February 9, 2007 (McLean, VA) – Hosted at Mandalay Bay Convention Center for the fifth straight year, the SIA.07 SnowSports Trade Show emulated the passion, culture and energy that drives the snow sports industry. Opening on January 22nd, SIA.07 delivered the hottest trends, hippest events, cutting edge technology and style to over 17,332 attendees from the snow sports community. Over the four days, SIA.07 hosted manufacturers, retailers, reps, resorts, industry associates, alumni, elite athletes, media personalities and more.

Dubbed the largest winter sports specific trade show in the industry, the 36th annual SIA Show did not disappoint. Exhibitors displaying new product lines for the 2007-08 season represented over 95% of the market share for the ski and snowboard sectors and 80% of the Nordic, telemark and snowshoe market. With over 353,000 net exhibit square feet and 447 exhibitors representing nearly 900 brands exhibiting in over 3500 booths – SIA.07 was THE show for the snow sports industry.

The buying power index, measured by an independent outside firm – Leisure Trends Group, for this year’s show topped out at 89% for the U.S. retail buying power represented at SIA.07. Accordingly, SIA reported that buyer attendance was up over 3% from last year recording 4870 buyers from 1555 shops and representing 23,770 storefronts worldwide.

As is the norm with every trade show, new exhibitors could be found sprinkled throughout the Show floor or setting up home base in SIA’s newest exhibit area – the YARD. Developed to address the sold out status for exhibit space, the YARD presented the ideal venue to showcase new brands, 30 to be exact, to the snow sports industry while creating a cultural experience synonymous with the snowboard and action sports community. Venture Snowboards owner Lisa Branner exclaimed, “By grouping some of the new, emerging companies together in the YARD, SIA made the area a destination spot, and Venture Snowboards received tons of interest and increased walk-by traffic as a result. It made the show for us”.

Capped at over 80, new exhibitors to the SIA Show featured products ranging from apparel and outerwear to accessories, equipment and the latest innovations in tools of the trade to enhance performance on and off the slopes. Snowsports veteran Johnny West was on hand to launch his new company I/O Biocompatibles and stated, “The reception to our brand has been overwhelming and as a result we’ve had to accelerate our plan for distribution into other areas because of the success here at SIA.” For more examples of new products launched at the show – check out the “SIA.07 New Product Directory”, available to download on the SIA association website, snowsports.org, in the Media Center.

Highlights galore headlined the Show in Vegas this January. Leading the list was SIA’s Going Green initiative. Partnering with Mandalay Bay Convention Center, SIA.07 was the first show to provide an onsite recycling program. In addition, the association purchased renewable energy certificates in the amount of 225,000kWH for 100% of the electric power used during the Show. With Renewable Choice Energy representatives onsite, over 25 people or companies made pledges to purchase their own renewable certificates. Liberty Skis was the first exhibitor to sign up for the program onsite. Also at the Show were other new exhibits including: the Locker Project, Women’s Equipment Center, Twin Tip Park, the Retail Resource Center and a brand new Media Center housed directly on the Show floor.

SIA.07 was not all business with no play. With over 75 events on tap, attendees were provided plenty of opportunities to play hard. On the eve of SIA.07, SIA kicked off the Show with their second annual SIA Snow Fashion Show, sponsored by Volvo. Over 1600 attendees were introduced to the latest and greatest in winter sports apparel for the Winter 07-08 season while enjoying the spinning music prowess of DJ Andy Caldwell. A Model for Success seminar, product giveaways, cocktail parties, alumni breakfast, awards presentations, live announcements, induction ceremony and the opening night reception were just footnotes in the long list of events that capped off the four day Show. The Mayor of Ogden even made a pit stop in Vegas to promote the city of Ogden, UT a.k.a. “the Hub” – a new home to several manufacturers in the industry.

With a collective audience all in one place, the SIA Show served as the ultimate venue to introduce several new awards in addition to those introduced last year. SIA, in cooperation with the Snow Press Show Daily, named nine retail shops from seven regions SnowSports Retailers of the Year. The SIA SnowSports Reps of the Year, named earlier in the Fall, were also recognized. New at this year’s Show, the association announced the Canadian SnowSports Retailers and Reps of the Year, all of which hailed from six different provinces in the country. In addition, SIA introduced new supplier awards with winners named later this month and the Snow Press Show Daily inaugurated their own Innovation Awards.

And the fun didn’t stop there as the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition (OIWC) announced the winners of the 2007 Pioneering Woman and First Ascent Awards naming Anne-marie Boissonnault, associate publisher of Ski Press World, and Amber Stackhouse, professional snowboarder and filmmaker, respectively. Not to go unmentioned, the newly renamed National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame marked their first appearance at SIA in an event capacity. Choosing to move their Hall of Fame Induction to the SIA Show, a ceremony honoring its three newest members, Jonny Moseley, Trace Worthington and Julie Parisien, was held Wednesday morning to the tune of about 160 people. Earlier in the week, Spyder Active Sports was named the newest recipient of the Doc DesRoches Award which is presented annually to an SIA member and U.S. Ski Team or U.S. Snowboarding official supplier for its support and integration of team and athletes into its marketing campaigns.

Over 90 sponsors, partners and supporters played an integral role in enhancing the attendees experience at SIA.07. Eight showcase exhibits aligned the convention center lobby featuring special product preview for rental, telemark/backcountry, Nordic, kid’s, uniform, twin tips, women’s equipment and back shop product categories. Top Secrets | Bottom Secrets Tuning and Boot Fitting clinics returned to the slate of activities offering back shop retailers an opportunity to learn and hone up on their tuning and boot fitting skills. Once again, SIA provided FREE wireless Internet connection throughout the entire convention hall.

Resort Sports Network (RSN) and Ski Press Media, Inc., provided daily coverage of the Show visually and editorially, respectively. RSN produced a daily 30-minute show, entitled “The Goods” broadcasted on the host hotels in-house channels and provided in depth coverage of SIA.07 with on air talent Doug Lewis, and roaming reporters Pam Fletcher, Darian Boyle and Melanie Kim. Meanwhile, Ski Press World, producers of the Snow Press Show Daily, provided their wrap up on 232 glossy pages over the four days.

For additional news and highlights from SIA.07, use the following link to view and/or download all four days of the show’s official show daily – Snow Press Show Daily at: http://www.skipressworld.com/snowpress or visit the SIA trade site, snowsports.org, for post show videos, pictures and more.

Join us for the SIA.08 SnowSports Trade Show, January 29-February 1, 2008.