Outdoor Retailer announces new features for summer Open Air Demo
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New offerings include a “Retailer Exchange” between Surf Expo and Outdoor Retailer.
Outdoor Retailer is adding new features for paddlesports vendors and retailers to this summer’s Open Air Demo, which will return to Jordanelle State Park.
The show announced Friday that it will offer new clinics, education programs, and networking sessions at the demo, including a series of workshops on consumer engagement. Successful retailers, like Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City, Calif., along with teams from Outdoor Retailer and Emerald Expositions, which owns the show, will share best practices for planning and hosting consumer events.
Outdoor Retailer will also offer a new “Retailer Exchange Program,” which will invite top buyers outdoor and paddle buyers from Outdoor Retailer to Surf Expo, and will invite the top cruise, resort, and regional East and Caribbean buyers who generally attend Surf Expo to Outdoor Retailer.
“By expanding these buyers’ opportunity to shop both shows, each have the benefit of discovering brands, trends, and products unique to these events,” Outdoor Retailer said in a press release.
This year’s changes reflect discussions with paddlesport retailers, VP of Outdoor Retailer and Show Director Marisa Nicholson says.
“Paddling is a fundamental outdoor experience that contributes to and thrives alongside the rest of the human-powered industry represented at Summer Market,” she said in the press release. “Our Retail Relations team has been engaged with independent specialty and paddlesport specific retailers and reps and we have listened closely to their feedback and are grateful for their insights.”
The Open Air Demo will be held July 25. Brands exhibiting at the demo include: Advanced Elements; Aire; Aqua Lung America; Astral Buoyancy; BIC; BOTE; Cataract Oars/Advanced Composites Inc; Future Beach; Greenland Sales Corporation; Hobie Cat Company; Hala Gear SUP; Jackson Kayak; Johnson Outdoors Watercraft; Kokatat Inc; Level Six Inc; Lifetime Products; Malone Auto Racks; MTI Adventurewear; NRS; Pelican International; RAM Mounts; Sage Marine; Salus Marine Wear Inc; Sawyer Products; Sea Eagle Boats Inc; Seattle Sports Co; Sparehand Paddlesports/Stoneman Sports; Thule and Wenonah.
A full list of paddle brands can be viewed on the Outdoor Retailer website: outdoorretailer.com/paddle.
