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Blade vs. SHOT
- Thread starter ASBOB
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snowreaper1
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I wish Blade would come to other cities every once in a while. Could always use another big knife show in Vegas!! =)
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Ken, haven't been to SHOT in years, but I thought more manufacturers new stuff was shown at SHOT so the vendors could plan their purchasing for the year.
Certainly no argument Blade is the biggest knife show...wore me out the last 2 days.
I don't!
Of course, I'm a bit prejudice since its a 15 minute drive away for me.
Hard to believe, but metro Atlanta doesn't have a decent knife store, so we really NEED Blade.
eisman
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First you have to recognize the major difference between Blade and SHOT. SHOT is an industry trade show, and (with exceptions) closed to the general public. Blade is a public show open to everyone that some (not all) major manufacturers support. SHOT hosts approximately 1200 manufacturers from all spectrums of the outdoor sports; Blade has maybe 350 exhibitors. Some SHOT "booths" are half the size of the entire Blade show.
SHOT is held in the early part of the calendar year because that's the slow time for the industry; hunting is winding down, Christmas sales are done, annual inventories are completed, and the fishing season is just getting started. Manufacturers also work to this cycle, taking orders at SHOT for delivery over the next 12 months. Back when I was working the industry we were expected to write 30-40% of the years sales (or purchases) at the show. It was brutal work. No actual product was supposed to be sold (which is why you rarely saw small companies (or as are prevalent at Blade) individuals with a booth). At Blade the idea is to sell out; take nothing home. At SHOT the idea is to show what you can provide and arrange to sell enough to keep the company busy making stuff for the year. A good example is a large retailer I know; they send a guy to Blade with $10k, last year they placed $1.5 Million in orders at Shot.
Business (standard distribution channel business) does take place at Blade; but then it does any time you toss people from both sides of any industry into close company. Blade is more like the NRA show than SHOT.
As for moving the Blade show, DON'T.
If it's going to be a public show moving it around will kill it. There are plenty of examples of this. Atlanta is easy to get to as a transportation hub, has sufficent space and hotels, and is not expensive. Those who can't get to a show will always have excuses not to. SHOT is limited to two venues in the USA due to its size - only Orlando and Las Vegas have the space to hole the show (and both cities built their convention centers to cater to the top shows in size). Even then moving the show selectively reduces the number of exhibitors as some will only attend when the show is closest to their place of business.
SHOT is held in the early part of the calendar year because that's the slow time for the industry; hunting is winding down, Christmas sales are done, annual inventories are completed, and the fishing season is just getting started. Manufacturers also work to this cycle, taking orders at SHOT for delivery over the next 12 months. Back when I was working the industry we were expected to write 30-40% of the years sales (or purchases) at the show. It was brutal work. No actual product was supposed to be sold (which is why you rarely saw small companies (or as are prevalent at Blade) individuals with a booth). At Blade the idea is to sell out; take nothing home. At SHOT the idea is to show what you can provide and arrange to sell enough to keep the company busy making stuff for the year. A good example is a large retailer I know; they send a guy to Blade with $10k, last year they placed $1.5 Million in orders at Shot.
Business (standard distribution channel business) does take place at Blade; but then it does any time you toss people from both sides of any industry into close company. Blade is more like the NRA show than SHOT.
As for moving the Blade show, DON'T.
If it's going to be a public show moving it around will kill it. There are plenty of examples of this. Atlanta is easy to get to as a transportation hub, has sufficent space and hotels, and is not expensive. Those who can't get to a show will always have excuses not to. SHOT is limited to two venues in the USA due to its size - only Orlando and Las Vegas have the space to hole the show (and both cities built their convention centers to cater to the top shows in size). Even then moving the show selectively reduces the number of exhibitors as some will only attend when the show is closest to their place of business.
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We must have been at another blade show. The one I was at had almost a thousand tables (mostly occupied by hand made knife makers and thief suppliers) and maybe three hundred booths. I agree that the big box stores do their buying at SHOT while the knife dealers buy at Blade
eisman
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The numbers come from the show's own listings; they should be faily accurate. In no way do I consider a "table" (6'-8' feet of space) to be a realistic comparison of between the shows. The top 10 booths at SHOT take up as much floor space as the Blade show.
I'll also bet that Wal-Mart sells more knives than the combined custom makers (at Blade) produce in a year (not that I'd consider them a knife dealer), but you don't see them, or Bass Pro, or Sports Authority, or Big 5, etc, sending their purchasing dept. and sales staff to Blade. That's the point I was tryin to make to the OP; Blade succeeds because it is mainly a public forum for those who enjoy (and sometimes make a living) specifically with knives.
I'll also bet that Wal-Mart sells more knives than the combined custom makers (at Blade) produce in a year (not that I'd consider them a knife dealer), but you don't see them, or Bass Pro, or Sports Authority, or Big 5, etc, sending their purchasing dept. and sales staff to Blade. That's the point I was tryin to make to the OP; Blade succeeds because it is mainly a public forum for those who enjoy (and sometimes make a living) specifically with knives.
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If you are into all types of knives - Blade hands down is the larges and AG has the count correct. I would conservatively venture at least 750 different vendors there. Most custom makers come with a few knives to sell so a booth would be overkill.
If you are into production knives - Shot might just be the place.
I have been to both. Shot once, Blade more times than I can count.
If you are into production knives - Shot might just be the place.
I have been to both. Shot once, Blade more times than I can count.
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The annual Blade Show started out in Knoxville TN and then moved to Atlanta. This part of the country is home to quite a few custom knife makers. I was told at one time that Knoxville (although homey and nice) was much more difficult for folks to get to versus Atlanta.