Search News

Results: 1-10 of 1048


Start again

22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime...

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with...

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to...

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.

8 Mar 2024

Daniel Blackham, editor of industry magazine BikeBiz, has been writing about his experience of completing the Cytech technical one qualification at training provider Spokes People in Milton...

6 Mar 2024

Cytech partner Activate Cycle Academy, the largest and most recognised training provider of bike maintenance and technical training courses to the UK’s cycle industry, recently welcomed a...

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of...

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.

Back to news menu

OTS 2018 is a resounding success

Posted on in Business News , Outdoor News

The Outdoor Trade Show (OTS) 2018 closed its doors on its 13th year on a high, receiving excellent feedback from exhibitors and visitors alike. Taking place at EventCity, Manchester for the first time, the new location was also praised by all.

950 trade visitors attended the show over the three day period, representing a 7.5% increase from 2017, but what was more noticeable was the overall 30% increase on repeat visitors on the Wednesday and Thursday, indicating that more buyers chose to stay at the show for longer to accommodate the increased number of 118 exhibitors at the show.

For the first time at the show there were retail buyers from Tiso, Gaynor Sports, George Fisher and Craigdon Mountain Sports as well as from the multiples, including JD Sports, Outdoor and Cycle Concepts, Ellis Brigham, Decathlon, Go Outdoors and independent outdoor stores such as John Attwooll and Co, Taunton Leisure, Winfields, Trekitt and 53 Degrees North.

Simon Clark, Owner of Taunton Leisure said: "I thought the show and the venue was very good and for us this helps us maximise our time to do business with key brands and a valuable insight to other brands that we may not currently work with. All in all a good effort and I hope that both the outdoor trade and retailers alike will support a single show going forward. Up to now I have found it frustrating the amount of satellite shows around the country and I sincerely hope that going forward everyone can unite behind one show."

Show organiser Marta Williams, from MCS commented: "The move to Manchester was daunting following 12 years at Stoneleigh Park, but we could not be happier with the venue and the team, nothing was too much trouble, it definitely was the right decision. The positive atmosphere was experienced in the hall from the build-up days and only got better during the three days of the show. Feedback has been excellent, not only due to the increase in visitor numbers but the quality of these who attended. We look forward to an even bigger and better event for 2019."

OTS provides a networking and selling opportunitiy for the outdoor tradeAndrew Denton, CEO, Outdoor Industries Association (OIA) said: "OTS 2018 delivered with a great mix of brands and quality visitors and the OIA is proud to be part of it. We are already planning and looking forward to next year. OTS will welcome even more key brands for 2019 - now is the time to pull together, to save carbon, time, money & resource, let's make OTS the central focus of the UK outdoor industry in 2019. As OutDoor moves to the new dates in Munich, OTS will follow on a week later, giving exhibitors time to move stands and samples from Europe and immediately follow up with presentations to their largest UK customers for second viewings and to show the independents what was at OutDoor. We will be introducing new areas for trail running and climbing, a bouldering wall, speakers, more events, more space, more opportunities."

Highlights from the show included the world-renowned British Army parachute team, the Red Devils, who delivered an incredible display and parachute jump on the first day of the show, the display of over 90 products at the UK Outdoor Industry Awards 2019 area and the OTS Party on the Wednesday, which welcomed over 250 exhibitors and visitors with music, food, drink and games for all.

Back to news menu

Useful links

If you have any other queries please contact us.