BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Interbike’s first year in the Mandalay Bay convention Centre in Las Vegas has been ‘welcomed’ by the industry according to Pat hus, the trade show’s vice president.
“General feedback and the vibe on Interbike 2013 has been very positive,” said Hus. “We had to manage quite a bit of ‘new’ this year, and we’ve heard from retailers and exhibitors alike who were both pleased with the end result of their visit, and also enjoyed their experience at our new home within the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.”
Attendance did dip seven per cent over 2012 figures, though organisers believe a combination of the Colorado floods and retailers travelling with less staff largely makes up the shortfall. Preliminary data shows that store count was up eight per cent (350 additional stores) with less people attending per store than in 2012. Stricter qualification was rewuired to limit the number of non-trade arriving at the show.
“We were able to send five employees to Interbike last year,” noted Marty Epstein of Marty’s Reliable Cycle in New Jersey. “But with the difficult business conditions during the first half of the year we needed to watch our expenses more carefully, so this year we brought only two employees.”
There was an 18 per cent dip in retail buyers from the Colorado state, most likely down to severe flooding in the region making travel difficult.
The show’s footprint has grown however, with over 1,400 brands exhibiting on more than 320,000 net square feet (not including the main lobby or The Paddock) which is approximately 1.5 percent larger than 2012 and the largest Interbike.
Preliminary data shows that approximately 750 verified consumers attended Interbike’s 1st consumer-access day on Friday, September 20th.
The preceding Outdoor Demo, held out in Bootleg Canyon, saw 220 brands (10+ over 2012) pitch up in the desert to offer retailers and press the chance to test try product ahead of availability. Registered buyer and distribution personel attendance incresed by six per cent.
Other show highlights include:
– The Industry Breakfast: More than 650 people attended to hear keynote speaker Graeme Newell, Tim Blumenthal of PeopleForBikes and Fred Clements of the NBDA.
– Ride 2 Recovery Honor Ride: Approximately150 show attendees and injured veterans participated in an emotional ride from MBCC to OutDoor Demo.
– Industry Party with George Thorogood: More than 1,000 attendees came to watch blues rocker George Thorogood perform exclusively for our audience.
– Throwback Thursday: Approximately 8,000 people were on hand in The Paddock to watch the events in The Paddock including the band, Phoenix, and the USA CRITS Finals.
– NBDA Super Seminars: According to the NBDA, retailer attendance at the Super Seminars was up over 20 percent over 2012.
An in-depth study of attendance will be included in the Interbike Post-Show Report, which will be available in the coming weeks.
Interbike returns to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in 2014, beginning with OutDoor Demo in Boulder City, NV on September 8-9, 2014, followed by the Interbike Expo on September 10-12, 2014.
To view our three photo galleries from this year’s event, see here.
