BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Shimano USA is to scale back its presence at the Interbike trade show, held annually in Las Vegas. Shimano is one of Interbike’s largest exhibitors. As well as having a much smaller presence from Shimano the 2014 show will have a reduced presence from Specialized (the company will be exhibiting its water bottles only, but stays as an Outdoor Demo exhibitor) and there will be no Trek booth at the show.
The news about the scaling back was contained at the end of a letter to dealers, sent from Yutaka Taniyama, Shimano USA’s senior vice president.
"We are facing a period of rapid change in our industry," he started.
"We believe interaction with you on a more personal level will be the most effective way to continue to grow our partnership, sales and profit together in the future. As a result, Shimano and Pearl Izumi will be changing our presence at the Interbike 2014 tradeshow."
Taniyama added: "Shimano will remain at Outdoor Demo in a similar capacity as previous years, and will continue to lead its informative S-TEC clinics and breakout technical training sessions. However, the indoor expo presence will be limited to a reception counter for catalog distribution and general business affairs. Pearl Izumi will maintain a dedicated space for its custom apparel business and a small area to showcase its most innovative products."
The scaling back is in order to "direct more of our time and resources towards investments that will have a more direct impact on the success of your business," said Taniyama.
