You may be hemming and hawing about attending trade shows coming up in January. I know I delayed booking flights and hotels until just recently (usually it’s done in July!) We’ve become familiar with a fair amount of disappointment in this past year and so we hedge our bets on what is – or isn’t – taking place in 2022.
One event you can (and really need to do now) book your flight & hotel is the ATA Trade Show taking place January 7-9, 2022, in Louisville, Ky at the Kentucky Expo Center.
The first ATA Trade Show was held in 1997, and its initial purpose is still the same as it is today; to increase funding to promote archery and bowhunting. The ATA Trade Show has generated over $16 million to fund industry-related programs and initiatives since 2016.
Last year’s virtual trade show wasn’t as fun. While it was cool to hang out with manufacturers and retailers via Zoom, I couldn’t touch & feel the products we were discussing, and conversation was a bit stilted across the internet.
And since I’m an extrovert, I love being around people. Trade shows are my jam. So, when Allison Jasper of ATA asked me to chat with a few ATA Board Members about the show, I jumped at the opportunity.
I was able to speak with Mark Copeland, ATA Board of Directors Chair (Jay’s Sporting Goods), James McGovern, ATA Board of Directors Vice Chair (Rinehart Targets), Jeff Adee, ATA Board of Directors Vice Chair (Headhunter Bowstrings) and Maria Lewis, ATA’s Senior Director of Trade Show & Membership.
A common theme when discussing the ATA Show with this group was that this event is more than just a trade show. It’s the intangibles that happen on the show floor – and off – that make attending a “must do.” Copeland of Jay’s Sporting Goods shared how, as a retailer, it’s an opportunity to see products that may never be on his radar. One year, that random chance meeting provided his store a product that brought $500,000 in revenue and was one of his archery departments biggest sellers.
It’s not just products, its people, too. “Those relationships have helped us during the pandemic,” shared Copeland. “In many cases, we were able to get product in our stores when others couldn’t primarily because of those relationships fostered over the years. Plus, there’s an energizing factor at the trade show you can’t quantify into an ROI.”
McGovern of Rinehart Targets also shared the same sentiments when it comes to building relationships at the ATA Trade Show. “You might be saying, ‘I had a great year, so do I need to go?’ which, frankly, was based on those relationships you already built. And now as you roll into 2022, and as people begin to cycle and those relationships change, you may find yourself with a problem and you don’t have that person to call on anymore. Those relationships happen at the ATA Show and its naïve to think they will maintain themselves.”
Also, as a consumer, think about all the products you’ve ordered online only to turn around and ship it right back because of poor fit, quality issues or other. As a retailer, shipping back isn’t always an option. Adee of Headhunter Bowstrings shared, “You can’t adequately evaluate a product just by seeing it online. You must see it in person and feel it to see if it will fit your store. I think we all learned that over the past year.”
ATA Trade Show staff have been watching Louisville and the Kentucky Expo Center closely to see how they are handling shows now. In fact, Maria Lewis said she visited the Expo Center in October during a rather large trade show to see first-hand how people were handling booth traffic and congested areas. “We are leaving it up to each company to decide what they need to do, but we are providing hand sanitizer stations and other needed items, plus the KEC has implemented more cleaning protocols,” Lewis shared.
At the end of the day, it is up to each individual if you feel comfortable attending the show, but ATA is 100 percent committed to continuing the event. “We are committed to our 480 exhibitors who have already committed to us, and we are looking forward to this being a really great show,” concluded Lewis.
-- Michelle Scheuermann, editor, Archery Wire