As if there was any doubt after the purchase of the Denver-based SIA snow shows by Outdoor Retailer parent Emerald Expositions. But now its official: all Outdoor Retailer expos moving forward (both Summer and Winter as well as the new OR + Snow Show) will be held in downtown Denver, Colo. At a press conference in conjunction with the Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and Governor John Hickenlooper, Outdoor Retailer show director Marisa Nicholson made the announcement this morning.
The first show at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver will be the combined Outdoor Retailer plus SIA Snow Show taking place January 25 – 28, 2018. The 2018 OR Summer Market will take place July 23 – 26, 2018. The third annual event – OR Winter Market, as previously announced by Emerald – will take place on November 8 – 11, 2018. Moving forward, OR will hold these three outdoor shows each year.
Future dates will be released in the next 30 days.
Nicholson said Denver was awarded the deal because of the state’s dedication to outdoor preservation and recreation and because Colorado “is where the industry wants to be.”
No announcement was made regarding Outdoor Retailer’s previously announced semi-colocation with the Grassroots Connect shows and the OR Utah expos, although Amy Roberts, executive directory at the Outdoor Industry Assocication, did address the issue in a follow-up letter to OIA members. “We are working toward final dates for a co-located show cycle with Grassroots Outdoor Alliance and Outdoor Retailer in June and November, allowing many retailers and vendors to get much of their business done in one city two times per year,” wrote Roberts. Outdoor Retailer and SIA also are working with buying groups around the January show, she said.
OR, OIA and the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance have scheduled a Q&A information session on Day One of Summer Market in Salt Lake City.
