With chainsaw death matches so rare in this industry, frankly, it’s been huge fun.

First AFFTA fired a shot across “The Fly Fishing Show” owner Chuck Furimsky’s bow when they went head-to-head with his Denver consumer show.

That worked about as well expected (#fail), and I thought the matter was settled (#fail X2).

For example, the remnants of AFFTA’s failed consumer show combined with the ISE show, and this year, they’re again going to compete directly (on the same weekend) with Furimky’s Denver show.

AFFTA, apparently, are slow learners.

Now it’s become clear AFFTA’s Fly Fishing Retailer (dealer) show is staggering.

Despite sizable amounts of industry cheerleading (and you know who you are), staying awake through the Fly Fishing Retailer show the last three years has generally required large doses of powerful, illegal stimulants.

In fact, for months now, speculation was rife the ailing FFR show would be combined with the sizable Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, and when the AFFTA Board of Directors voted that idea down, most of us wondered exactly what the hell they had in mind.

Turns out, nothing (at least if we read our press releases correctly).

Adding to the general hilarity, Furimsky clearly hasn’t forgotten the direct assault on his Denver show, and he’s proposing a Florida-based dealer trade show, touting the location’s lower cost.

Now it appears that Nielsen Media – the company that owned and operated the FFR show in the past – may be moving in for the kill.

Simply put, there’s blood in the water, Undergrounders (and we know what that means).

First, AFFTA issued a painfully long-winded press release explaining why they rejected the Outdoor Retailer show option (Warning: powerful stimulants may also be needed to read the following, which sadly includes the phrase “thinking outside the box”):

LOUISVILLE, COLORADO. Since April, 2009, AFFTA has been in discussions with Nielsen Business Media, owner of the FlyFishing Retailer Expo (FFR) to determine how to improve upon future FFR shows. Nielsen shared AFFTA’s desire to improve upon the design and production of future FFR shows.

Thinking outside the box, as the owner of the Outdoor Retailer Show (OR), Nielsen offered to create a “show within a show” by combining FFR with the 2010 Summer OR Show in Salt Lake City. David Loechner, Nielsen Sr. V.P., delivered the “show within a show” proposal to the AFFTA Board at their meeting in September.

According to AFFTA Chairman, Alan Gnann, “When the Outdoor Retailer proposal was first brought to the AFFTA Board’s attention, the Board was interested in the opportunities this combination offered. The thought of having our show within a show the size and caliber of OR was initially felt to be a reasonably good fit.”

Unfortunately, when the AFFTA Board received the final floor space proposal from Nielsen, the total space allocated to the fly fishing industry was grossly insufficient; the separate space to create the “show within a show” concept was not offered nor was space allocated for indoor casting ponds. In addition, many AFFTA members stated that the timing of the OR Show was not a good fit for the fly fishing industry. Therefore, citing these deficiencies, the AFFTA Board of Directors rejected Nielsen’s proposal.

Immediately after the AFFTA Board voted to reject Nielsen’s Outdoor Retailer proposal, AFFTA and Nielsen engaged in good-faith negotiations to allow AFFTA the opportunity to acquire the rights and licenses to the FFR show. Unfortunately, these negotiations were unsuccessful and AFFTA asked Nielsen to either produce a 2010 FFR show or terminate the agreement.

According to Gnann, “Nielsen and their predecessors have been great partners and collaborators for many years. Prior to the downturn in the economy, trade shows nationwide were generally profitable and well attended. However, the current economic climate dictates that AFFTA and Nielsen pursue a different business model. Therefore, as of November 30, 2009, Nielsen released AFFTA from its show production contract. It is now time for AFFTA to move on and determine its next course of action.”

“Since April, the Board of Directors has been working diligently with Nielsen to consider a wide range of options and combinations for FFR,” said AFFTA President Gary Berlin. “Because of confidentiality and non-compete provisions in the Nielsen agreement, the AFFTA Board has been unable to notify the industry of the on-going discussions or issue a press release on the status of the show. Now that AFFTA and Nielsen are no longer contractually obligated, the AFFTA Board is considering multiple options for a 2010 fly fishing industry trade show, including hosting a standalone show or combining with an existing show.”

Berlin promises to keep the fly fishing industry up-to-date on AFFTA’s plans for a 2010 fly fishing industry trade show.

