1996 Ad

Discount Store News, Feb 5, 1996 by Richard Halverson

ATLANTA - Waiting in line for a shuttle bus to the Apparel Mart is history, now that Super Show/96 has consolidated all exhibits, including new products, in and around the Georgia World Congress Center and the Georgia Dome.

Management was able to accomplish that feat, in the face of expanded exhibitors, by erecting temporary tents, dubbed "Pavilions" in the GWCC and Dome parking lots (The tents are heated and air conditioned). Show director Hardy Katz said that the new arrangement will save time for attendees by allowing them to see everything at one site.

Nonetheless, the exhibit area is so huge that the Super Show will run special shuttle buses throughout the complex.

In another change this year, the New Products Show and the International Marketplace, located in parking lot Pavilions, will open at least one hour earlier than the rest of the show for the four-day convention, Feb. 4 to 7.

The rest of the exhibit halls open at 9 a.m on Sunday and 10 a.m. the other three days. The exhibit halls close at 6 p.m. from Sunday to Tuesday. The show officially closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Thanks to a 500-booth increase to a sellout of 12,000 booths, exhibit space this year is running a record 2.5 million sq. ft., featuring the wares of 3,000 exhibitors. Show management expects more than 75,000 buyers and merchandisers to attend.

The Sports Authority, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., expects a lot of fitness equipment, especially in the rider category, to be unveiled at the show, said Jay Hanover, divisional merchandise manager, hard lines.

Buyers for The Sports Authority will be looking for new, trend-setting assortments, Hanover said. The Sports Authority has set a goal to upgrade its fitness offerings to the next-higher level and is open-minded about price points.

"At the next level, we'll be looking for more ways to give customers better equipment at fair values," Hanover said.

Buyers for MC Sports, Grand Rapids, Mich., "will be on the prowl for opportunistic buys in both hard lines and soft lines," said ceo and president Jim Minton. "There's a lot of inventory out there, and the chances are excellent for some good prices."

MC Sports will be seeking to broaden its offerings in camping, a big concentration for the chain. Buyers will be looking to increase the chain's offerings in tents and sleeping bags and to expand on its limited offerings of dehydrated food for campers and backpackers, Minton said. In exercise, MC Sports expects to add several vendors this fall.

Sports apparel for women is another major focus of MC Sports, and its soft goods buyers will be seeking more new offerings, Minton said.

With the Atlanta Olympics looming in a few months, Super Show/96 will salute American Olympic athletes at a special breakfast, which show sponsor Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association puts on every year.

Held in the Omni Hotel Ballroom from 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m., the breakfast will feature as guest speaker NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol, who was the driving force behind NBC'S acquisition of the rights to air the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Winter games and the 2008 summer games. Members of the U.S. Olympic Committee will join in the tribute to U.S. athletes.

"It's appropriate that the U.S. Olympic Committee, SGMA and the Super Show team up under one roof to salute American Olympic Athletes,' said SGMA president John Riddle.

The official Super Show/96 poster features the Olympic sport of mountain biking, depicting a mountain biker plunging downhill. Proceeds from the sales, at $8 each, go to Sports United Against Drugs, a charity that is sponsored by the SGMA.

On Saturday, Feb 3, the day before the show opens, Super Show/96 offers two special events, Financial Day and Fashion Day.

Presented by Kurt Salmon Associates, the Financial Day runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the Rutherford Hall, Omni Hotel. John Horan, publisher of the newsletter, Sporting Goods Inteligence, will moderate the day-long presentation on financial trends in the industry.

New York designer David Chu will be the luncheon speaker at Fashion Day, to be held from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Omni Hotel Ballroom. His talk will center on fashion trends in'97 and'98.

For the most part, exhibitors are mum about their new offerings. But here is a sampling of some new product introductions that others are willing to disclose in advance: * BAND-It/PBSI; Band-IT/ Kneed-it, a new elbow and knee bandage that claims to reduce pain; * Bug Relief: Chase-Away insect repellent wristband and tablecloth; * California Classic: the LongBoard, an oversized skateboard approaching a 1960s surfboard in size; * CSA: the AutoBike, a six-speed bike that shifts gears automatically; * Direct Safety Solutions: Laser minilight to attach to inline skates or helmet and a Child Locator for young skaters, with remote control for parents to activate; * Dol-Fin Tails: the Monofin, to accommodate both feet at once, instead of frog-feet fins; * Future Products: My Pool Pal Flotation Swimsuit, a foam-filled swimsuit to keep non-swimmers afloat and a Velcro-fastened Reusable Infant Swim Diaper that won't come apart in water; * Helos LLC: Reax, soft, silicone gravity hooks that hold eyeglasses in place; * J/Man LLC: Roller Rack, an inline skate carrier for bikes; * Kidz First: the Funrider, a child carrier that mounts to the front of bicycles, instead of the rear; * NICNAT: the Sock-et, athletic sock with a hidden pocket to carry keys, money and credit cards; * Perfect Curve: Perfect Curve, device for washing and storing baseball caps; * Rawlings: diversifying into a new line of ice hockey equipment, with products across several price points; * Rollerblade; Sportglasses, sunglasses licensed to and distributed by Nikon; * Seneca Sports: new line of Valterra brand skateboards and higher-end inline skates, including Genesis Pro; * Venture Aerobics: new line of As-Seen-On-TV fitness equipment.