Fall - InsideOutdoor Magazine

Salt Lake in the
Rearview Mirror
Photo courtesy Outdoor Retailer
Summer Market Rewind & Fast Forward
by Martin Vilaboy
Peaking travel costs and threats of “staycations”
be damned. The outdoor industry was
out in full force in August, convening in Salt
Lake City for what show organizers, Nielsen
Business Media, called a record-breaking Outdoor Retailer
Summer Market.
An informal survey taken on the show floor suggested
tough times forced some smaller independent
retailers, particularly those from Eastern parts of the
U.S., to send fewer buyers than in the past or forego
the trip altogether. But, by and large, outdoor industry
members used whatever means necessary (planes,
trains, automobile, buses and bicycles) to convene on
the Salt Palace, where traffic in the aisles was as heavy
as ever, and booths continued to push the boundaries
of the space provided by the long-time venue.
14 | InsideOutdoor | Fall 2008