Get your walking shoes on and ready those hiking legs, because the great traverse of the Salt Palace Convention Center floor will commence once again at the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. Downtown Salt Lake City will soon flood with tens of thousands of outdoorsy people as over 25,000 retailers, exhibitors and media are expected to attend this year’s Summer Market from August 2nd through the 5th, with the Open Air Demo on August 1st. The market generates over $23 million in direct economic impact to Salt Lake and the state of Utah, so this shindig is a big deal.
This year, Outdoor Retailer attendees will be talking about the possible move away from Salt Lake City due to diminishing convention center space that is now inadequate for the size of the show. An announcement may be made this fall, meaning that the fate of this hugely successful convention will hang in the balance at the 2012 Summer Market. But it’s all a good thing for the industry, because such a huge interest means that an optimistic outlook for Outdoor Retailer is still going strong, and enthusiasm about the outdoor industry is chugging along despite the drab economy.
Of course, UtahOutside.com has a lot of things planned this year as we’ll be walking the aisles, checking out all the exciting new gear, and reporting what we see. We have full schedules of appointments booked with dozens of outdoor brands, including Suunto, Klymit, Goal Zero, Patagonia, Osprey, Keen, Delorme, and Salomon… just to name a few. We’ll also be checking in with new brands to the industry to see what innovative things are coming our way in retail stores next year. In addition, Utah Outside writer Ryan Malavolta will be digging up some awesome hiking and backpacking gear for you to drool over, and Callista Pearson will be reporting from the Open Air Demo where she’ll try Stand Up Paddleboarding for the first time, and test out gear in the outdoors.
We will be posting several stories a day during and after the show, so keep checking www.utahoutside.com for the latest.
Outdoor retailer is all about the gear, therefore we will also be all about the gear starting Wednesday, August 1st. We hope to see you at the show!
For more information about the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, visit them online.