HFB 2013: Ushering in new era at the Mandalay Bay

 

Hello Mandalay Bay!

Gone are the days of walking through the Venetian’s smoky casinos to get to the Health and Fitness Business Expo trade show floor. Now the event, which will be held Sept. 18 and 19 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, will take place on a somewhat quieter and more accessible side of the Las Vegas strip.

Show organizers are excited about the venue change for the show, which this year moves to a two-day format, but some attendees say they’ll have to wait and see how the show goes.

The event is coming up quicker than you know and SNEWS will be on top of it bringing you all the information about the venue change, new products and educational workshops.

Nobody can project the success of the show, said HFB and Interbike Spokesperson Justin Gottlieb, but he’s got a good feeling.

“For the most part the response [to the venue change] has been very good, but still change can be difficult,” Gottlieb said. “Mandalay Bay is a very classy facility. Both retailers and exhibitors are going to see a step up in the facility from our previous home.”

For the past several years HFB was held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Due to the new location HFB, still held in conjunction with Interbike, will have its own ballroom, versus a spot in the basement like it had at the Sands. It will still be located next to registration in order to drive traffic, Gottlieb said.

“It will be nice not being in a basement,” said Alan Gore, owner of Bodycraft. “But I wouldn’t have an opinion about the venue until we get there.”

HFB registration numbers have remained on par with previous years, Gottlieb said, and the show still has a few premium exhibitor spots available. Currently, there are 68 exhibitors, six of which are brand new exhibitors that we’ll be featuring in the weeks leading up to the show.

Matt Gorsuch, vice president of sales and marketing for Tag Fitness of Aurora, Ill., said his team is looking forward to the event to showcase its 10-in-One Platform Trainer, a portable multi-exercise station for body-weight training for groups and individuals.

“We know that [HFB] attendees are there to find products they can sell and we are ready to increase our boundaries,” Gorsuch said. “We’re looking forward to interacting with the attendees and introducing them to Tag Fitness.”

New exhibitors aren’t the only new things at the show. As previously reported, HFB moves to a two-day format this year, something Gottlieb said was to satisfy show attendees.

“All of the exhibitors are happy that we’re going to two-day event,” Gottlieb said. “Exhibitors expressed they didn’t need all three days.”

Interbike, however, will keep the three-day format.

Also new this year is the launch of the show’s first preview, which includes valuable information on educational workshops, places to eat and be entertained plus a little something on the most recent SNEWS FitBiz Report.The preview can be found here.

SNEWS asks all 68 exhibitors to send over information on new products they’ll be launching in Las Vegas. Email atrujillo@aimmedia.com with the following information: a 50- to 100-word product description, a photo, product MSRP and your company’s booth number.

For more information on hotel blocks, air travel, registration and to sign up for show updates, visit the HFB website.