Outdoor Retailer Snow Show 2023 – KOD 1.13.23
Outdoor Retailer Snow Show 2023, Brighton Resort, UT
Outdoor Retailer Snow Show 2023, Salt Lake City, UT
– Thousands gathered for the annual winter sports and lifestyle conference in Salt Lake City, UT, after six years in Denver, CO.
– Spirits were high, and the gear was speedy, sustainable, and safe, ready to get the masses outdoors.
– Products across all categories focused on resourceful materials and workflows that also preserved environmental assets.
Outdoor Retailer, the annual trade and retail show for all things outdoor sports, is back, and once again in Salt Lake City January 8-13, 2023, for the winter Snow Show.
Thousands of brands, athletes, media, and industry thought leaders convened for the winter state-of-state to discuss the current landscape of outdoor recreation and lifestyles.
Almost 700 brands were there to introduce the newest gear for the safety and survival activities. Legacy brands like Black Diamond, Komperdell, and Yeti were present alongside start-ups like Pardis and Miro.
The three-day conference was held at the Salt Palace Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City, and featured educational seminars and industry meet-ups at the adjoining Hyatt Regency Hotel, along with many community outreach events, like a block party featuring the University of Utah mascot and a high-tech drone and drum show.
Back this year was the immersive experience, The Summit, enabliing participants to test snowsport products and accessories, like skis, snowboards, goggles and avalanche packs, before they are officially released. Guests were shuttled to nearby Brighton Resort to ski, snowboard, and snowshoe while supervised by the brand representatives and official adventure guides. It is this type of real-time experience that has been missing lately, and was eagerly welcomed back by the retailers and the mountainside resorts.
A massive snowfall at the start of the conference highlighted the need for attire taking consumers from the city to countryside, and the products represented at OR were ready for the test. Legacy adventure shoe brands like Baffin, LOWA and Skechers, pivoted towards street tested gear that plays off of their namesake outdoor features.
The outdoor sports world represents almost $80b in revenue, with an expected growth to 1.7M participants by 2027, according to Sports Industries of America.
"Snowshoes are a tool of the industry."
