Was wondering if the ff shows this year are seeing a mark improvement in the number of exhibitors and attendance? Can’t wait until the end of February when the FF Show will be in town.
Tyrone, is this the show you’re talking about??
http://www.flyfishingshow.com/Pasadena.html
I understand the shows are going well for them. Take a look at the participants
Randy
Northern Ca guy here. We’re thinking about running down to the Pleasanton show and staying over for a night.
Then again, we might just go on a buying spree and go bust the first day…
Dave
It is too bad they gave up on having one in the northwest, but I guess they just were not making enough money vs. what they were being charged at the facility.
So, that makes the Oregon Fly Tyers Expo show in Albany and the Washington State Council FFF’s Fly Fishing Fair even that more important for the northwest.
Larry —sagefisher—
Nearly the same, but I am attending the Pleasanton, CA show.
The wife and I went to the Indiana on the Fly expo a few weeks ago. A lot less vedors than previously, but still a good time. A few good deals, but you had to hunt to find them. I wound up buying some foam and rubber legs for the spring.
I think the industry has been in a state of correction to the new market equilibrium. Don’t know if it is there yet or not, but it seems to me from anecdotal evidence to be getting closer. I know that a couple of the events I’m familiar with met with greater success than they have in recent years. They made some adjustments and some of the competing events fell by the wayside over the past few years. And this year they did quite well. But my evidence is so limited in scope that I could hardly call it representative of the national scene.
Curious that you asked. I was just checking out their web site before coming to FAOL. Wondering the same thing. Last year was pretty weak in Pleasanton compared to the year before with only one building-- so I e-mailed them asking them to send me a list of this years exhibitors. Since I live in No. Calif. it takes about 6 hours to drive there and although I will probably go, it would be nice to be a worthwhile trip. The response from DaveP63 suggest a somewhat skimpy turn out of vendors. Usually go to the show on Friday and then spend the next day over at the casting ponds in Golden Gate park.
I agree about last year’s show and the reason for my question. I am hoping it will have more to offer. With Dan Blanton joining the ranks and Steve Rajeff’s return I am hopeful that this year will be a better show. I really enjoyed the first two years when the show moved from Marin to Pleasanton. I use those years as a gauge on how well the shows are doing.
G-man, bones, will you guys be tying at the Pleasanton show?
Even though the I.S.E. in San Mateo hasn’t been much of a contender for several years now, it did draw attendance and exhibitors.
With it’s demise, I would think that Pleasanton will see an increase this year.
Dave
Good point!
While FFF expos (ie conclaves) have always had a steady core following, they tend to fluctuate by about 10% in either direction based on the economy and format changes. So we can tell some things by watching the #s. This is especially true since we have so many regional expos in addition to the national expo. We get a fairly good picture overall.
One thing I noticed that was fairly noteworthy in 2010 was that the Florida Council took a bold new approach that really paid off. They were in a unique position regarding risk vs. reward and took a shot. They did not charge vendors for exhibit space. Instead, they aggressively recruited them and told them, “Hey, we know times have been tough. Just come, don’t worry about paying us for space or electricity. And when it comes time for the auction donations, just give us whatever you think is fair…either in cash or in-kind donations for the auctions.” Then they set up silent and live auctions the last day of what they took in from them in merchandise, trips, etc. The vendors donated way more than usual and they made way more money than they have in previous years and all of the vendors were ecstatic with the format and told them they would definitely be back as long as the format didn’t change. All of the big boys were there - the national/global big fellas. The head marketing guys/gals from all of the top mfg’s came themselves. Of course, they held it in Orlando, which has a certain broad spectrum appeal of its own beyond just fly fishing. And that is another lesson to be learned. People are spending their leisure $$$ as FAMILIES now…one stop shopping. So location and theme need to be modified to match up. You can’t target dad anymore and hope to succeed.
By putting the show in Orlando and taking some of the risk off the vendors, they met with great success. By taking more risk upon themselves, they reaped greater rewards. I deal with many of the industry’s companies from biggest to smallest. Those that are still taking smart risks in this economy are reaping BIG rewards. But the vast majority are hunkering down and trying to “hold on to what they’ve got.” And they’re struggling mightily just to do that…and mostly failing. That’s why the intelligent risk-takers are reaping rewards. They’re picking up what those operating based on fear are losing. I’m not saying risk is always good. Dumb risk is still dumb risk! But those who are both smart and bold are quietly putting up some serious numbers. In economic down-turns, consumers turn to family recreation close to home where their $ spent is reusable and not a one-time shot. That means outdoor sporting goods purchases. Bass Pro Shops had a great year in 2010, for example, while NASCAR attendance was down 30%.
the biggest one on the east coast started today in Somerset NJ. I hope the snow didnt affect the attendance too much on the first day
I just came back from the Somerset show. Attendance seemed typical, based on the elbow-to-elbow crowds in the aisles. There didn’t seem to be as many exhibitors. At least that was my impression. The two seminars I went to had less than 10 people in attendance. I went to the show with a list of about a half dozen items I was planning to buy. I only found one of them.
I went to the show in Marlborough, MA. It was my first. I wasn’t too impressed, it seemed like it was mainly a bunch of fly shops that brought their inventory to an exhibition hall and had it for sale. Not too many deals either.
