Snow Storm Impacts Great American RV Show in Denver – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
By Travis O. Pryor
DENVER, Colo. – An ill-timed almost-spring snowstorm took a bite out of what had promised to be a well-attended second year of the Great American RV Show at the Colorado Convention Center over the weekend.
But show organizer Hague Atkinson said there was a measurable feeling of excitement on the final day of the show as skies cleared and a younger audience ventured out to a show that included a large presence of overland vehicles and equipment.
Thursday and Friday, the storm dumped upward of 18 inches of snow in parts of the Denver metro area, keeping many traditional shoppers off of the Interstate and out of downtown, driving attendance down about 20%.
“On a rough estimation, Friday, on a snowy day in Denver, we did about $1.5 million in business,” Atkinson told RVBusiness. “God took Thursday, and Friday we had a decent day that was probably close to a combination of what we would have on Thursday and Friday together. We had just under 2,600 people Friday, but these were buyers. It was a younger crowd. Then we had around 5,000 people Saturday. The dealers were disappointed, but overall I’d say everybody got about 70 to 75% of what they needed from the show.”
Atkinson said several dealers reported strong sales. He said Trailer Source had a great show and Windish, with locations in Denver and Longmont, showed strong sales from the Keystone products it carries. Windish also gave away a Hideout travel trailer to the winner of a drawing, Susan Gonzalez of Pueblo.
Blue Compass RV of Longmont not only showed strong results from its Brinkley line, but also made a good debut of its new branding with Blue Compass ownership.
Atkinson said the buying crowd was largely in the 35-45 age group.
He also credited the show’s seminars on topics such as solar power and battery operations as well as technical situations with bringing in people who were ready to buy.
But a large draw for the show was the 60,000-square-foot space set aside for off-grid overlanding experience.
There were 17 off-grid dealers in attendance including Earth Roamer, WanderBox and Storyteller.
“It was a pioneering effort to give these guys an indoor platform they’d never had before,” he said. “Most of these guys when they exhibit at shows they’re outdoors, they’re in rain, it’s a totally different experience for them.”
Last year’s Overland Expo Mountain West held in Loveland, Colo., held in the normally dry month of August, ended up with some of the heaviest rain Colorado saw all summer.
Atkinson said the overland aspect added tremendously to the diversity of the show and the dealers who took part were rewarded for taking a leap of faith.
“Storyteller had a great show with us,” he said. “And all of these guys are not dealers in the off-grid expo. They are manufacturers who are manifesting products that are very popular right now. We checked a lot of boxes for people.”
He said he believes the show was meaningful for those in attendance and he hopes those who joined the RVing lifestyle are able to take advantage of getting out in nature to achieve a “digital detox” that can improve everybody’s mood.
