Did Somebody Mention 'Momentum'?
AIMEXPO 2023
February 15-17, Las Vegas
Forecasting the likely outcome of anything in advance is asking for trouble, but in asking if the then upcoming AIMExpo had "The Big Mo," I'm glad to say that, while there is still a long way to go, and strategic questions persist about U.S. trade show geography, AIMExpo has turned out of the headwinds and had energy (and money) in its aisles …
Leaving aside the two, or maybe even three, billion dollars of annual powersports industry sales represented by the exhibitors at AIMExpo this year, I did an entirely unscientific and entirely informal survey of the buying power that I saw walking the aisles on the two primary days of the show, and it had to be worth at least a further billion dollars of parts and accessory buying budget there, if not more.
Don't get me wrong, the attendance wasn't huge, in numerical terms, and the first day, capped-off by the Tucker Powersports sponsored industry party (in the hall after show hours), certainly helped front-load a level of show traffic that reduced as the three days progressed.
However, on that first day, there was a buzz. Business was being done. Contacts were being made and renewed, meetings held, plans hatched and options weighed. The 'morning after the night before' started slowly, but by midday the show was reasonably well populated again. Personally, I can't speak for the final day as I had an appointment with my airline.
From what I hear, the hoped for Friday flood of South West and especially California dealers didn't materialize (it never does, it never has), but by then I would judge that the show had made its point and secured its fate for at least the next two to three years.
Here we use our customary vendor booth picture formula to tell the story in the way that matters, and I for one will be back next year (Las Vegas, February 7-9, 2024).
Connect. Engage. Unite: Or would it be Lock, Load and Shoot? Many wondered quite what to expect when the bell went for the much-anticipated industry distributor Q&A between the market's premier distributors. In the left corner, Paul Langley, Chairman of LeMans Group; in the right, Marc McAllister, CEO and President of Tucker Powersports and, expected to be the referee of the encounter, Chera Gibb, Snr VP Marketing and Communications for WPS/HardDrive and owner of Bihr (Europe) in the middle of the ring. In the end, to the limited extent that there was any 'to and fro', it was Chera Gibb who was "dishing it out" and giving just as good as she got. In what was a good-natured encounter in which key issue consensus was the winner, it was a generally insightful and interesting debate. One that shared with the audience just what the issues facing the powersports industry look like from the distributors' perspective. You're looking at the collective distribution power here of some 20 warehouses and nearly $2 billion in sales.
Or would it be Lock, Load and Shoot? Many wondered quite what to expect when the bell went for the much-anticipated industry distributor Q&A between the market's premier distributors. In the left corner, Paul Langley, Chairman of LeMans Group; in the right, Marc McAllister, CEO and President of Tucker Powersports and, expected to be the referee of the encounter, Chera Gibb, Snr VP Marketing and Communications for WPS/HardDrive and owner of Bihr (Europe) in the middle of the ring. In the end, to the limited extent that there was any 'to and fro', it was Chera Gibb who was "dishing it out" and giving just as good as she got. In what was a good-natured encounter in which key issue consensus was the winner, it was a generally insightful and interesting debate. One that shared with the audience just what the issues facing the powersports industry look like from the distributors' perspective. You're looking at the collective distribution power here of some 20 warehouses and nearly $2 billion in sales.