SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – October 5, 2012 – Interbike, the largest bicycle industry trade show in North America, today shared final results from the 2012 show in Las Vegas. While both Interbike and OutDoor Demo saw significant gains in key metrics such as number of exhibitors, total attendees and net square feet, the true success of the show came via feedback from retailers, media and exhibitors.
Many retailers openly commented on the positive vibe of the show this year, as well as the numerous and well produced educational seminars, networking abilities, and food choices. But one of the most important aspects of Interbike is the ability to communicate in-person between top-level executives from exhibitors and retail attendees, and conduct the business of cycling.
“I attend Interbike because of the quality of interactions I have with my vendors,” said Mary Jane Mark, owner of Mack Cycling and Fitness in Miami, FL. “Talking face-to-face with key decision makers expedites many of the decisions I need to make – and I can only get that at Interbike. There was a new type of energy this year, and this was certainly one of the best shows in recent history.”
Charles Conte, owner of Conte’s Bicycle and Fitness in Richmond, VA agreed.
“This was by far the best show I’ve attended in years,” Conte said. “There were more new vendors than I’ve ever seen, and for the first time in many years I wrote several orders at the show. But to me, the importance of face time with vendors is priceless. For example, I had a great conversation and booth tour at Interbike with the president of Marin Bikes (a brand we do not carry right now), and he called me this week to thank me for stopping by his booth. Based on the face time, depth & quality of products and awesome follow up, we are now considering Marin as an addition to our mix of brands.”
Traffic flow on the street level was heavier than in previous years due to the popularity of The LAB, numerous food options in the Pub and Café, multiple fashion shows and educational seminars each day of the show. Rob Allen, owner of Speedsleev Retention Systems, launched his company at Interbike and was initially hesitant about exhibiting on the street level in The LAB.
“I’ve been coming to Interbike for the last 12 years in a row as a retailer, and this was my first exhibiting with my new company,” said Allen. “I of course wanted to be on the upper level initially, but I was really excited with the steady flow of traffic on the street level. The quality of our dealer interactions was fantastic as well – the people that visited our booth were all about business. Overall it was a great show for us.”
OutDoor Demo also reported solid growth numbers in all of the key measurements. New events added to the outdoor environment and brought additional excitement and participation for attendees The addition of outdoor showers helped cool down riders throughout the day, jumbo-sized Adscope video screens in the Oasis showed live footage from riders on the trails, and more than 200 riders had fun in the Bootleg Canyon Challenge trying to beat former World & National DH Champion and Interbike Account Executive Leigh Donovan’s time.
“OutDoor Demo is very important to our brand,” said Chris Speyer, President of Raleigh America. “The demo gives us face-to-face interaction with the front line people who are selling our products, allows us to discuss benefits and features before the test ride and then listen to their feedback afterwards. We can’t get that kind of interaction with this many retailers anywhere else.”
Media coverage at Interbike grew from approximately 500 journalists in 2011 to more than 650 in 2012. Journalists representing top tier non-endemic publications such as Wired, LA Times, NY Times, ESPN, Men’s Journal and Outside attended the show in Las Vegas this year. In addition to the domestic cycling publications, international consumer media came from Canada, Brazil, Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico and the Netherlands to name a few.
Jo Beckendorff, international journalist and correspondent for Bike Europe and RadMarkt, has been covering Interbike for many years.
“From an overseas perspective this year’s 31st show edition made clear that Interbike isn’t only a show for ‘the Americas’ but still an international show,” said Beckendorff. “Interbike Nation is uniting the American industry and therefore should be also on the radar screen of overseas industry members.”
