SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Emerald Expositions has canceled its Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show, which had been planned for early November in Denver, and which was to have included a bicycle trade area.
Emerald said it will return Outdoor Retailer to a two-show annual format, combining the Winter Market with January's Outdoor + Snow Show, also in Denver. Then it will hold its OR Summer Market show in June 2020 in Denver. It's more or less the same schedule that OR had two years ago, before it split the winter show into two events.
"We’re taking it back to 2018 …" wrote Marisa Nicholson, OR's senior vice president, said in an email to the industry Wednesday afternoon.
"We made this decision in partnership with the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and after consultation with key brands and retailers through personal conversations, our advisory boards and surveys.
"And we are excited! While we believe that the winter season deserves a true launch event, for winter businesses, the priority is to bring outdoor and snow brands and buyers together in one place. And the overwhelming sentiment is for that event to be in January," Nicholson wrote.
Emerald announced last fall that it was canceling its Interbike show, which was last held in Reno, Nevada, in September 2018. It later announced it would include bike exhibits in the November OR event, but bike industry response to that proposal was muted, at best. Emerald said bike companies are welcome to exhibit at either of next year's shows.
"Bike brands and dealers can explore options for exhibiting and/or attending Outdoor + Snow Show and Summer Market. Manufacturers and brands have previously indicated that timing on the two shows may fit their product cycles," the company said.
Companies that had already committed to exhibiting at the November show can receive a full refund or apply any payments toward the costs of one of next year's shows, the company said.
The Outdoor + Snow Show will be held Jan. 29-31, 2020, at Denver's Colorado Convention Center. Emerald has a contract to hold its OR events there through 2022.
