 Poster: A snowHead
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| richb67 wrote: |
Food and drink was terrible, £8 for a tea and bad coffee, didn't see anything I could eat (gluten intolerant).
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There are plenty of cafes around Olympia, I would have though you could find something but would have meant popping out of the hall.
| LOTA wrote: |
But they had given up engaging punters and were holding an invite-only social event with music etc, so that was disappointing. However, the ladies on the Scandinavian Mountain Airport stand were very nice and very helpful.
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Funny how some people on some stands dont really want to talk to punters, happens at all shows.
| LOTA wrote: |
| Was not really looking for kit or clothing but there definitely wasn't much there. Ellis Brigham's return to the show was underwhelming! |
I don't know why Ellis Brigham bothered give the size of their stand and considering they have a largish shop up the road too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| ster wrote: |
| richb67 wrote: |
Food and drink was terrible, £8 for a tea and bad coffee, didn't see anything I could eat (gluten intolerant).
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There are plenty of cafes around Olympia, I would have though you could find something but would have meant popping out of the hall.
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you have missed the part where I said there were plenty of good places nearby!!
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Tue 21-10-25 11:33; edited 1 time in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| richb67 wrote: |
| ster wrote: |
| richb67 wrote: |
Food and drink was terrible, £8 for a tea and bad coffee, didn't see anything I could eat (gluten intolerant).
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There are plenty of cafes around Olympia, I would have though you could find something but would have meant popping out of the hall.
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you have missed the part where I said there were plenty of good faces nearby!! |
I didnt think people are that good looking in London.
But then it wasnt really a con was it?
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@Mike Pow, Just my 2c -
pros
- nice to be able to talk F2F with some organisations (Ikon, Japan travel, Sauze etc), partly just from a 'networking' or social perspective, but we got some useful context on Utah and Georgia
cons
- shocking acoustics. I know it's an old building, but was really atrocious - does no-one consider the impact of 4 live 'theatres' AND a live band in the middle... (maybe it was intentional to create a 'buzz'... but I'm not sure it worked!)
- prices of in-venue food... yes, there are cafe's outside, and I'm used to London prices, but £4.80 for an (admittedly quite nice) cappucino - and £14 for the Itsu-style salmon & noodles.... reminds me why I don't eat out so much (although on reflection those prices aren't _so_ bad for London!)
- the 'upstairs' part felt _very_ separate, and clearly a 'second tier'... felt sorry for those stall holders.
The show felt 'busy', more so than I was expecting, given the state of the economy. I was on the SCGB stand on Saturday morning - plenty of people interested in the rep service.
Not sure I'd bet on it lasting more than a few years if this is all it is... and I certainly wouldn't have paid to go! would be interesting to hear what MTN thought about it.
Improvements
- useful lectures (the one that looked most relevant, on ski-servicing, got dropped - and annoyed I missed the Georgia one)
- presentations from the resorts, esp the bigger US areas - they could cover a lot of 'whats new, logistics, accomodation tips' etc in a 30 minute presentation given several times a day
- demo options (one stand was talking about the 'virtual' or rolling carpet indoor slopes
- retailers.... where were all the new skis?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks
Keep it coming.
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I quite enjoyed it but it only takes me 25 minutes on free travel to get there. Olympia in that aspect is better than Excel in Docklands. I'm not sure I'd travel far for it.
The good:
- It was good to see and catch up with the usual ski faces. Chemmy was her usual bundle of energy with the enthusiasm dialed up to 20, it was good to say hi to Colin from S4F and I had a nice chat with Jens from Stomp it.
- I enjoyed the talks from Warren Smith, Carv and Jens. They were all interesting and came at things from a different perspective.
- I had a good chat with the guy from Superfeet about correcting an imbalance in my everyday shoes.
The bad:
- The acoustics - Particularly when when you get the announcer trying to shout loudly over the rest of the noise in the middle of presentations. Very disruptive.
- The list of presenters on the stages didn't seem to have the times on them. What's that about? I had to go onto their website to see what was happening when.
- Mediocre food stalls at high prices.
What I though was missing:
- Nothing at all interesting on new ski gear. Has the ski industry really got so boring? Maybe offer some stand discounts for smaller companies with something new to contribute and make it more interesting. It has to be more interesting and more relevant than charities and pet food suppliers.
- Nothing really to do that might get you actively involved. OK, there was a virtual snowball fight for kids but that was it really.
- I missed Snowshepherd, maybe they had nothing new to show this year or may they've been priced out.
Other:
- I get that the snow destinations people have the budget to attend these kind of shows and are probably essential for them to go ahead but for me they don't add anything. There's so much information online these days and I always book my ski holidays early in the year (and don't think about my next holidays until they're over) so the timing is just wrong for me.
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| richb67 wrote: |
| Like others disappointed in the acoustics, was difficult to hear what the guys on the stands were saying even when you were stood next to them, I tried to listen to a talk on sustainability by Ian M but gave up. |
Sorry to hear that (no pun intended). That was the Sunday morning one, right? I had a sense that the sound was better on that stage, but maybe that was just how it seemed to me from the stage. Absolutely the accoustics overall were terrible and when the band played on the Saturday, it was impossible to hear wherever you were in the venue.
From my point of view, I did find it frustrating that I had spent a long time preparing for the panels and presentations that I was delivering, and then visitors couldn't find out when they were on, or listen to them properly when they were there.
However, it seemed to be busy and plenty of the stallholders I talked to (Ruanua, Profeet, Ski Mojo, Sauze Online) were very happy with how it had gone. Ski Exchange told me they would only break even, which surprised me as they were constantly busy (being the only proper retailer), but they did have a big footprint, so I guess the stand cost more.