Sure, it’s whiny. Sure, it’s clear AFFTA is lost, and like men everywhere, they’re refusing to stop and ask for directions.

And yes, am I the only person in the whole industry amused by the thought that AFFTA will keep us “up-to-date” on their plans for next year’s trade show?

(AFFTA is to fly fishing bloggers what Dan Quayle was to comedians – a dependable source of material.)

Blood in the Water, Fins On The Surface

Meanwhile, Furimsky’s dealer show is still on the table.

And yes – based on an email received from Outdoor Retailer’s PR agency – we can now plainly see a shark’s fin (a rare Nielsen’s shark) as it knifes through the water, heading directly for AFFTA’s leaking, dangerously overloaded lifeboat.

First, SOAR Communication’s Maura Lansford opens fire with:

In the letter, Haroutunian invites members of the fly fishing industry to join Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in 2010, as the FlyFishing Retailer Show will no longer take place in its current format. The conclusion that the fly fishing industry cannot sustain a stand-alone event in the current marketplace follows months of discussions with members of the fly fishing industry.

As part of its Summer Market event, Outdoor Retailer has offered to provide a new venue and demo experience for FlyFishing Retailer participants, along with an opportunity to grow the fly fishing category into other segments in the outdoor recreation market.

The in the press release portion of the email, former FFR show director (and current Outdoor Retailer show director) Kenji Haroutunian lights ‘em up with:

Fly Fishing Industry and Outdoor Retailer to Join Forces in 2010
From our 30 years of experience producing scores of specialty-sports tradeshows including 11 years producing FlyFishing Retailer, it is clear that the fly fishing marketplace will be better served now and in the future by expanding its reach to include the overall outdoor specialty marketplace. We are convinced that the best opportunity to grow as a market, and build on the core strength inherent in the fly fishing market, is to be connected to a larger collection of relevant businesses at Outdoor Retailer. Therefore, the entire fly fishing industry is invited to join Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Trade Show in 2010 as the FlyFishing Retailer Trade Expo will no longer be held in Denver

A Winning Opportunity
More than 25 percent of FlyFishing Retailer companies already exhibit at Outdoor Retailer, and those that haven’t are now invited to participate in the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2010 Trade Show. For more than 27 years Outdoor Retailer has provided a specialty wholesale watersports culture that thrives on a national and international level. At OR, consistently more than 20,000 professional participants advance the sales process not only in their own category but across multiple lifestyle segments within the overall specialty outdoor market. Please visit www.outdoorretailer.com now for more information about participating in Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.

Ahh, my Undergrounders – it’s the classic “boy meets girl, boy loses girl” love story. Only with trade shows. (See how we make this stuff clear for you?)

First Nielsen sends AFFTA on its merry way, then circles back and does the trade show equivalent of hitting on the attractive women in the group, suggesting they come over to Nielsen’s place for margaritas and chips while leaving their useless, beer-swilling, farting boyfriends behind.

Given AFFTA’s track record, I’d book a flight for Salt Lake City.

***UPDATE: Angling Trade (industry blog) says AFFTA sources have said there will be an “AFFTA-endorsed trade show sometime in 2010.”

That’s not the same as saying it will be standalone fly fishing show, though you’d assume that would be AFFTA’s goal.

The site also revealed AFFTA revenues and attendance figures from the last few years of FFR:

According to sources, gross income for the 2009 event was somewhere @ $460,000, in 2007, gross income was over $700,000… exhibitor numbers went from 234 in 2007 to 146 in 2009

Note that these are “gross” numbers – not net. It’s not clear to us if Nielsen was losing money on the show, but a 1/3 decline in exhibitors speaks volumes about the shows viability in its current state.

Oddly, the Underground’s newest tax deduction isn’t the only thing kicking, whining and soiling itself; it appears the AFFTA Board – when faced by the grim reality of a Fly Fishing Retailer show in steep decline – made An Important Decision.

They just don’t want to tell us what it is yet.

Oh.

The Seamy Background

Despite a great deal of industry cheerleading leading up to this year’s Fly Fishing Retailer Show (and a fair amount of post-event gushing by a few), it seems the FFR show is indeed struggling.

Wicked Outdoorsy posted this somewhat damming article on their blog, suggesting that something needs to change.

With the vendor list shrinking from almost 200 to 150 since 2008, it’s clear that things aren’t all peachy in FFR land, and in fact, industry 800 pound gorilla Orvis didn’t even appear at FFR until the last minute, apparently reversing a decision to skip the show.

