After 30-Year Exclusive Partnership with Outdoor Industry Association Ends, What’s Next for Outdoor Retailer
September 10, 2024
This summer, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), a 4,000-member trade group based in Boulder, Colo., and Outdoor Retailer, a biannual trade show owned by Emerald, agreed to conclude their exclusive 30-year partnership.
Outdoor Retailer provides a platform for face-to-face commerce, product launches, networking, and industry education to enhance business and support the outdoor recreation economy that reached $1.1 trillion in spending in 2022 in the U.S., a 19% jump from 2021, according to data by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). U.S. outdoor businesses earned $563.7 billion in 2022, accounting for 2.2% of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to BEA.
OIA members will continue to receive a 10% discount on booth rates for exhibiting through the 2024 Outdoor Retailer Winter, which will be held Nov. 6-8 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.
Context: Outdoor Retailer brings together retailers, manufacturers, designers, distributors, industry advocates, journalists, and more to conduct the business of outdoor recreation through commerce, unique product experiences, dedicated media events, content, and web-based business solutions. The industry gathering is one of 140 trade shows and events produced by Emerald, a public company that generated $382.8 million in revenues in 2023, according to its annual report.
Related: Earnings: Emerald Narrows Losses, Resumes Dividend Payments
What they are saying: “OIA and Outdoor Retailer have enjoyed a longstanding partnership marked by industry-leading education, networking, and community experiences. We appreciate the valuable opportunities that Outdoor Retailer has long provided, and continues to provide, to the outdoor industry and our membership,” said Kent Ebersole, president of OIA, in a press release. “This next chapter enables our organizations to work to unify our industry, foster growth, and deepen community engagement.”
Why it matters: “Outdoor Retailer is proud to have worked closely with OIA throughout our decades-long partnership and of the collaborative ways we cultivated growth across the outdoor industry,” said Sean Smith, Outdoor Retailer show director. “As we move forward, we will continue to work with industry organizations like OIA and others to provide valuable education and community advocacy at our shows and commit resources that ensure the industry makes progress and thrives. We’re dedicated to serving the evolving market and giving the outdoor community the most robust national stage to gather, learn, and build relationships.”
TSNN’s Danica Tormohlen caught up with Lindsay Hubley, senior vice president sports and outdoor group at Emerald, who oversees a portfolio of trade and consumer shows that includes Surf Expo, Outdoor Retailer, Overland Expo, and Outdoor Design and Innovation. We also reached out to OIA to get their take, and a spokesman told us OIA is in the process of solidifying some future partnerships and event opportunities but declined to comment further at this time.
What are the immediate and long-term plans for Outdoor Retailer following the conclusion of the exclusive partnership with OIA?
Outdoor Retailer plans to continue working with the Outdoor Industry Association on educational programming, advocacy efforts, and connecting the OIA with existing members and potential new members on the Outdoor Retailer show floor every year. Ending the exclusive part of our relationship helps both Outdoor Retailer and the Outdoor Industry Association work with a multitude of partners to reach their goals and expand each entity's overall reach.
How do you plan to maintain the value and appeal of Outdoor Retailer shows without the exclusive partnership with OIA?
Outdoor Retailer's value proposition is rooted in connecting brands, products, and service providers with retailers of all sizes. This year, Outdoor Retailer rolled out several new features, including the all-new Hosted Buyer Program, capped booth sizes, and dedicated buyer hours, fostering quality connections.
With both new and heritage brands exhibiting and more than 50 educational sessions and events from a variety of providers, Outdoor Retailer provided a valuable three days for the outdoor industry to conduct business and build relationships. Outdoor Retailer will continue to invest in these strategies along with a hyper focus on developing new and discoverable brands on the show floor to ensure retailers find great value far into the future.
Will you provide any statistics or insights on how the recent Outdoor Retailer shows have performed in terms of attendance and participation?
While we do not have specific attendance data points to share regarding attendance or exhibitors, I can share with you the below, which is from Outdoor Retailer’s Summer 2024 show recap release:
Outdoor Retailer and Outdoor Design + Innovation rolled out several new features at the Summer shows, including the all-new Hosted Buyer Program, which supported more than 165 attending buyers. Overall, attending buyers represented more than 30,000 retail locations. More than 80% of the brands at Outdoor Retailer were first-time exhibitors, providing critical discovery for retail buyers seeking next-generation and relevant products for the new outdoor consumer. And, with both new and heritage brands exhibiting and over 50 educational sessions and events, the shows provided valuable time for the outdoor industry to conduct business and build relationships.
How will Outdoor Retailer continue to support industry education and community advocacy in the absence of its exclusive partnership with OIA?
Outdoor Retailer is excited to continue to work with the OIA on educational programming and will now be able to work with many other not-for-profit advocacy groups to further initiatives in the outdoor industry.
Related: Outdoor Retailer Consolidating Winter Market and Snow Show
What steps is Outdoor Retailer taking to adapt to the evolving needs of the outdoor industry?
Outdoor Retailer has moved to a category-focused approach to its floor plans, including embracing new categories, such as adding a pickleball area inside the show to highlight new trends that new outdoor consumers are interested in.
We have also launched our hosted buyer program to assist retailers traveling to Salt Lake City in engaging with the show floor community. OR has also moved to a model to support new and discoverable brands, providing critical discovery for retail buyers seeking the next generation and relevant products for the latest outdoor consumer. Capped booth sizes will continue to ensure small brands have as much of an opportunity to generate new business at OR that the more established brands have.
Related: Emerald Expositions Buys SIA Snow Show, Merges with Outdoor Retailer
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