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\n\tSwitchback has wrapped its first standalone trade show<\/a>, growing out of The Running Event<\/a> to gather the outdoor industry<\/a> over three days this week in Nashville.<\/p>\n \n\tNearly 1,300 attendees represented 194 brands and 290 retailers from 41 states and 9 countries. The trade show<\/a> opened Monday with a series of educational panels and presentations, and the programming continued through Tuesday and Thursday while more than 30,000 feet of exhibition state was open for previews from brands. <\/p>\n \n\tOn Wednesday, Footwear News highlighted the top 17 shoes revealed at Switchback<\/a>, and now we\u2019re taking a broader look at key business takeaways from the outdoor trade show.<\/p>\n \n\tA prevailing sentiment throughout the trade show was that it was great to be back together in one place. With the disruption of COVID and Outdoor Retailer\u2019s profile diminished, brands and retailers relished the opportunity to once again meet face-to-face. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think this show is exactly what the industry needs,\u201d Jessica Adler, vice president of sales for Merrell, told FN. \u201cIt\u2019s great to have a national show that is relevant, gets everybody energized and excited about the future. I love the traffic, love the energy.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAlthough the list of exhibitors carried some heavy-hitters \u2014 including show sponsors Merrell and The North Face, as well as Asics, Arc\u2019teryx, Birkenstock, and Skechers \u2014 the exhibition hall was intentionally kept intimate. Booth space was limited to 20 feet by 20 feet, with an exception made only for Merrell\u2019s double plot. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe wanted to create this inclusive floor plan that would be easy to explore and easy for discovery, to really keep everyone connected and together,\u201d said Christina Henderson, director of Switchback and The Running Event. \u201cWe wanted something that we will build upon.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tLee Cox, vice president and general manager of Teva and Ahnu, appreciated the scope of Switchback and said it comes at an important time for Teva. \u201cIt feels like a big regional show,\u201d Cox said. \u201cSometimes trade shows can get a little too big and it becomes more of a marketing tool versus a selling tool. For us, this is a selling tool.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAway from the business conducted in the exhibition hall, a full slate of educational panels and presentations offered insights on vendor-retailer relationships, tariffs, sustainability, and consumer profiles. Those at the front of the room spoke candidly on their respective topics, and the audiences weren\u2019t shy in their questioning and outlining some of their own difficulties. <\/p>\n \n\tThe next Switchback will return to its place within The Running Event in December in San Antonio, and next year\u2019s standalone spring show has already been announced for June in New Orleans.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a Monday afternoon panel on improving wholesale relationships between retailers and vendors, specialty retailers were in the spotlight. Direct-to-consumer sales have added competition, and one thing is clear: retailers want vendors to stop stepping on their toes.<\/p>\n \n\tMinimum advertised pricing (MAP) policies are a major point of contention, as specialty retailers are often unable to match the discounts offered by the brands themselves and operate with slimmer margins.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe started trying to match and coordinate, and I\u2019ve drifted more and more to I don\u2019t care, and I can\u2019t,\u201d said Brian Mildenstein, owner of Fin & Feater in Iowa City, during the panel. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible for me to do that, so we\u2019ll just focus on ourselves and do our own thing to make sure we\u2019re still relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAdler acknowledged that Merrell has been strict about MAP pricing, sometimes even \u201ctoo diligent at times,\u201d but said the brand is open to working with retailers if something\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re trying to become more channel agnostic,\u201d Adler said. \u201cDTC is a good test run for us to see what works \u2014 how do we connect [it] and see if it\u2019s worth scaling, how do we continue to build upon that faster with our wholesale channel. It\u2019s no longer about just having these transactional relationships in wholesale. It\u2019s really about partnerships and strategic partnership and understanding that alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSpecialty retailers have the advantage of being able to educate consumers in-person, and both sides of the panel expressed a desire to work together more on community-building events such as run clubs and pint nights. There\u2019s also a strong desire to return to more face-to-face interaction, which Switchback was able to provide.<\/p>\n\n\t\tSwitchback Is What the Industry Needed \t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tSpecialty Retail Is a Real Priority \t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tThe Core Consumer Has Been Overemphasized \t<\/h2>\n