Industry Embraces Inaugural Outdoor Retailer Virtual Design Center LIV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Industry Embraces Inaugural Outdoor Retailer Virtual Design Center LIVE

World-wide participation of online event tools and content continues to grow, weeks following the one-day interactive conference

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – December 22, 2010 – Outdoor Retailer Virtual Design Center LIVE (VDC), the first in a series of interactive conference produced by Outdoor Retailer, was attended by more than 200 designers, developers and suppliers. The event, held December 7, 2010, drew world-wide participation as attendees contributed to interactive webinars, roamed through virtual tradeshow booths and discussed “Sustainability through Design,” all from the comfort of their individual computers.

In the two weeks following the one-day conference, individuals accessing conference archives and virtual tradeshow booths has doubled to more than 400 unique users to date, and continues to attract attention from retailers, designers and brand leaders in and out of the outdoor industry. The event is attracting users from more than 25 countries including Brazil, China, Israel, Kenya, New Zealand and Russia.

“The industry’s positive feedback and participation in the VDC is exciting and encouraging,” said Kenji Haroutunian, Outdoor Retailer show director. “In a culture where webcasting, social media, video streaming, and online research and ordering are becoming an integral part of how we do business, an event focused on the supply chain and sustainable business is a natural complement to the product and social interaction attendees experience at our semiannual tradeshows.”

Archives of the following sustainability-focused webinars are currently available:

• Design for Sustainability – How design of a product impacts its sustainability. Panel includes: Promostyl, Ecological Design Group, greenREACH
• OIA Eco Index – Overview of the new Eco Index and how to apply it. Presented by Nau.
• Sustainability through Supply Chain – Little changes equal big results when it comes to sourcing. Panel includes: American Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPN), Bluesign Technologies, Tompkins Inc.
• Trends in Natural Fibers – The latest innovations in cotton, wool, and hemp fibers. Panel includes: Textile Exchange, Buhler Yarns, prAna

In addition to the webinars, attendees can visit 17 virtual trade show booths presented by American Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPN), American Cotton Growers, American Denimatrix, Cocona Fabrics, Fabriclink, Hyperbola Textiles, Outdoor Retailer, Malakye, Polartec, Promostyl, Radici Group, and Textile Insight to name a few. 

For those who couldn’t attend the VDC LIVE, or for attendees who want a second look, the virtual booths will remain open and the webinars archived on the VDC LIVE webpage on outdoorretailer.com through March 7.

VDC LIVE was the first in a series of interactive conference to be produced by Outdoor Retailer, with more to be announced soon.

For a general overview of the VDC LIVE, go to www.outdoorretailer.com/info/virtual-design-center.

About Outdoor Retailer

Outdoor Retailer (OR), produced by Nielsen Expositions of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., is a full-service trade show company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. OR is the leading outdoor industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation. Now celebrating more than 25 years of successful events, Outdoor Retailer (outdoorretailer.com) gathers approximately 40,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Winter and Summer Market shows.

The next opportunity to preview the future of the outdoor industry will start at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, which will bring the best of winter product offerings to Salt Lake City, Utah at the All Mountain Demo from January 19, 2011 and the Trade Show from January 20-23, 2011.

# # #

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Chip Smith, SOAR Communications, 801.656.0472 x1(wk) / 801.597.7515(cell), csmith@soarcomm.com

Maura Lansford, SOAR Communications, 801.656.0472 x2(wk) / 817.929.8123(cell), mlansford@soarcomm.com