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Oct
13
News: Interbike Returns to September in Las Vegas in 2011
Filed Under Attendee News, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike, OutDoor Demo | 5 Comments
Here’s the press release we sent out last night announcing a change of dates for 2011 that supersedes our initial plan to move the show to August in Anaheim that we announced just prior to this year’s show.
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Interbike Returns to Las Vegas in September for 2011 Show
Show organizers respond to support for September dates and Las Vegas
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – Oct. 12, 2010 – In response to feedback to its announcement three weeks ago that it was moving the show to August in Anaheim for 2011, Interbike today announced the 2011 edition of the show will stay in Las Vegas and will be held September 12-16.
“The announcement that we were moving the show dates and location elicited a very real response that surveys and discussions alone couldn’t accomplish,” said Andy Tompkins, Interbike show director. “Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to this year’s show and the countless conversations we’ve personally had with exhibitors and retailers regarding the future dates and location of Interbike, we are reversing our earlier decision to move the 2011 show to Anaheim in August. We are hearing loud and clear that, at this time, the industry prefers September dates and the convenience of Las Vegas.”
The indoor portion of the show will be held September 14-16 at the Sands Convention Center, with the OutDoor Demo being held in Bootleg Canyon September 12-13. The 2012 show also will be held at the Sands in Las Vegas September 19-21 with the Demo September 17-18.
The attention brought by news of moving the show to August allowed the entire industry to examine how it utilizes Interbike, what the show means to the marketplace, and helped solicit real and frank opinions from every sector of the industry. Based on this feedback and the success of Interbike 2010 (see press release), the show will move back to September in Las Vegas.
“Interbike has always been and will continue to be the industry’s show,” continued Tompkins. “We have heard the market’s passion and commitment to this event and we want you to know that we are listening. We believe the new direction will best serve the current needs of the marketplace.”
About Interbike
Interbike (a business unit of Nielsen Expositions, the parent company of the Outdoor Retailer (OR), Action Sports Retailer (ASR), Health+Fitness Business, and Fly Fishing Retailer trade shows) is a full-service trade show company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. Producers of the OutDoor Demo and Interbike International Bicycle Expo, Interbike is the leading bicycle industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together top manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling. Interbike (www.interbike.com) gathers more than 1,100 cycling-related brands and close to 23,000 total attendees annually.
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Aug
30
U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer to Speak at Opening Day Press Conference
Filed Under Advocacy, Attendee News, Cycling, Events, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | Comments Off
In case you haven’t seen the news yet, we’re pretty excited to have cycling’s biggest advocate and ally on Capitol Hill coming to Interbike this year to speak and visit with the industry. The focus of his talk will be on the future of cycling related legislation, especially important now that the next transportation bill is being worked on.
If you’ll be at the show, you should really come down to see this. It’s before the show floor opens and we’ll be serving coffee. Think of this as bringing a small slice of the National Bike Summit to you.
Here’s the full press release:
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – Interbike today announced that it will open its 2010 International Bicycle Expo in Las Vegas with a special press conference featuring keynote speaker U.S. Representative and Congressional Bike Caucus founder Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. Interbike Show Director Andy Tompkins and Bikes Belong Coalition (BBC) President Tim Blumenthal will introduce the congressman and make a few brief remarks.
The purpose of the press conference is to welcome the industry to Interbike 2010, share information about the industry’s show and its future direction, and hear from Blumenauer and Blumenthal on the state of cycling legislation and future government activity on behalf of bicycling.
Blumenauer’s visit comes at a critical time as the U.S. government continues to work on the next transportation bill, which will set the tone for cycling infrastructure investments during the next six years. The Congressman will outline where bicycling stands, and where it’s going. He will pinpoint what the industry can do to support the cause. Following the press conference, Blumenauer will spend the day at Interbike visiting with the industry.
The press conference will be held Wednesday, September 22, 8:00 a.m. in Casanova Room 603, which is on Level One of the Venetian Las Vegas. All show attendees are invited to attend.
Blumenauer will also be the guest of honor at the BikesPAC fundraising reception hosted by Bikes Belong on Tuesday, September 21, the night before the press conference.
Blumenauer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, where he quickly established a unique role as a leading proponent of Livable Communities–places where people are safe, healthy, active and economically secure. He continues to lead the Congressional Bike Caucus and he makes most of his daily trips in Washington by bicycle.
Before moving to Washington, Blumenauer was the Commissioner of Public Works in Portland, Ore., and helped the city earn an international reputation as one of America’s most livable and cycling-friendly cities.
Aug
17
2010 BMX Rail Jam Rider List Posted
Filed Under Attendee News, Events, Industry News, Interbike | Comments Off
Yeah, the post title’s a little redundant. Like there’s other types of rail jams, right?
