ExpoCycle 2012 Show Update: Day 2

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Industry Day Kicks off Day 2 of ExpoCycle 2012

Education, Guest Appearances and Networking Parties Highlight Day 

 

Toronto, ON (Sept 9, 2012) - ExpoCycle, the meeting place for the Canadian bicycle community, officially opened its doors to the Industry after a very successful Public day. The focus shifted to the business of bikes, with networking parties, BMX demonstrations, and autograph signings mixed in throughout the day.

 
Even before the show officially opened, ExpoCycle 2012 Industry days was underway. During an 8:00 a.m. breakfast seminar, Merchandising to Build Your Brand and Maximize KPI's, the interim CEO and EVP of Golf Town outlined his road map to sales success and profitability. It was a unique opportunity for an "under the hood" look at their business and how it uses Key Performance Indicators to drive and measure success. To prove the point, the curtain was lifted on performance numbers and internal reports to not only see real results (using real data), but also see how to implement similar systems in any retail store. Having a successful Canadian retailer outside the bicycle industry outline its recipe for success for bike retailers to take back to their store made this seminar highly impactful and actionable.

 
That high level of actionable education was carried into the next seminar. With lunch provided, The Are We Going the Way of the Book and Camera Industries or Can We Shape a Better Future? Seminar educated those in attendance on shaping their online future. The changing landscape of how consumers choose to buy products was outlined, along with strategic ways to tap into them. Ways to create the "endless aisle" - a strategy for customers to stay on your website longer and buy - and combat "showrooming" - where customers gather in-store product intelligence and buy from competitors online based on price - were discussed. 

 
Both Seminars represented a new direction for Education at ExpoCycle 2012 - combining top-notch, actionable education with a meal to free up time for retailers to work the show floor.


LGAnother highlight of the day, the Louis Garneau booth provided a meet and greet with its founder Louis Garneau. Mr. Garneau gave away signed copies of his biography "Never Give Up". Dealers had the opportunity to meet the legend and bring back a memento to the store. Although free to dealers, all future sales proceeds will go to charity. "I'm not very old, so why am I doing a biography? Well, someone convinced me to do it so proceeds can go to charity," commented Garneau. "Since 1984, I have taken care of the Canadian National team. Now I'm taking care of Team Rwanda. All proceeds will go to support this team." The book will be available on
www.louisgarneau.com by the end of the month. Dealers can also order copies to sell in-store to help support the cause.

 
Timbuk2TimBuk2 also had a unique promotion for all in attendance. If you donated your old bag you could replace it with one of four new TimBuk2 bag styles for only $40. The old bags collected are being donated to the Dress Your Best charity for Canadians and the money raised is to be donated to Cycle Toronto (as of noon on Day 2, TimBuk2 had already raised more than $2,000.00).


The Ten Pack BMX Team Demo entertained onlookers with impressive tricks on a series of street-style obstacles. The demo area featured grind boxes, rails, and flat banks. A meet and greet and autograph session followed the event.

 
 
Networking parties dominated the closing hours of the day. To celebrate the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr�al that took place during the day, show producers had a live video feed of the race and a "Happy Hour" during the last hour of the race to start the drinks flowing. From there, it was onto the Industry Party held on site to keep the networking momentum going. Most enjoyed cold beverages while celebrating the Canadian cycling industry.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EXPOCYCLE 2012:

Website: www.expocycle.ca

Facebook: www.facebook.com/btac.expocycle

Twitter: www.twitter/expoCycle