Retail  July 24, 2015

Boulder County shines at Outdoor Retailer show

outdoorRetail_gpxWant proof of Boulder County’s status as an outdoor-industry hotbed? Consider that one in every 25 exhibitors at the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow in Salt Lake City next month is a business or organization based in the county.

Sixty-four, plus another 10 from Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties, will peddle their newest offerings at the Outdoor Retailer’s summer show Aug. 4-8, with 1,580 exhibitors in all slated to attend.

Attendance isn’t necessarily a make-or-break proposition for local outdoor product companies trying to make a name for themselves. But Steven Sashen, CEO and cofounder of Xero Shoes, said there are multiple aspects of the event that provide returns for companies ready to take the tradeshow plunge.

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Xero Shoes, founded in 2009, makes a line of minimalist footwear. The rapidly growing company moved from Boulder to Broomfield early this year.

Sashen and company have been attending OR for four years. He said the show is ideal for getting face time with retail buyers you otherwise wouldn’t bump into.

When Xero unveiled its new Z-Trek sport sandal at Outdoor Retailer’s winter show in January, it set off a wave of orders for the shoes, which debuted in March, that caused Xero Shoes to twice run out of inventory.

“The retailers who sold the most this year, we bumped into all of them at Outdoor Retailer and showed them the product then,” Sashen said. “We got a huge response from people who saw it for the first time at OR.”

Sashen said the January experience is part of the reason the company will unveil its next offering at the summer show even though it won’t hit shelves until next spring. The extra lead time for retailers to plan orders, he hopes, will give Xero Shoes a better gauge of demand and help avoid the inventory shortage.

Other than exposure, Sashen said there’s also a status aspect of attending the show, providing an indication that your business has product development and funding in order.

“When buyers see you at Outdoor Retailer consistently and see you and the product line growing, that gives them confidence about the brand,” Sashen said.

But he also cautioned that the show isn’t something to go into on a whim.

“You have to be ready for it because it’s expensive,” Sashen said. “So if you’re not ready to get the appointments with the buyers you want and you’re not ready to service them, it can be a lot of cash without a lot of return.”

outdoorRetail_gpxWant proof of Boulder County’s status as an outdoor-industry hotbed? Consider that one in every 25 exhibitors at the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow in Salt Lake City next month is a business or organization based in the county.

Sixty-four, plus another 10 from Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties, will peddle their newest offerings at the Outdoor Retailer’s summer show Aug. 4-8, with 1,580 exhibitors in all slated to attend.

Attendance isn’t necessarily a make-or-break proposition for local outdoor product companies trying to make a name for themselves. But…

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