Outdoor Reps Association (ORA) is a trade association with the mission to connect reps and retailers in the upper Midwest. Our membership is composed of sales professionals who represent both established and up-and-coming brands in the outdoor recreation industry, including apparel, footwear, and accessories for all sorts of outdoor lifestyles. Our signature event is our summer trade show, where hundreds of rep/retailer meetings help both parties plan their business for the next selling cycle. Each year we connect retailers from our region with hundreds of the brands they rely on to run their businesses.

WHAT IS CONNECT?

Simple and streamlined, Connect is a fresh approach to a typical tradeshow. Created for the specialty outdoor industry, the invitation-only Connect provides a highly-efficient opportunity for Grassroots Outdoor Alliance retailers, vendor partners, and sales reps to present, discuss, plan, and collect pre-season orders.

Scheduled as early as possible in the buying cycle, Connect is cost-effective and collaborative, offering focus, productivity, and a community vibe for doing business and building relationships. It’s an incubator and testing ground for ideas and product innovations, and a place where industry influencers come together to set the trends for the season ahead.

MISSION

To create a simple, efficient buying show for the outdoor industry that builds relationships and helps specialty retailers and vendors succeed.

Outdoor Reps Association (ORA) is a trade association with the mission to connect reps and retailers in the upper Midwest. Our membership is composed of sales professionals who represent both established and up-and-coming brands in the outdoor recreation industry, including apparel, footwear, and accessories for all sorts of outdoor lifestyles. Our signature event is our summer trade show, where hundreds of rep/retailer meetings help both parties plan their business for the next selling cycle. Each year we connect retailers from our region with hundreds of the brands they rely on to run their businesses.

https://connect.grassrootsoutdoors.com/

The Big Gear Show is an invitation-only, multi-category trade event for the paddlesports, cycling, climbing, and camping markets. We are solely focused on meeting the needs of outdoor shops and gear builders. The demo is fully integrated into the event, so buyers get to paddle, ride bikes, and test gear all day. There is simply no better place to discover new brands and products.
Park City is an outdoor paradise in the summer. It is home to some of the most beautiful lakes and rivers, pristine hiking trails, and vistas, and legendary road and mountain biking in North America. The event will take place at Deer Valley Resort. This is a place retailers and brand teams want to go for vacation – so we decided to bring the show to a place that we’re all excited about.

Wheatbelt is a Stockholder-Owned Distributor, which works primarily with drop ship programs direct to the retailer. Being a stockholder-owned company, we provide these programs at the most competitive pricing available. The combined purchasing strength of our numerous Wheatbelt members provide every-day low prices. Thus improving margins and maintaining the competitive edge.

NBS currently hosts six category-specific buying Markets annually. NBS offers independent retailers a diverse portfolio of buying opportunities in all categories of outdoor sports and general sporting goods. At each of our Markets, NBS Members have access to hundreds of vendors and advantageous buying programs while finding the newest, hottest and cutting-edge products in the industry, coupled with the ability to purchase product at deeply discounted rates.

NBS Markets are a unique trade show experience because exhibiting vendors are not only able to show their products, but Members actually write orders during the duration of the Market utilizing approved pricing from the submitted program. At our Markets, Vendors have the opportunity to meet with and sell to the NBS Membership, the premier group of independent sporting goods retailers in North America.

Nothing can truly replace the experience of the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. Until the show can be held in person, January 18-22, 2022, you can continue to explore exhibitors and new products all year through SHOT Show On Demand. This digital platform provides the trade media as well as retailers, range operators, law enforcement and armed forces representatives the ability to discover many of the products and meet with many of the exhibitors who were scheduled to be on display at our in-person event. Many of these manufacturers and service providers can’t be easily found through traditional distribution channels.