CONNECTING VIRTUALLY AIMExpo CONNECT Trade Show
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ast year, the industry faced what seemed like insurmountable hurdles, but we came together and pushed through,” said Motorcycle Industry Council President and CEO Erik Pritchard in his opening remarks for the AIMExpo CONNECT virtual trade show. “Then we saw some welcome surprises, like the surge of interest in powersports.” That surge, combined with the odd cocktail of COVID protocols at the National and State levels, changed the way we do business, but not our industry’s priorities. “Now, the industry is focused on continuing the remarkable momentum into and beyond 2021, with the goal of more riders, riding more,” he noted. “So with that, we’re going to start the year off right with AIMExpo CONNECT presented by Dairyland Cycle Insurance. We have a packed virtual show floor with more than 60 exhibitors, two days of education for dealers and more.” The focus on the future and need to get more riders was augmented by the MIC Gas Tank Competition — basically our industry version of TV’s Shark Tank — where powersports entrepreneurs battle for a cash prize. Unlike TV however, MIC provided mentors to assist the innovators in getting their concepts ready for prime time (see “Jumping The Shark” on page 52).
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“We set our bar high and are looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead,” added Pritchard. The need for the show to go on in a post-pandemic world seemed to resonate with the more than 300 dealers who participated on both the virtual show floor and enrolled in the “Profit Solutions” educational tracks. Between the dealers, distributors, manufacturers and suppliers, 86 exhibiting companies experienced nearly 13,000 virtual booth visits according to vice president and general manager of MIC Events, Cinnamon Kernes. “We knew people were hungry for a way to connect within the industry in a more meaningful way, and AIMExpo CONNECT offered the chance to do just that,” she said. “We look forward to more opportunities to come together through our monthly MIC Symposium Series and more importantly, we’re looking ahead and planning for an inperson event taking place early 2022, so stay tuned!”
