NEWS The SHOT Show Wants You
European buyers are the focus of the trade show’s recruiting effort By Glenn Sapir, NSSF director, editorial services
T e world provides a global market, and the SHOT Show wants to be an ever-growing crossroads for that international commerce. T at’s why the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has sent representatives to IWA to staff Booth 130 in the US Pavilion’s Hall 5 to promote the SHOT Show. “We want to increase
international buyer attendance by 20 per cent in 2014,” said Chris Dolnack, the NSSF’s senior vice- president and chief marketing offi cer. If somehow you have crawled
under a rock for the last 35 years, you may need a bit of an explanation regarding the SHOT Show. T e SHOT (Shooting,
Hunting and Outdoor Trade) Show was founded in 1979 and was the brainchild of the NSSF, the US-based trade association for the fi rearm, ammunition, hunting and shooting-sports industry. T e show is an annual aff air, held in January, and is produced and managed by Reed Exhibitions, a renowned expo coordinator. From its humble but successful
launch in St Louis, Missouri, in 1979, the show has grown to be the 21st largest trade show in North America, according to the Trade Show News Network. T e SHOT Show is a “can’t
miss” opportunity for anyone in the fi rearm and ammunition, hunting and shooting-sports industry. T ough it is held in the US every year, it is much more than an exclusively American experience – and the show’s management wishes to further bolster international participation. “In fact, 2013 will mark the
third year we will have been exhibiting at IWA,” Dolnack continued. “Our message
applying trade shows must meet certain criteria. “For example, the SHOT
Show must make translators available, have private offi ce space for foreign attendees and more,” Cauley said. “In truth, the SHOT Show already has all of these amenities in place through our VIP programme.” T e IBP/IBP Select
programmes would focus on recruiting buyers from the UK, Germany, France and Spain, as well as Australia. To make the SHOT Show
The Sands Center in Las Vegas will once again play host to the SHOT Show in 2014.
there is simple: T e SHOT Show is the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting-sports, hunting and law-enforcement industries. It is the world’s premier exposition of combined fi rearms, ammunition, law-enforcement equipment, cutlery, outdoor apparel, optics and related products and services. “T e SHOT Show attracts
buyers from all 50 states and more than 100 countries,” he added. “It’s an event that you simply can’t miss. It’s the only place you can go to see everyone and everything you need to gain a competitive edge.” T e SHOT Show annually
kicks off the industry’s year, and in 2014 the event will run from Tuesday, January 14th, through to Friday, January 17th. Its location will once again be the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas – the entertainment capital of the world. Dolnack’s reference to buyer
participation from more than 100 countries is no exaggeration. At the 2012 show, the last for which statistics were available, an offi cial tally of 4,337 attendees from 113 nations other than
the US came to the SHOT Show. Of the approximately 1,600 exhibiting companies and organisations that they could have visited, 273 of the companies represented at the show were based in countries other than the US. Italy, Spain and Germany housed many of their countries’ companies in their own national pavilions on the show fl oor. T e SHOT Show is so
ardent in its desire to increase international buyer attendance that it has sought the help of the federal government. “T e NSSF has applied for the
IBP and IBP Select programmes through the US Department of Commerce,” explained Diedra Cauley, NSSF director, exhibitions and conferences, and a part of the contingent exhibiting at IWA. In her position, she expertly coordinates the complex logistics associated with staging a successful SHOT Show. T rough the Department of
Commerce programmes, Cauley said, US embassies in foreign nations will reach out to retailers in those countries to promote the SHOT Show. To be accepted into the programmes, the
even more accommodating to international buyers, all such attendees receive a special VIP invitation, entitling the holder to a variety of amenities. Among the benefi ts that come with the invitation is access to the VIP Lounge, which features light snacks throughout the day, an opportunity to avoid long queues and collect show credentials and a concierge who can assist with scheduling meetings and providing translation services. T e SHOT Show is the stage
on which buyers see what is new in the industry, meet with key company personnel and take advantage of “show specials.” Online registration for the
2014 SHOT Show is set to begin in August at www.
shotshow.org. You can also make your hotel and travel reservations on the same website, and the earlier you fi nalise your arrangements, the more extensive – and less expensive – are your options. T e SHOT Show just keeps
getting better, which is all the more reason to come to the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas from January 14th to 17th, 2014. Learn more by visiting the SHOT Show exhibit at the US Pavilion’s Hall 5 Booth 130 at IWA.
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