by Larry EderThe Outdoor Retailer Winter and Summer shows are a fascinating part of the sports business. The Winter show, about to change its dates, was in a strange place in the sporting good galaxy in 2017. It was my second trade show of the year.
Here is what I learnt…
Under Armour Booth, OR Winter Market, photo by RunBlogRun
Here are my big lessons from OR winter….
1. Stay relevant or die. The OR Winter Show is in danger, for the running business, of becoming an also ran. In past five years, it has taken me two to three days to reach out to the various brands I want to see and interview. In 2017, it took four hours, and two of those were spent at Brooks Business breakfast. The Brooks event, started a few years ago, has become a fixture.
Most major running brands have left the show, including New Balance and Saucony. The brands in running told me that they were watching this year. Now, brands like Altra, HOKA and Salomon were busy, but the big brands were all gone. (Saucony had a presence, showcasing product at their Wolverine partner, Sperry).
2. Where are the buyers? Two major brands shared with me that they were meeting with one buyer at OR. Now, this buyer was worth millions in busness, but come on? A six figure booth ($250-$300k if you are in mid size booth, between real estate, staffing, housing and travel). The show has to find out why buyers are staying away and remedy that situation.
3. HIstory ALWAYS Repeats. Remember the Super Show? In the 1980s and 1990s, I donated much of my liver to the nights of bachnalia that were featured at the Super Show. Brand after brand brought in music, food, free booze as buyers, marketers and media frolicked. I remember seeing top musical acts at Reebok, adidas, among others. After Nike, then Reebok pulled out in the mid 1990s, the Super show went into a trade show purgatory, never to recover.
4. Learn from success. The guys who founded Formula 4 were considered absolute nuts when they left their nice paying jobs to take over the first year Running Event. The show has built itself into the MUST Be if you are in performance running. It is my most important four days of the year. Why? Because, even if robotic cars are driving me around and Ex-Machina like robots are managing my day, humans need to interact. The sharing of information, the face to face meetings are still key for brands to understand problems and challenges. TRE allows the running community to catch up, reassess and focus on the job at hand. As the late Dr. John said, “gotta be in the right place, at the right time.” Repeat Doctor John often.
The OR is not going to die. For its adventure, trail, outdoor channels, it is still tremendous, but they need to stay relevant in those markets. We wish them luck, as big trade shows still have meaning.
