By Chris Jones, Las Vegas Review-Journal Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Jan. 18--In-line skates, snowboards and paintball equipment -- today, popular and well-accepted -- gained acceptance at the Super Show.
The annual sporting goods trade show, which gets under way Sunday in Las Vegas, also helped popularize balls with built-in pumps long before Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant and Oakland Raider Jerry Rice appeared in advertisements promoting them.
The success of those sporting goods products is enough to attract nearly 80,000 people representing 2,600 companies to The Venetian's Sands Expo and Convention Center, where each hopes to discover the next popular way for people to play.
Mike May, a spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association International, the North Palm Beach, Fla.-based organization that sponsors the Super Show, said Friday this year's show will once again highlight the latest innovations in sporting and fitness products.
As other retail segments struggle, May said sporting goods remain popular because America is largely a sports-crazed society with plenty of year-round options for sports enthusiasts. As a result, association President John Riddle is expected to announce Sunday that manufacturers' sales of sporting goods in the United States topped $49.1 billion last year, up nearly 3 percent from 2001.
This year, such sales are projected to approach $50.5 billion, thanks in part to expected improved demand for fitness and extreme sports equipment, as well as a resurgence in the popularity of licensed sports apparel, particularly 'retro-jerseys' that celebrate former star athletes.
Still, May said the popularity of participation sports has been somewhat hurt by the recent growth of home-based entertainment options such as the Internet, e-mail and video games, many of which are on display at the Super Show.
'It's a double-edged sword,' May said of video games such as the 'Madden NFL' series and those published by Redwood City, Calif.-based EA Sports. 'Their popularity is a plus because it shows people are interested in sports, but we'd also like to think people should be as interested in playing the game of football as they are in playing computer football.'
Along with established industry giants such as Foot Locker, Reebok and Wilson Sporting Goods, May said the Super Show also benefits from the presence of up-and-coming businesses whose new ideas often redefine the market.
'We'll see small, mom-and-pop businesses where a guy has invested his life savings in a small gadget hoping it will become as popular and visible as a pair of Nike sneakers,' May said. 'If a product does well at Super Show and is a hit with the retailers, that manufacturer will have a good 2003.'
For the first time, this year's event includes the 'World of Sports Innovations,' a section that avoids traditional exhibitor booths for displays of about 750 new products in areas that resemble the places where such goods would likely be used.
'One of the areas has a (man-made) running river that will showcase backpacks, hiking boots, sleeping bags and tents,' said May, who hopes the unorthodox display strategy will shake up the show's appearance and provide a more-effective marketing tool. 'When all of the exhibitors see what it looks like, I think we'll have even more involvement next year.'
The Super Show is scheduled to begin next January a three-year run in Orlando, Fla., May said.
The show, which is closed to the public, closes Wednesday.
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(c) 2003, Las Vegas Review-Journal. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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