Well, the sponsors of the rail jam at Interbike (S&M Bikes, DC Shoes and the Shadow Conspiracy) just announced the final rider list for the event. It’s by invite only, so you can expect to see some top riders at the show.
Check it out:
Feb
3
Retailers: Why aren’t you a Google Favorite Place?
Filed Under Attendee News, Industry News, Interbike, Online Marketing | 6 Comments
As a retailer, you’ve no doubt come across the name Yelp. If you are a retailer that is very active online, then you are very familiar with the consumer reviews website. You’ve possibly even developed a mild love-hate-frustrated-pull-you-hair-out relationship with the site and its contributors*. Heck, even retailers who are not active online without even so much as a token website for their businesses (yes, they still exist) probably have presences on Yelp. In lieu of your own website or activity in any of the online social communities, sites like Yelp become your de facto online brand. To trot out the old reasoning to get active and establish your online brand, the conversation about you is happening – the only question is whether you are a part of that conversation.
That conversation is about to get a bit louder with Google’s recent entry into the Yelp territory. Aside from the obvious impact that Yelp has on the brands that are discussed on their site, Yelp’s business model has proven to be very lucrative. And Google wants a piece of it.
In typical Google fashion, they are adding their own innovative touch to an existing concept with their Google Place Pages and even newer Favorite Places services. Just the search market share that Google commands alone gives pause for concern. Just envision all those searches for bikes and accessories that begin on Google and end up on a Google Maps page with a list of local retailers down the left side – each one with a 1-5 star rating and list of reviews from customers.
With all the talk about the impact that social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have on businesses, you may want to consider that managing and monitoring your online presence on services like Google Maps and Yelp are arguably even more important to a brick-and-mortar retailer.
Recently Google launched Favorite Places, a service that seeks to further highlight popular local businesses and help promote its existing Places service. In the announcement, Google said that they have “identified over 100,000 businesses in the U.S. as “Favorite Places on Google” based on Google users’ interaction with local business listings,” and will be sending out special decals for placement in the storefront windows. This physical element of an online service is nothing new as Yelp provides similar labels to businesses, but Google is taking it to the next level by adding QRCodes to each that allow people to scan them with an appropriate smart phone and instantly access all the information available about that business. You may have noticed QR or similar codes appearing more frequently lately such as this one:
These codes are becoming increasingly popular, although much more slowly than in places like Japan where they appear everywhere as easy ways to get more information via your cell phone or mobile device. I worked for a Japanese company in the past and all of their business cards now have small codes on them that contain contact information. Here’s a link to an QR Code generator if you’d like to play around with them (like I did above).
Curiosity piqued, I tried searching to see if any bike shops are listed as a favorite place. Unfortunately, only one popped up. The lucky (and popular) shop is Coventry Cycle Works in (of course) Portland, Oregon.
Such local consumer review and popularity services are only going to become more popular and prevalent and a bigger influence on your retail customers’ behavior. Add emerging sites like Foursquare and Gowalla to the list of online location-based services and trends to be aware of as a store owner. With the growing capabilities of mobile devices, look for this data to continue to guide shopping and buying decisions – even while they are standing in your store. Just remember to keep using your good old-fashioned customer service and people skills on them. That rule never changes.
If you’re a retailer reading this, have you seen the effect of these services on your business yet? Have you been active in monitoring and responding to that community?
One last thing, the first person to decode my QR Code above wins a pair of Sock Guy Interbike socks. Just right the answer in the comments below and make sure to enter your valid email address in the right spot.
* And by “contributors” we really mean your current and (very vocally) former customers, don’t we? Remember that you and your employees have had the opportunity to interact and influence each of these reviewers on Yelp. Don’t forget that every customer that walks through your door is a potentially a very influential reviewer!
Sep
10
S&M Bikes BMX Rail Jam at Interbike Flyer & Rider List
Filed Under Attendee News, Events, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | 3 Comments
Looks like we got ourselves a rail jam this year in Vegas. On the show floor – check it:
Have you registered for Interbike, yet? It’s not free anymore, but still more than worth the price of entry. Register here online to save time at the convention center.
Sep
9
Advocacy Meet & Greet Hosted by Planet Bike
Filed Under Advocacy, Attendee News, Industry News, Interbike | 1 Comment
All Interbike attendees are invited to an Advocacy Meet & Greet at Planet Bike’s booth, #1425. Join industry and bicycle advocacy leaders to meet, share ideas and relax.
This is an ideal opportunity to network and discuss bicycle advocacy best practices. Join the conversation that makes our communities bicycle friendly and our industry stronger.
Refreshments will be served.
Date: Wednesday, September 23
Time: 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Location: Planet Bike booth #1425
presented by: Planet Bike, Bikes Belong and Interbike
See the invite/event on Facebook here.
