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?