BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
At a Scott-sponsoring outdoor dinner at PressCamp in Deer Valley resort, Utah, Scott Montgomery, general manager of Scott in North America, told journalists and fellow exhibitors that money spent at Interbike was "pissed away" when he’d rather excess went to industry and trailbuilding organizations.
Montgomery, son of the founder of Cannondale and CEO of Scott USA’s North American branch since its relaunch, took no prisoners. He made it plain he doesn’t like Interbike being staged in the City of Lost Wages.
He told PressCamp exhibitors and assembled journalists that the bike trade was relatively small, competitors were friendly to each other and that intimate, ride-themed events were more in the spirit of the
bike trade than Interbike in Las Vegas.
He said PressCamp – and DealerCamp, the IBD event in the same location in July – were "more pure" than Interbike.
"I’d rather see my money going to events that reflect our industry, not pissed away in a town with strippers."
Scott USA is exhibiting at Interbike this year but Montgomery said he’d be actively looking to place his show dollars elsewhere and was keen for DealerCamp to be a success.
Accessory brands tend to love Interbike; the bigger bike brands are sacking back their presence. Cannondale and Specialized have small booths at Interbike, compared to Eurobike. Trek exhibits at Interbike’s Outdoor Demo but not in the Sands Exposition Center.
Other Interbike refuseniks include Kona, Giant and Cervelo.
Interbike’s presence in Las Vegas has long rankled but, in dealer survey after dealer survey, Las Vegas has always come out on top for best host cities.
Show director Andy Tomkins has moored a move to early August but there’s been no serious discussion about a venue switch. The earlier dates would bring the show into more conflict with Eurobike, held at the end of August.
The earlier and earlier sales season is leaving the way open for events like PressCamp and DealerCamp and many suppliers now have samples to show off in June and July.
However, some in the industry are worried that smaller dealer events, and solus supplier events like those that can be afforded by near billion dollar companies like Trek, will chip away at Interbike, the only ‘whole-industry’ event available.
