Las Vegas, Nev. – The latest gear for hunters, shooters and outdoor enthusiasts begins its journey from manufacturer to marketplace at the SHOT Show®, which will draw nearly 60,000 industry professionals to do business over four days.
The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show opens on Tuesday, January 19, at the Sands Exposition and Conference Center and runs through Friday, January 22. Approximately 1,800 exhibitors will show their products in booths covering 700,000 net square feet — the largest showcase in the world of firearms and ammunition, law enforcement equipment, outdoor apparel, cutlery, optics, shooting and hunting accessories and related outdoor products and services.
SHOT ranks annually among the fastest growing trade shows and is the 22nd largest trade show in North America.
The SHOT Show is the one place every year where manufacturers, distributors and retailers of firearms and sporting accessories gather to conduct business, exchange ideas, renew contacts and reaffirm the unity that has been the hallmark of the shooting sports industry in these challenging times.
Why do industry professionals attend the SHOT Show?
Retailers attend because they can see and handle the latest products and talk to sales representatives face to face. “The Show is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for retailers to gain a hands-on education about the products they will be discussing with their sportsmen customers across the nation over the coming year,” said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which owns the show.
Manufacturers and distributors attend to showcase a broad range of their products in categories including firearms, ammunition, law enforcement, tactical, reloading, custom manufacturing, scopes and sights, gun locks, gun cases and cabinets, binoculars and rangefinders, shooting range equipment, targets, training and safety equipment, archery, hunting accessories, hearing and eye protection, treestands, scents and lures, cutlery and sharpeners, holsters, apparel, leather goods, game calls, decoys, and much more.
Outdoor media turns out in force — approximately 1,400 are expected — to cover the introduction of products and to report on stories associated with the firearms and outdoor industry. “Traditional and new media provide positive, widespread exposure to this $4 billion industry and its remarkable products,” said Bill Brassard Jr., NSSF’s director of communications.
With practically all segments of industry in attendance, the SHOT Show provides a perfect setting for organizational and educational meetings. On the day before the show opens, retailers take advantage of SHOT Show University to learn from experts about new marketing strategies, e-commerce, store financials and compliance with federal regulations. Additional seminars for retailers run during the show and feature presenters from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
New this year are seminars for law enforcement personnel attending the show.
The 2010 SHOT Show returns to Las Vegas after a successful show in Orlando in 2009. SHOT also will be located in Las Vegas in 2011 and 2012.
Industry professionals who cannot attend the show but want to keep track of all that is happening at SHOT can do so at www.nssf.org and www.shotshow.org.