Jun
3
*MASHLV*
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Interbike, Racing | Comments Off
15 weeks, everybody…
May
27
Avoid hotel scams when booking travel for Interbike
Filed Under Attendee News, Exhibitor News, Interbike | 2 Comments
Just a quick note here to beware of hotel scams leading up to the show. Recently we have learned from a few exhibitors, unfortunately, that there are a few unscrupulous companies that are calling Interbike exhibitors with hotel and travel offers and who claim to be representing Interbike. Worse still, there is at least one travel company that has told exhibitors that they will cancel their Interbike booth if they did not book their hotel through them. We have heard in the past, also, that a few of these travel companies have done worse than just lie about their connection to Interbike.
Rest assured that no travel company has the authority or ability to interfere with your Interbike booth and the only company that can claim to have any relationship with Interbike is our official travel partner, Travel Planners Inc. You can access their site securely through the Hotel & Travel page of Interbike.com.
While we do guarantee the lowest rates at the hotels on our list through Travel Planners and carefully monitor and adjust your rate if the hotel lowers prices after you make your reservation, there is no obligation to use them in booking your travel and housing for the show. If you choose to use another travel company, we strongly recommend that you choose a well-known and reputable company to avoid any disappointments or problems down the road.
Nov
17
Final Day of the SoCal Bike Dealer Tour
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike, Photos, Rides | 5 Comments
Last day of the Bicycle Retailer & Industry News SoCal Bike Dealer Tour was a big one. Just about 15 riders on today’s route including Tony Lo, CEO of Giant Bicycles who had flown in from Taiwan. A few more Giant staffers joined us for the ride from the BRAIN offices to dealers in Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano, California. It’s been a great week of riding, chatting with fellow industry members and hearing insightful comments from retailers. I took some notes, but so far have just had time to post photos and quick comments about the shosps we’ve visited and some of the people I rode with and met on the tour.
This has been a great concept and all of us basked in the neutral BRAIN glow as dealers opened up to us and expressed their hopes, expectations, results and experiences of the past and future of the bike business. And it was a good excuse to get out of the office and ride a really nice bike for a week…
At Interbike in 2007, I was walking around with a camera crew from Cycling.TV looking for footage of interesting sites and events to capture. I led them over to the MirraCo booth where bmx legend Dave Mirra was supposed to be wrapping up an autograph session. Since the booth looked quiet, I walked up to the guy standing near the entrance to the booth and ended up asking Dave Mirra himself if “Dave was coming back to sign more autographs” later that day. Mr. Foot, meet Mr. Mouth. Without saying a word, Dave pointed to his head with both hands and smiled. Now, I don’t think I can be faulted for not recognizing fellow-bmx kegend, Perry Kramer, he of PK Ripper fame, last Tuesday on our tour, but I was darn happy to see him in the BRAIN office again on Friday so that I could properly introduce myself and express my excitement in meeting the Man. Turns out we’re almost neighbors and he offered to show me some trails near my house. The fact that he is PK would explain why he was jumping every curb and bunny-hopping sewer greats the whole ride on his flat-bar road bike.
Another very familiar face (and new ex-coworker) getting ready for the day’s ride was Robert Roman, now in the employs of Bicycle Retailer. After 9 years serving Interbike exhibitors, Robert decided to make a change and move a few exits north on the 5 freeway to our industry’s trade mag. We’ll miss his wit and sense of humor here, but will hopefully still get to experience his powerful turn of the pedals on a regular basis as BRAIN’s lunch rides frequently go past Interbike’s HQ.
Nice to see Fred Clements, executive director of the NBDA, working from the saddle of a bike. This is why we all work in this industry, right?
Mr. Tony Lo, CEO of Giant Bicycles. Guest of honor on today’s ride and inspiration for the whole tour itself. Tony’s industry tour of Taiwan last year planted the seed for this Stateside version. Tony is an avid cyclist and rides with style and class.
Nov
12
Day Two on the SoCal Bike Dealer Tour
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike, Photos, Rides | 1 Comment
Setting out for day two of our tour of SoCal bike dealers, we made a friend. One of the best parts of road riding is running into other riders along the way and then spending the next few miles chatting. I forget this rider’s name, but when he heard we were all from the industry, he told us that he used to work for GT back in the day.
One constant at all but one shop we’ve visited so far is that fixed gear bikes are firmly entrenched in their shops. Most had a special section devoted to fixie gear, but even traditionally mountain bike focused shops like The Path in Tustin have seen fixie cultire become an important catgory and visible presence on the show floor as evidenced by the MKS and Nitto caps for sale.
Here’s part of The Path’s fixie parts and accessories section that was typical of most shops on out tour. And remember, this is Orange County – not New York, San Francisco or even LA. The fixed gear phenomenon has hit suburbia pretty hard.
