MINNEAPOLIS — On Aug. 19-21, Outdoor Retailer’s first edition in the “City of Lakes” drew more than 1,800 attendees, 275-plus exhibiting brands and more than 400 qualified retailers as organizer Forge sought to reset the legacy trade show around buyer engagement, emerging brands and creator-driven exhibitor ROI.
The event also generated nearly 4,400 lead scans and more than 850 connections between exhibitors and creators through its new Wild Reach program. Those creators have a combined audience of 21.2 million people, more than double the 10 million reach Outdoor Retailer originally targeted for the initiative.
For Outdoor Retailer, Minneapolis represented more than a location shift. The show changed its timing, strengthened buyer programs and retail education, put greater emphasis on emerging brands and introduced new tools designed to extend exhibitor value beyond the show floor.
“Moving a legacy event to a new city while navigating significant change is no small undertaking,” Matthew Mathiasen, Group Show Director at Forge, stated. “It takes trust, patience, curiosity and a willingness to believe in what’s possible.”
More Brands and Buyers
The show featured more than 275 finished-goods brands, up from 226 in 2025 and ahead of the 200-brand goal established for the relaunch, according to Lindsay Hubley, Senior Vice President of Forge’s Sports and Outdoor Division.
Total verified onsite attendance topped 1,800, including buyers, exhibitors, representatives, speakers, media, creators, staff and guests from more than 45 states and 20 countries. More than 150 attendees were media and creators.
Forge also exceeded its goal of 400 qualified retailers, reaching that mark by the end of the first day. Buyers must apply and be vetted before receiving a buyer badge.
Outdoor Retailer’s hosted buyer and specialty scholarship programs helped attract specialty and regional retailers from six continents. Moving the show to August was also intended to better accommodate independent retailers whose buying calendars make June and early summer difficult times to attend.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the most surprising part was the level of buyer activity,” Eoin Comerford, Principal and Founder of Outsize Consulting and former CEO of Moosejaw, stated. “Booths were busy with exhibitors taking orders onsite.”
Attendees logged nearly 4,400 lead scans through the show’s badge-scanning technology, with buyers representing the largest group captured. Exhibitor representatives accounted for 89% of scanning activity.
Related. Forge Unites Emerald and Questex
Taking Exhibitor Reach Beyond the Floor
One of the biggest changes to Outdoor Retailer’s model was Wild Reach, created with content platform Popfly to connect exhibitors with outdoor creators.
More than 150 creators participated, generating 850-plus onsite exhibitor-creator connections and reaching a combined audience of 21.2 million. On opening day alone, approximately 46,000 people engaged with content generated through the program, according to Forge.
Outdoor Retailer funded creator stipends, and participating exhibitors received data including impressions, engagement rates and QR-code booth interactions, along with content assets that could be used after the show.
“We wanted Outdoor Retailer to be the place where brands launch and where innovation in this industry actually happens, and that means we can’t just sell a company a booth and hope the right person walks by,” Hubley stated. “We had to build something more, because the value proposition of exhibiting has to include getting a new product in front of the audience that will actually buy it.”
The initiative reflects a larger challenge facing trade show organizers: demonstrating exhibitor ROI that extends beyond booth traffic and lead counts.
Forge also put greater emphasis on emerging companies. More than 150 founder-led brands participated through the show’s Ascent Program.
Retail education was also revamped with the new Retailer Playbook Lab, a free half-day program featuring nine workshops across four tracks addressing topics including staffing, company culture, cybersecurity and risk management.
Looking to 2027
Forge has already established a key growth target for the next edition: 600 retailers, up from more than 400 this year.
Outdoor Retailer also plans to expand its paddle and water offerings, bring back a bike component and incorporate “urban outdoor” more broadly into its programming and show-floor curation.
“More retailers, first and foremost, that’s our clearest measure of success,” Hubley stated
The organizer also plans to set its 2027 Wild Reach target above this year’s 21.2 million audience and continue expanding its hosted-buyer and specialty-retailer scholarship programs.
“Was it perfect? No show ever is,” Hubley stated. “But it was progress. It was energy. It was a community deciding Outdoor Retailer’s story isn’t finished.”
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