Interbike has been happening for 37 years and has been the largest bicycle trade show in North America. Last year it was held in Reno, Nevada rather than Las Vegas, where it had been for decades.
“We have made the decision not to proceed with the event that had been scheduled for Reno in 2019,” Derrell Denny, the executive vice president at Emerald Expositions (parent company), told Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. He said that the suppliers and retailers felt the show has become too expensive. Attendance has been down as well as industry participants.
“It became pretty clear (after surveying the industry this fall) that the market has changed quite a bit,” Denny said. “We need to look at how we can serve the market in a pretty different way. It will have to be pretty cost-efficient, with inexpensive travel. … As we got closer to the end of the year, we realized that companies needed to be able to budget for it, so we wanted to reach out before the end of the year.”
When Interbike started in 1982 it was held in Las Vegas, then moved to Anaheim and Reno, back to Las Vegas and now back to Reno. The first year saw 150 vendors. It continued to grow over the years.
Many companies have hosted private events and had been skipping Interbike. Many Interbike employees have been laid off, including the director Justin Gottlieb.
“There are about 4,000 retail stores now, and arguably about half of them are doing business predominantly with one commanding brand. … That’s a pretty big factor,” he said.