The owner of one of fly fishing’s major retail sites told the Underground he rarely attends FFR since manufacturers and reps bring everything to his buyers, often long before the public sees them, so FFR offers little value beyond the networking.

Then there’s the elephant in the room; are anglers increasingly turning to online sources for gear, and if so, what affect is that having on traditionally fly fishing retailers – the FFR show’s primary target group?

What’s Going to Happen Next?

With FFR facing the double whammy of a recession and what appears to be a general decline in interest, what’s a fly fishing trade organization to do?

One possibility is a show that hits different regions every year, and another obvious idea is to fold the fading FFR show into the sizable Outdoor Retailers show in Salt Lake City.

Indeed, that’s the course favored by Moldy Chum (one of the Chum team works for Patagonia, and attends both shows), and Moldy didn’t seem all that happy when he learned the AFFTA Board had met and ruled out folding FFR into the Outdoor Retailer show.

The discussion in the comments section beneath the Wicked Outdoorsy post covers this possibility, and in fact, the director of both shows weighs in with good information.

The AFFTA Board apparently didn’t agree (as per this post from Angling Trade), though it seems as if they’re not going to tell us why until the end of the month.

One hopes they’ve got a plan, but then again, this is the same group that thought it was a good idea to go head-to-head with Chuck Furimsky’s Fly Fishing Show in the consumer show arena, and got their fingers burned.

Furimsky – who still hasn’t forgotten what AFFTA tried to do – is pitching an idea for a dealer show of his own, though this one would be held in Orlando (taking advantage of cheap airfares, lodging, etc).

Given the enmity between Furimsky and AFFTA, we can safely assume Furimsky would have to go it alone with a dealer show, and that he’d be fighting AFFTA for their own members.

Outdoor Retailer Plan a Boon, or a Bust?

While we already know the AFFTA Board voted against joining the Outdoor Retailer show (we just don’t know why, or what’s going to happen instead), I doubt this idea is going away anytime soon.

After all, a little cross-pollination with the outdoorsy set wouldn’t do fly fishing any harm; it’s a sport that’s in danger of erecting a wall around itself (witness the 8% increase in fishing license sales, yet the slow decline in the number of fly fishermen).

Still, would fly fishing simply get lost in the OR show (as some suggest), or is it about time the sport lost its isolationist tendencies (don’t pretend they don’t exist) and joined the rest of the outdoor world?

The Undergrounders Weigh In

This is what’s cool about the Underground – I let my readers do all the heavy lifting. Sure, I’m a brilliant writer who occasionally posts bikini pictures, but in truth, I actually ask my drunken barely conscious slacker readers what they think, and then ignore you when you answer.

It’s crowdsourcing at its finest, so I put the question to the the Undergrounders:

Should FFR try to go it alone? Should it stay Denver? Or should it fold itself under the massive wing of Outdoor Retailer, and hope all the outdoor jocks decide to give the sport a try?

We ask, you answer…

See you in the comments section, Tom Chandler.

And surprisingly, it’s not industry heavyweight AFFTA.

Last year, fly fishing’s industry trade association (AFFTA) announced its first consumer trade show in Denver — a trade show held on the same weekend as Chuck Furimsky’s long-established Fly Fishing Show.

The resulting furball had all the tragi-comedic elements of Shakespearean farce; given its stated intent of growing the sport, why was the industry trade association trying to snuff out an existing show?

AFFTA President Robert Ramsay repeatedly said it wasn’t a personal thing; AFFTA simply felt it was time to gain a little traction (and a revenue stream) from a string of consumer shows while trying to grow the fly fishing market for its members.

Of course, when a trade association targets one of your most profitable trade shows, it might be hard not to take it personally, and Furimsky countered AFFTA’s move with a fair amount of heated rhetoric.

As time passed, the words grew more contentious, the whispering picked up intensity, the threats emerged, and exhibitors were forced to decide which show to attend. Many thought AFFTA’s show — which could count on the attendance of most of fly fishing’s bigger manufacturers — was a major favorite to win.

At the Fly Fishing Retailer show in Denver, the whispering came from every point of the compass.

Some said Furimsky was difficult and deserved his comeuppance. Others said this was simply a bungled money-and-power grab by a panicked AFFTA and its bigger fly fishing manufacturers, who were facing a stagnant industry and disliked the discounting that occurs at Furimsky’s shows.

