Wow, what a week!
I hope you all had a great show! From the overall show attendance to the number of exhibitors, the show exceeded expectations. I heard countless positive comments from retailers and suppliers about busy booths, packed aisles, all the innovative new products and full appointment books. I heard that orders were being written and both brands and retailers were excited to “cross-pollinate” into other categories. Congratulations to our industry and everyone that took part in the new combined show!
For me, the idea of “change” was the most important theme of the show. From building a successful show in collaboration with the outdoor industry, to Rob Katz’s keynote address at Industry & Intelligence Day, this show was all about positive change. Rob’s speech was a great reminder that as an industry, we need to not only embrace change, but also be comfortable with it. This continual, positive change is what is going to propel us forward as the leaders in the winter sports industry.
If you missed Rob Katz’s keynote, I highly encourage you to watch it here https://sia.yourbrandlive.com/c/leadership. In fact, I encourage you to watch all of the amazing presentations from this year’s Industry + Intelligence Day here: http://sia.yourbrandlive.com/.
Most importantly, I left the show with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and optimism for what the future holds. The energy and excitement in Denver was palpable and seeing first-hand how our community embraced our friends from the outdoor industry was truly inspiring (but not surprising). The show of unity and our collective strength opened opportunities that I could only have imagined. And this first show was a launching pad for further collaboration throughout the year to grow our sports and strengthen our industry. Collaboration is our most powerful tool and SIA is ready to embrace it.
Lastly, a huge thanks to all of the retailers, reps and suppliers that attended the show and who were instrumental in its success. This show is the one time each year that we’re all able to unite as a community, so let’s make sure we keep our community together as we look toward future shows.
Special thanks also goes out to Outdoor Retailer for pulling off a great show in such a short amount of time, as well as my staff, and the SIA board of directors for all their hard work. During the show, we also welcomed four new board members, including Mike Adams of Amer, as the new Board Chair, and said goodbye to exiting board members and prior Board Chair, Mike Noonan of Marker/Volkl/Dalbello.
Let’s all work together to make the 2019 show an even bigger success. We’re already working on that and we need and value your input. Please give us your feedback on the 2018 show in this short 10 question survey. We appreciate all your feedback! Take the survey HERE.
Thank you all again.
Best, Nick
MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION
I want to set the record straight on some comments I overheard last week and ensure that we’re all aligned:
1. ”Show Dates for 2019 may change.”
The dates are NOT open for change. Emerald has set the dates for Jan 8-11, 2019.
2. ”The 2019 OR + Snow Show conflicts with the Providence regional show.”
The two events do NOT conflict. The Providence show is one week after the 2019 OR + Snow Show, Jan 14-17.
3. “SIA Snow Show is going to separate from the OR Show.”
The Snow Show is NOT separating from OR. SIA sold the show to Emerald and the new combined OR + Snow Show will continue well into the future.
And one final note: the On-Snow Demo at Copper was all-time. Great weather and a record number of exhibitors and retail attendees. More info on that in a future Nick’s Notes.
SIA Spring Fest
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