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

Furimsky or Ramsay in the crosshairs? (photo courtesy Garrison Photography)

If you’ll recall, AFFTA launched a consumer trade show on the same weekend as Furimsky’s existing consumer show, and admitted that yes — they were targeting the Furimsky show for termination.

The shows were held the January 4-6 weekend, and yes, I’d love to know what happened.

So does Denver Post columnist Charlie Myers, who asked his readers who went to which show and why.

The dueling fly fishing shows that ended last week at two Denver locations created considerable buzz among the long-rod community.

Many anglers chose to return to the longstanding Fly Fishing Show at the Denver Merchandise Mart, others switched allegiance to the American Fly Fishing Trade Association’s new offering at the Colorado Convention Center and quite a few opted for a peek at both.

Some comments lauded the space and family friendly nature of the AFFTA show, and yet there were several complaints about the cancellation (without notice) of a pair of celebrity clinics.

The Fly Fishing Show (at the Merchandise Mart) seemed to go off as usual; Dave Sewak of The Fly Fishing Show said "we had great weather, so attendance was excellent. We had no problems, and people loved the show."

Some complained that the Merchandise Mart is small, and that there weren’t enough opportunities to try new gear.

Ramsay Departure Spices the Mix

Adding intrigue to the mix was the post-show departure of AFFTA President Robert Ramsay, who announced via press release that he was leaving the organization to pursue other interests.

It’s intriguing to speculate about the causes of the departure, but our last shred of journalistic integrity requires us to write that his departure could be wholly unrelated to the consumer trade show follies.

We’ll know for sure in a few months, when we find out if the AFFTA show commits a repeat engagement.

Did any Undergrounders attend? Any comments from the gallery?

See you anywhere but at a trade show, Tom Chandler

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?