The MIC owned AIMExpo made its inaugural foray to the western United States when it was staged at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in October, with the organizers stating that it “proved to be a resounding success” with a “record number of trade attendees,” saying that there were “more than 7,000 dealers, media members, industry personnel and exhibitor attendees – a 12 percent increase over the 2017 event.”
That prior event was staged at Columbus, Ohio, and 2019 will see the show return to the Midwest venue for four days at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, September 26-29.
MIC Events says this year’s record number was “anchored by the largest dealer presence to date at AIMExpo presented by Nationwide. More than 2,500 dealers made the trip to Las Vegas, with representation from all 50 states and more than 50 different countries. These retailers were eager to see the latest products from the 505 exhibiting companies that filled the show floor to capacity, and also take advantage of the inaugural Dealer Summit.
“Following a keynote address by the Department of Interior’s Senior Advisor for Recreation, Rick May, attending dealers were given an array of opportunities to stimulate their business, completely free of charge. From the “Dealers Only Luncheon presented by KTM” to the Powersports Dealer Seminars @ AIMExpo presented by Powersports Business, retailers were given critical education towards enhancing their business and key insights on how to evolve to better serve the millennial consumer.”
Larry Little, Vice President & General Manager MIC Events, said: “With the move to Las Vegas and our commitment to providing dealers with activities that will ultimately impact their bottom line, we saw a dramatic increase in dealer registration and attendance this year. The introduction of Dealer Summit, and its specially curated elements aimed at benefitting their business, helped bring the largest breadth of dealer attendees we’ve seen yet, with an incredible increase of more than 21 percent compared to last year.”
AIMExpo was the centerpiece of the inaugural Powersports Industry Week, which also included Las Vegas BikeFest, Monster Energy Cup, Suzuki Sunday and the Las Vegas Ride for Kids charity ride. Registration for demo rides at AIMExpo Outdoors! is described as having been “at capacity throughout the weekend, while a total of nearly 9,000 consumers paid a visit to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.”