SnowSports Industries America (SIA) wrapped the 2017 SIA Snow Show on January 31st after a four-day event in Denver, Colorado, followed by the On-Snow Demo at Copper Mountain. Nearly 18,000 retailers, suppliers, representatives and winter sports industry folks came together for the world’s largest gathering of winter-specific business where deals got done, discussions about the future of our industry were fostered and advanced, and the stoke level was high. The SIA Snow Show is about the business of winter and the passion behind our industry.
As a snowy season continues almost nationwide, we wanted to relay some key takeaways from the Snow Show:
- SIA announced a 10-year contract extension with VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau to host the Snow Show in Colorado through 2030. Denver has hosted the Snow Show for the last seven years, and SIA knows this as an incredible foundation to continue driving and supporting the winter business, as well as an open opportunity to address some of the key issues of our industry.
- Nick Sargent sat down with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Luis Benitez, Colorado’s Director for the Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry, to chat about the state of winter and Colorado’s investment in the outdoor lifestyle industry with a keynote during the informative Industry + Intelligence Day.
*Did you miss it? Or want to share it with your readers? With the launch of live streaming of educational programming, the Snow Show’s keynote, along with numerous other sessions, can be watched here: https://sia.yourbrandlive.com/snow-show-2017
- A revamped Show Floor debuted with new exhibits that helped usher in a fresh energy to the event:
- The Winter Luxe area showcased brands from around the world with products steeped in the high-end marketplace.
- Welcoming attendees at the entrance to the Show floor, the Trail Gate experience mirrored the atmosphere of a backcountry basecamp, trail head, or resort parking lot, where the on and off-hill snow lifestyle converge capturing the culture of every genre of winter sports from snowshoes, snowboards, fat bikes and apparel – not to mention craft beer and some ‘van life’ inspiration.
- The Snow Show offered a forecast of what’s to come. Trend Expert Jessica Kaplanrecapped the styles and movements that dominated the Show floor, making note of the minimalist trend, bold female performance wear, earth tones, and tech innovation in backcountry.
Heading into the latter part of the season, we wanted to take a moment to remind you that, as always, SIA research and data is available as a resource. Whether it be the market intelligence report or retail and participation trends, the SIA team can help with that. Just contact Kelly Davis for more information about SIA research reports at kdavis@snowsports.org.
What do you have planned for spring? We still have plenty of time before many of the resorts transition to summer, so make the most of it whether it’s in retail, demos or planning for next winter.
And, lastly, SAVE THE DATE for the 2018 SIA Snow Show, currently slated for Jan. 25-28, 2018, with Industry + Intelligence Day – the day you can’t afford to miss – taking place on Jan. 24, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.
