Dealer Expo expands from its longtime home in Indianapolis to larger quarters in Chicago to deliver more products, more training, more networking and more excitement to the powersports industry’s annual gathering.
The 2014 Dealer Expo will offer:
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- A dedicated focus on new products – with a showcase, a web app, demos, and a show catalog –
which will provide a comprehensive annual review of the industry’s new product offerings;
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- A bigger, more exciting venue – in the nation’s third-largest city, an international destination
hub that is also within easy reach of more than 80 percent of U.S. powersports retailers;
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- Affordability – for attendees and exhibitors, with a wide range of hotel options and solid,
practical exhibit packages;
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- An educational symposium – offering solutions delivered by professional trainers from not one
but several respected organizations;
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- Late year timing – aligned with the dealers’ need to make prime buying decisions in late fourth
quarter for the coming season;
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- And a host of networking events and features
The blueprint for the 2014 Dealer Expo was developed after months of research, polling and one-to-one conversations with retailers, manufacturers and distributors. “We wanted everyone’s involvement on how to evolve Dealer Expo from your typical trade show to an all-new, must-attend industry event,” said Tracy Harris, senior vice president of Advanstar’s Powersports Group, which manages Dealer Expo, Dealernews and the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows.
Responses from manufacturers and distributors (exhibitors) primarily addressed maintaining the quality and increasing the number of attendees; wheras dealers and retailers were more concerned with access to new products and keeping the show away from other business conflicts – such as summer / fall selling seasons.
To grow as an event and to fuel sales, industry segments agreed the show had to move to a bigger market and realign with the buying cycle of the dealer network. “The responses we received centered on location, timing and content. We knew then that we had to move to a bigger market, change the dates of the show to better align with dealer ordering decisions, and bring more vibrancy into the event,” Harris said.
Specifically, two-thirds of respondents supported a move to a bigger market and realigning the show dates to coincide with the gradual shift in the primary buying season for most powersports retailers to late in the fourth quarter.
“We knew we had to schedule Dealer Expo so it would be convenient as well as cost-effective for the most number of powersports buyers to attend,” Harris said. “We rescheduled Dealer Expo so it would be held after the traditional riding season had concluded in most areas of the country, yet wouldn’t conflict with other events, like SEMA, Intermot or EICMA – or everyone’s holiday plans!”
As the new home of Dealer Expo, Chicago brings exciting opportunities and benefits to attendees and exhibitors. This family-friendly destination city offers world-class (and affordable!) accommodations and restaurants; miles of museums, galleries and other attractions to explore; headline shows; superb music clubs; brats, beer – and, oh yes, the Bears, the Blackhawks and the Bulls. And in early December “America’s Second City” will be in full holiday swing, offering shopping, concerts and musicals.
The Chicago area is home to hundreds of powersports dealerships as well as dozens of manufacturers, and is the third-largest U.S. metropolitan market for on-highway motorcycle registrations, according to Polk Research.
Retailers attending the 2014 Dealer Expo will have automatic access to a vast curriculum of training and educational programs, from service seminars to business symposiums to even mentoring and “Lunch and Learn” sessions featuring experts not only from within the powersports industry but from the larger retail and business sectors. The all-new product showcase will make it easy for dealers to review, request information and order the scores of products being introduced to the market throughout the year – fueling sales back home in their showrooms.
For exhibitors, Dealer Expo will offer easy and affordable packages – for companies who work with contractor services to those who set up and tear down their exhibits themselves. And the extensive parking facilities at McCormick Place ensure easy access to exhibit areas.
“We are excited to roll out more information in the weeks to come,” Harris said, “and we appreciate the opportunity once again to promote growth in the powersports industry by hosting the nation’s largest business event – Dealer Expo.”