The Jabs Just Keep Coming

Predictably, after the January showdown, both sides claimed a moral victory, though it wasn’t long after that AFFTA’s President Robert Ramsay — the point man in AFFTA’s effort to launch a string of consumer trade shows — announced he was leaving AFFTA’s top job.

The announcement was immediately pounced on by the Furimsky camp as proof the AFFTA consumer show was a failure.

Then the Underground’s post-show article incited a fair amount of “spirited” commentary from both sides of the issue.

Kenji Haro — director of Denver’s Fly Fishing Retailer Show (a successful dealer-only show that’s run in the fall), posted this comment on the Trout Underground:

I think the point of the AFFTA show was that Chuck’s was not contributing to the industry growth…. fine for the art of bamboo rodmaking, but how does that get more people involved in the sport, which can support your local shops and eventually garner more interest in your niche? Did The Furimsky show give proceeds, even a little, to the association that supports the sport in DC and does outreach to get more people aware and involved?

The Fly Fishing Show’s Dave Seward responded with a salvo of his own, including an allegation that they had offered funding to AFFTA, but that AFFTA simply wanted too much:

As far as “give a little, to the association that supports the sport in DC and does outreach to get more people aware and involved” that is a whole can of worms, no pun intended. At one time The Fly Fishing Show was willing to donate 10% of booth rental fees of every AFFTA member back to AFFTA, they wanted more to put it simply (You can check out this effort on utaff.org/constitution.html “let the Truth be Known” also check out Business as usual).

Furimsky himself also chimed in, and amidst the volleys of charges and counter-charges, the truth will likely never be clear to those without backstage passes to the AFFTA board’s decision-making process.

AFFTA Opts Out of Death Match Weekend

In what Furimsky’s camp cites as a clear victory, AFFTA recently announced they weren’t going to reprise their Denver consumer show, but would instead merge their “successful” show concept with outdoor trade show giant ISE. From the AFFTA press release:

“This agreement with ISE, producers of the largest and longest-running outdoor consumer events in the marketplace, creates the most powerful promotional and educational platform our members have ever had. The highly regarded show concept showcased at our January 2008 consumer Expo in Denver will be used as the model for our collaborative efforts with ISE to produce the finest fly fishing events in the country.”

AFFTA would incorporate “Discover Fly Fishing” pavilions within ISE’s Denver and San Mateo shows aimed at recruiting new fishermen into the sport.

Furimsky — who has maintained all along that his show does plenty for the sport of fly fishing — announced he was partnering with the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) and launching in-show recruitment pavilions of his own.

Plans are being finalized to present an “Introduction to Fly Fishing” area staffed by men, women and youth members of F.F.F. that will provide free instruction to any of the tens of thousands who attend the shows. All questions and help requests in every aspect of fly fishing will be professionally responded to by qualified and certified F.F.F. instructors and show personnel.”

Last Show Standing…

Frankly, it’s hard to see a lot of winners in this mess, though Ramsay’s departure and the sublimation of AFFTA’s consumer show into the ISE shows suggests AFFTA no longer has the stomach (and perhaps the budget) for this kind of fight.

Furimsk’s Fly Fishing Show has earned the title of “Last Show Standing,” and while the true behind-the-scenes machinations which led to this furball remain unclear, what is clear is that AFFTA’s new President — Gary Berlin — is walking into a situation requiring a little fence mending.

Also left unclear is the role played by the AFFTA Board of Directors: former AFFTA President Ramsay repeatedly said the decision to launch a competing trade show was the result of a unanimous decision by AFFTA’s board — which includes representatives from industry heavyweights Umpqua, Sage/Rio, Frontier Travel, Simms, Cloudveil, Ross, Orvis and LL Bean.

If this somewhat select group was handed the goal of growing participation in a stagnant fly fishing industry — and their best answer involved a divisive attempt to terminate an existing fly fishing show and claim its revenues for their own organization — then the fly fishing industry as a whole might be headed for a rocky ride, and not solely as a result of economic forces.

As always, the Undergrounders should feel free to add their perspective below. See you on the river, Tom Chandler.

Technorati Tags: fly fishing,fishing,AFFTA,fly fishing show,robert ramsay,chuck furimsky,trade show death match,stuff I’d rather not write

Welcome to the Denver fly fishing show death match, Undergrounders. It won’t be boring.