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[quote="iainm"]
| richb67 wrote: |
| Ski Exchange told me they would only break even, which surprised me as they were constantly busy (being the only proper retailer), but they did have a big footprint, so I guess the stand cost more. |
That doesn't surprise me given the amount the standard were costing. There was a post from a retailer that didn't attend and he was looking at just under 6/7/8K for a much smaller size than what Ski Exchange had. I get these are expensive to put on but to make that sort of profit back from the show you have to be turning over some serious $$$. I do wonder if the balance is a little too much on the retailer at the moment.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I wonder if they could better charge for the tickets, none of this half price /free tickets shenanigans they play (apart from one year I think I’ve never paid for a ticket) , just a decent amount for all: £5 to £10 for all adults, kids in free or something that might raise the total ticket revenue?
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| iainm wrote: |
| From my point of view, I did find it frustrating that I had spent a long time preparing for the panels and presentations that I was delivering, and then visitors couldn't find out when they were on, or listen to them properly when they were there. |
This - there were 4 stages, and knowing where they were and what was on was very hit-and-miss if you hadn't prepped prior to the visit. Interpreting what the talk may have been about was also rather vague from the promoter... Case in point - Iain, your first talk, presented only as "THE SKI PODCAST EQUIPMENT SPECIAL", followed shortly by " GB SKI TEST" followed an hour or so later by "SKI TESTING – HENRY JOHN, SKI CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN". Without any context, that's just the same chat by different people...
I was getting direct marketing - from TSA specifically - saying they weren't coming to the show, so come see us in our store and we'll give you a bigger discount than we would be able to at the show.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| iainm wrote: |
| richb67 wrote: |
| Like others disappointed in the acoustics, was difficult to hear what the guys on the stands were saying even when you were stood next to them, I tried to listen to a talk on sustainability by Ian M but gave up. |
Sorry to hear that (no pun intended). That was the Sunday morning one, right? <snip>
However, it seemed to be busy and plenty of the stallholders I talked to (Ruanua, Profeet, Ski Mojo, Sauze Online) were very happy with how it had gone. Ski Exchange told me they would only break even, which surprised me as they were constantly busy (being the only proper retailer), but they did have a big footprint, so I guess the stand cost more. |
yes Sunday am. You also got the short straw and were up against Aimee Fuller on the main stage, tough competition !
Good news that some stall holders were happy, hopefully breaking even isn't bad given it probably increases their brand recognition. e.g. I'd always thought of SkiExchange as not selling the greatest stuff (the pictures on website sometimes aren't great IMO) but the gear looked better than expected so although I didn't spend any money I was left with a positive impression.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Richard_Sideways wrote: |
| I was getting direct marketing - from TSA specifically - saying they weren't coming to the show, so come see us in our store and we'll give you a bigger discount than we would be able to at the show. |
Ouch! Not very helpful for the organisers, who are trying to ensure that the industry still has a consumer show
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@iainm, with the lack of vendors, the consumer aspect of the show was limited. Apart from a bit of kit up on the Backdrop Journal stand for split boarding, there was next to no representation of snowboarding in the whole show. You probably have better inside info as to whether the organisers specifically only targeted higher value things like holidays, rather than equipment, or whether kit vendors and resellers were not engaging with the show due to - whatever... I can only guess at what TSAs motivation was.
The irony is, despite there being almost nothing kit-wise to look at (and I am in the market for new boots), this was the most money I've ever spent at any snow show as I did get a very good deal on accommodation for an easter group-trip.
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You know it makes sense.
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Well, that's good to hear that you were spending money. With two kids doing seasons this year, we also walked away having dropped ~£500.
The show definitely targeting retailers. I think the cost of the stand was the limiter. Hopefully the fact that lots of people were there and spending money might bring them in next year.
For me, the biggest negative was no beginners' slope. I love seeing new people excited about trying the sport, but there was no one 'on' skis or snowboards at all. Proper 'animation', such as a big feature like a quarter pipe or kicker seems like a lifetime ago, yet brands like icebreaker were doing this in London only the week before...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GrWlhHlmUvg
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I went to the show on Sunday and enjoyed it. I liked the talks and the Warren Smith ski academy stand was interesting. I also enjoyed talking to representatives of some resorts I haven’t been to which will help with future ski holiday planning. I also spoke to a lovely lady from Snowsports England and found out more about recreational ski clubs at Uk dry slopes etc.
They could do with improving the ambience and in particular getting better quality food and drink stalls.
Generally I think it worked well in the venue compared to Excel.
I think it is a great opportunity for the average member of the public to meet Olympians and talk to other ski enthusiasts face to face.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Met up with the organiser last night.
He's following this thread and really appreciates every comment posted.
He really wants to make this show a must-attend event, so any and all suggestions and feedback will be invaluable going forward.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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He's never going to get a "must attend" event without building the size and value of the old events. Which will never happen in the post internet, post Covid world.
I wasn't around last weekend but even with free tickets, unless I'd been meeting people socially it would have been a toss up whether to spend the rail fare and travel time for my anticipated "entertainment value".
Some of this is of course personal. If I was newer to skiing and keen to absorb as much as possible it might be different.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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We went on Saturday and enjoyed it. Spoke to some lovely people on stands and almost bought a jacket in Ellis brigham (although it looked rrp so didn’t rush to make a deal).
Really interesting to hear carv’s journey and warren / jens talks were great.
The bloke shouting out on the top of the maisons sport stand was really badly placed. Massively interfered with hearing the talks, I’m hard of hearing with hearing aids so it all blended in badly. Then later the band just swamped things out.
So the noise was a big issue for me but still had a great time.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I guess they have to say that 
But I wonder how that attendance compares to other recent years.
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@ster, Having been on Sunday and speaking to the guys at www.snow-camp.org.uk it was definitely busier than last year
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FAQ
