After several big-name brands pulled out of the British outdoor show for various reasons, and the exhibitor list shrunk to 30 companies, the UK’s Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has decided to cancel the next edition of Outdoor Preview, originally slated to take place on July 3-5 in Harrogate.
The OIA, led by Roger Southcott, has begun to review its future plans, as the Outdoor Preview show was the association’s main source of revenue. The association will likely bring in a consultant from outside of the sporting goods industry – thereby guaranteeing objectivity – but no official plans will be announced until after the OIA’s council has met in its entirety at the end of July.
Southcott says his association has no desire to become a UK agent for other large industry shows like the ISPO fair in Munich or the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen. However the OIA will take its largest ever contingent of companies to OutDoor this July 19-22, with its own 600-sq-mt space housing 21 exhibitors at the show. The OIA only brings companies to the Winter edition of ISPO, where it usually supports about 10 exhibitors.
In its heyday the Outdoor Preview had 250 exhibitors. Last year there were 60 exhibitors, but the buzz among companies at the show was positive and everything seemed to be on track for another edition this year, according to Southcott. Still, he feels that the industry has been shifting away from smaller national shows, giving way to large international fairs or even smaller, private showings at hotels.
Meanwhile the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen continues to grow. The organizers expect more than 700 exhibitors for the next July 19-22 edition, up from 675 a year ago. To help cope with the scramble for lodging, they have set up a new “OutDoor Reservation & Reavel Center” (pho. +49 7541 300119), and placed 50 mobile home at the visitors’ disposal near the fairgrounds. They are also setting up new facilities for wireless internet access, but it will not be free of charge.
