate the nightmare that faces reps as they frantically run from one show to another to cover multiple accounts, and open up opportunities for retailers to explore new markets. Money saved by minimizing travel, having two booths, etc., should find its way back into the respective industries, and that’s certainly a good thing, too. Of course, that still leaves us figuring out how to skip across the pond to attend ispo at the same time — but how about we solve one challenge at a time?