Outdoor Retailer Teams with Outdoor Industry Association to Expand Education

June 18, 2012

The Outdoor Industry Association and Outdoor Retailer will expand their partnership to offer more Outdoor University educational sessions at Outdoor Retailer trade shows.

 

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, which takes place in early August in Salt Lake City, will feature a broadened curriculum designed to help the outdoor industry stay ahead of the curve on critical business topics.



As part of the partnership, OIA's Outdoor University will work hand in hand with Outdoor Retailer to program the education curriculum at each OR trade show, with Outdoor Retailer contributing to the education, and coordinating sponsorships and brand opportunities that tie in with the education platform.

 

This will create a cohesive business education program at the trade show and increase the educational offerings to enhance attendee value, according to Outdoor Retailer show organizers.



"It's the goal of both Outdoor Retailer and OIA to provide the best educational opportunities to our stakeholders," said Liz Crawford, senior marketing director for Outdoor Retailer.

 

She added, "We're excited to be teaming up in a much more comprehensive way to deliver high quality content for retailers and attendees at the show."



LaRae Marsik, vice president of business intelligence for OIA, added, "Outdoor University provides sought-after expertise and education year-round. Working with OR to unify the education curriculum allows us to serve broader needs of outdoor businesses at the show. We are also offering substantially more sessions than in shows past."



There already are 25 Outdoor University sessions planned for OR Summer Market, with more in development.

 

The total is expected to be 50 percent more than at past shows.



Also new this year, Outdoor University sessions begin the day before the trade show, concurrent with Summer Market Open Air Demo Aug. 1. The sessions continue through Aug. 4.



Sessions will cover a variety of topics, including e-commerce, mobile technologies, experiential retail success, consumer trends, fair labor practices, hub manufacturing strategies, indexing product sustainability, business succession planning, free trade agreements, growth markets, advocacy, social media and more.

 

The curriculum includes subject matter relevant to both retailers and manufacturers. All OR Summer Market Outdoor University sessions are free and open to OR attendees.

 

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