This article originally appeared in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Paddle Dealer, the sibling trade publication of Paddler magazine.

The group that comes togetherevery summer for Outdoor Retailer is truly one, big family—dysfunctional as it may be.
We all speak pretty much the same language and covet special places in the outdoors. However, that is where the similarities end. Pick your sport and you will find disciplines, even within that sport, that vehementlydisagree with one another. Add in the business side—different manufacturing models, such as manufacturing to orders on-hand in the states,
or manufacturing to projection in Asia, and distribution channels ranging from mom-and-pops to big box—and conflicts are bound to surface.
It is no surprise that 2009’s Summer Market dates (July 21-24) are causing tension in the hall, with most of the paddlesports clan wondering how next year’s show schedule will impact their ability to present, or even conceive of, new lines. And even within paddlesports, opinions and positions vary from a feeling of total abandonment by OR to those who still view the show as a once-a-year gig to see major North American and international retailers.
At the heart of the matter is manufacturing cycles, which seem relatively simple—just place your order with the factory, and the things show up—until you have been immersed in manufacturing in Asia.
But the reality is that manufacturing in Asia, while providing manufacturers and retailers with better margins, creates lead-time and communication nightmares. This has forced brands to shift the buying cycle earlier, placing orders with their factories about the time that Summer Market rolls around, for X Factory in December/January. This allows goods to be on retailers’ floors for early spring. By the time OR’s traditional August dates have rolled around, many larger retailers have made up their minds on what the next year’s product mix will look like, if not actually written orders.
This cycle provides factories with 90 days to order fabrics—which in many cases are purpose-driven, specialty fabrics—conduct incoming inspections on the materials, make rejections and corrections, produce the goods, and get them out of the door. Add into this mix the lack of love some brands are feeling from major retailers that control huge open-to-buy dollars and have the infrastructure to conduct their own OEM manufacturing, and the equation goes from grade-school level to second-year university level.
If it smells like it is a soft-goods-driven decision, you are on the right track. “The domestic hard goods-vs.-foreign-built soft goods conundrum is the biggest tug of war, with retailers caught in the middle,” says Outdoor Retailer show director Kenji Haroutunian.
“But the show is already quite early in the lineup for paddlesports, even in August. Going into July doesn’t cross any magic threshold, but it is two and a half weeks of sales history that the retailer won’t have going into the show.
If that is enough to stop them from coming to their national show for a few days, then so be it. All outdoor retailers deal with the show in their busiest month, by the way. Some come, some don’t. That’s the reality. The challenge for us is to show them the reasons why attending makes sense, and dollars for their business.”
It is easy to shoot the messenger, and Haroutunian is just that. For its part, the OR  organization really doesn’t care where the show lands. It does, however, have an obligation to listen to all opinions and try to weigh a divergent group of interests against each other, and come up with the best compromise for all.
This date decision was driven by the OIA Board (www.outdoorindustry.org/about.board.php).
The board is comprised of a cross-section of the outdoor industry, with specialty paddlesports
being represented by Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and Rutabaga. OIA, Rutabaga,
and NOC would not comment on the show date decision.
So where does this leave paddlesports, which traditionally embraces domestic production? It depends on whom you ask. Perhaps Joe Pulliam, one of the founding fathers of Dagger and current ACA treasurer, summed
it up best: “Not many people are happy with the decision [for the ’09 show dates]. There is
no simple answer.”
At the crux of the issue are retailers’ ability to be out of the store when they are in the peak of their selling season and manufacturers’ ability to look into the crystal ball to next season.
“Even those two weeks, because of where they are, makes a huge difference,” says Mike Moore of Seattle Sports. “We will barely be getting through the Memorial Day selling period when we will be forced to make prudent decisions on next year’s line.”
Gripes are many, and solutions are few, but one thread that keeps on coming up is a paddlesports-specific show, hosted by who knows who, and held who knows where. Opinions range wildly on a show specifically positioned to suit the paddlesports sell/buy cycle, but many agree that it would be in September or early October. Many point to
East Coast venues that have major airports and facilities for flatwater and whitewater demos.
“A paddlesports-specific show would be fantastic,” says Bell Canoe rep Gavin Rains. “If I am a retailer, and I am sitting on $100K in inventory, the last thing that I will do in July is
leave my shop.”
Says David Hadden, sales and marketing director of Freedom Hawk Kayaks: “If there was an option we’d be all over it. We’re hearing directly from retailers that they just don’t want to hear about next year’s product in July.”
Others, such as Emotion Kayak president Tom Strauss say that few of its retailers are paddlesports-specific, and Brad Taylor of Hurricane Kayaks feels that OR is worth it for international exposure.
Aside from the issue of herding cats (as in the paddlesports community), is the very real issue of who, exactly, has the guns to host a show besides OR. Few entities at the table have actually had anything to do with show management, and it certainly amounts to more than e-mail blasts to your inboxes.
Organizations such as OR and SIA (SnowSports Industries America continues to host a snowsports specific show as a not-for-profit 503c(6) that is owned by exhibiting members) have, for better or worse, staff, facilities
contracts, infrastructure (and huge inertia, which, by its very nature, is tough to get rolling), and expertise in pulling these gigs together. While OR was spawned by a few defecting companies from the SIA show some decades ago, that grassroots approach may bring forth new energy and excitement to a show, or it may collapse under its own weight if a thousand little details, such as space assignments or the availability of enough hotels rooms and cabs, are not dialed. And while the paddlesports industry will have one newly formed trade association of its own (see story, page 10), no one that we spoke
to seriously believed that it could rise to the occasion.
Show dates have been morphing to accommodate the realities of the market since their inception. As Steve O’Meara from Kokatat so correctly pointed out, “We are trying to accommodate two different manufacturing models, and at least four different retailer models.”
No employees of these trade show organizations—be they for-profit or member-owned and not-for-profit—want to lose their jobs, so they strive for relevance, as best they can, in an increasingly fragmented and rapidly
changing market. And in trying to appeal to 80 percent of the business, the other 20 percent
may lose out.

Marty Grabias is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Paddler magazine and Paddle Dealer.