The sparks and the rhetoric flew when the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) announced it was getting into the fly fishing consumer trade show business — by competing head-to-head with an already-established Denver consumer show.

The new AFFTA consumer show is set for January 4-6, 2008 in the downtown Denver Convention Center — the very same weekend as The Fly Fishing Show , the existing event run by Chuck Furimsky at Denver’s Merchandise Mart.

Furimsky didn’t wait long before crying foul, alleging a personal vendetta and an attempt by some of AFFTA’s manufacturers to put him out of business. Furimsky owns and operates several Western fly fishing shows, and recently split (amicably) with his partner, who retains control of the company’s eastern shows.

Ramsay: “It’s Nothing Personal. It’s Just Business.”

AFFTA President Robert Ramsay responded to Furimsky’s attacks in a recent interview, where he said the AFFTA Board of Directors voted unanimously to move into the consumer show business because the existing shows weren’t oriented towards growing the fly fishing market.

“It’s nothing personal,” Ramsay said. “It’s just business. Our goal is the growth of a sustainable fly fishing market, which helps everyone.”

Furismky apparently didn’t agree, and he’s vowed to organize a retailer trade show to compete with AFFTA’s Fly Fishing Retailer (FFR) show in the fall.

He’s also said he’s willing to lose money on the Denver consumer show for several years in an attempt to drive the new AFFTA consumer show under.

Meanwhile, AFFTA’s Ramsay said the decision to compete was not taken lightly by the AFFTA board, but that the association wanted to build a sustainable fly fishing market, and one of the best methods for doing so was through beginner-friendly consumer shows.

Dividing an Industry

The heated rhetoric aside, it’s clear that exhibitors will have to make some hard decisions. Exhibit at one show? Smaller booths at both shows? Skip them altogether and hope for a resolution next year?

Obviously, AFFTA’s trump card here is its own membership; the show with the big manufacturers might be perceived as the most prestigious, and Furimsky’s job will be to stem the losses of exhibitors from his show to the new AFFTA show.

For his part, Furimsky has years of momentum behind him; attendees have been flocking to his Merchandise Mart show for several years, and it’s possible a lot of showgoers won’t even know about AFFTA’s Downtown Denver show.

We’ve already seen a few public battles over fly fishing’s celebrities, some of whom immediately defected to the new show while others stood pat with Furimsky.

One thing is clear; even given the popularity of fly fishing in Colorado, it’s unlikely that both shows will survive for long in direct competition.

The Consumer Decision? Wait and See.

In any free market, the consumer decides who wins, but like most inter-family squabbles, this one’s going to leave some long-lasting scars on an industry that can ill afford it.

When I spoke with Ramsay, he repeatedly emphasized this wasn’t a personal vendetta, though one wag at the FFR show said it looked to him like a commercial “assassination” of Furimsky — a somewhat flambouyant character who has made his share of enemies in the industry.

It couldn’t feel good to have the industry’s own trade association paint a big bullseye on your back, and if this show is a success, Ramsay said the AFFTA will expand their line of consumer shows.

Next time, Ramsay said, AFFTA would move into major markets without directly competing trade shows, though I question how many truly worthwhile markets are left (Ramsay mentioned Dallas and a few other Southern locations).

One thing is likely clear; the other show owners are closely watching this battle in an attempt to divine what’s in their future.

Waiting For Early January

During our interview, it became clear Ramsay was frustrated with some of the rhetoric generated by Furimsky, and admitted that a model of direct competition — as with Furimsky’s Denver show — won’t be repeated at other venues.

What I find remarkable is the width and breadth of feeling within the industry; while almost no one is willing to go on the record, I heard whispers at the recent FFR show aimed at both sides of the aisle.

“The manufacturers dislike the bargain basement selling that goes on at Furimsky’s shows, and they’re trying to put him out of business” said one attendee.

Another said (rather hopefully) that “a little competition would only help dealers and manufacturers,” while another cryptically said only that “this was going to be good for the industry.”

One thing is clear; it’s a PR problem of significant proportions for the AFFTA. Regardless of their true motives, whenever a trade association enters into direct competition with one of their own, the results won’t be pretty.

Stay tuned, Undergrounders. And — as always — the floor is yours. Any opinions?