One striking thing I noticed was the average age of the attendees. The ratio of older, retirement-age men vs. young adults and teens points strongly to the drop-off in interest in outdoors activities in youth. This does not bode well for the future of our sport.
While I can understand the attendance being slightly down, it’s still a pretty good thing to take your young child to see. How many times can they go and see 100’s of vendors and exhibits showing so many facets of fishing. We talk about taking a kid hunting or fishing; but this is something we need to take our kids to also. Imagine being a kid with thousands of rods,reels, and exhibitors in one room.
As for the deals at shows, look at it from the perspective of the exhibitor. He or she pays about $1000 --or more, to show off his inventory. How many rods, reels or flies will it take to recupe that amount? Along with that fee, he pays for food, drinks, gas, possibly lodging…it all adds up. The competition is tough, as each exhibitor has a closely related item for sale. It should be a shopping nirvana for the customer. You only have to walk 10 feet to the next booth to find another item that may or may not be cheaper, or better. Shop, compare, talk with the people and spend some quality time. Some will say it’s the --follow up–business after the show. Unless you’re selling trips, you’re selling to the public as they walk by your booth. How many times did you really–follow up–on a purchase after visiting a show like that. If you did, you’re among the minority.
Nothing wrong with driving for a bargain but the dealer thats giving you that deal has to feed his family too. Don’t go to a show with the expectation of buying a hardy reel for $25 or a Sage rod for $50. You can’t expect them to keep coming to the shows if they don’t make some kind of profit. Purchasing a few flies or tying material will go a long way in keeping in contact with a reputable dealer.
Randy
These trends also vary by region. Take avg age/gender for example. If you go to Sowbug, Socon Conclave (both in Mtn Home, AR), the Gulf Coast Expo (San Antonio, TX), or the TX Hunting and Fishing Expo (DFW, TX) you will see a lot of younger folks, kids, and women. Part of the reason for this is that these events all make a big point of planning major events/attractions for kids and women, but a lot of it is just the fact that a lot of kids and women in the central part of country still hunt and fish…including fly fish. By contrast, in FL you are hard pressed to find anyone under the age of 50 fly fishing who isn’t a pro. They probably make up less than 5% of the pros. You will find some women, but they are also a small minority. And to find any youth is almost unheard of. This is mostly due to a lack of outreach in FL.
Randy is right about the “bargains” thing. The shows have gotten very expensive for the vendors to attend. Most only hope to break even at the consumer shows nowadays. They’re there for the networking. The trade shows are really struggling because they are a pure cost to retailers and they can order from mfgs and distributors w/o attending. So the vendors at consumer shows can’t afford to fire sale mainstream merchandise. The only ones who have great deals, for the most part, are the ones who have a show-based business model. ie, companies that buy up over-stock merchandise cheap and take it to shows and sell it at a discount…the “flea market” approach, or direct-to-consumer mfgs who have no brick-n-mortar overhead, distributor, or retailer mark-up and usually have a huge mark-up built in to their on-line sales or only sell at shows.
Many of your bigger on-line retailers and direct-to-consumer mfgs who retail on-line are your major show vendors nowadays. And they’re pretty savvy about what shows they attend. When they attend, they bring their showcase merchandise and their slow-moving merchandise. The showcase stuff is not discounted and the slow-moving stuff is marked down to move it out. They’re there to improve brand recognition, put their showcase products in people’s hands, and to hopefully break even by selling out the slow-moving merchandise.
Then you’ve got your industry advertising juggernaut: Sage/Rio/Redington, Scott, Winston, Ross, Orvis, Umpqua, Hyde, Simms, Bass Pro Shops, and Cabela’s. These are the folks who very heavily influence the image and voice of the industry through their advertising dollars, and to a large extent the cost of entry for new businesses and products. If the show is worth attending, most of them are usually there.
Flyguy
I like your statements. You hit the nail on the head,so to speak.
Randy
Thanks, Randy. When I swing I try hard not to miss. 
You are right about the role of these events, too. What they add to our sub-culture is very valuable and we should think very seriously before we just let them die off into extinction. Yanking your kids or grandkids away from the Xbox or Playstation and hauling them off to a fishing expo with you is a great way to get them to engage with society, the environment, and fishing. I mean - you’ve got to do it in a positive way. You can’t be an ogre about it! But getting it done is important. The events have energy. Today’s youth need energy to get interested in something. They’ve been conditioned to it. They also have short attention spans. So moving from booth to booth, exhibit to exhibit is a good mode of introduction and eduction. They also are conditioned to a video interface with information and many exhibitors use video presentations nowadays. So that works for youth, too. You’re not going to win them all, but you’ve got a better shot at letting them discover something in the fly fishing sub-culture that interests them. And this is an important tool that we may not want to let go of.
I was at the ISE in Sacramento last Friday and the fly fishing venue was not particularly well attended by shops and manufacturers. The building that housed the fly fishing had a large number of non fly fishing vendors. The only rod manufacturers that I saw were Scott, Reddington, Sage, and TFO. SA and Rio were the only lines in evidence, and very little tying material. FFF had the only fly tying that I saw, no featured tier’s.
I attended the Pleasanton fly fishing show last year and was underwhelmed; won’t be attending this year.