New York-based Emerald Holdings acquires Overland Expo from Lodestone Events

Emerald Holding Inc.’s acquisition of Indianapolis, Indiana-based Lodestone Events, producers of the Overland Expo series of vehicle-based, adventure travel consumer shows, represents the company’s expansion in the growing business-to-consumer (B2C) event space. Built on Emerald’s experience in outdoor recreation with its Outdoor Retailer (OR) trade show, the series purchase accentuates their combined mission to power connectivity.

Lodestone will oversee Emerald’s previously announced Outdoor Adventure X show, their new consumer lifestyle event for outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Outdoor Adventure X will take place  June 17-18, 2023, at Snowbasin Resort in Huntsville, Utah, the weekend preceding OR’s business-to-business (B2B) summer show in Salt Lake City.

After the announcement was made, we caught up with Emerald’s Group VP, Jeff Davis, to hear what the new owners of Overland Expo had in mind with their foray into overlanding.

OutdoorX4 (OX4): Congratulations on the acquisition of Lodestone Events and the Overland Expo Series. There was a marked transition from the founders, the Hansons, to Lodestone, an event company founded by Bruce Hubley and his daughters, Lindsay Hubley and Jessica Kirchner. What, if any, changes do you foresee for this series of consumer events under Emerald’s ownership?
Jeff Davis, Emerald (EEX): In March, 2022, Emerald moved our Outdoor Retailer (OR) trade show back to Utah from Colorado. In April, Lindsay and Jessica reached out to Emerald. Coincidentally, Emerald had wanted to do a consumer event around OR. They came up with Outdoor Adventure X, and in the Fall of last year, they talked about the acquisition.

Lodestone has the backing of Emerald, and Emerald has Lodestone’s expertise in the consumer space. OR will continue to be strictly a B2B event, and there won’t be a melding of the two.

OX4: Retaining Lindsay, Jessica and their Lodestone team, will there be an Emerald presence at the Overland Expos, and to what extent?
EEX: At present, we haven’t decided if there’s going to be an official Emerald presence at Overland Expo, beyond immersing ourselves in the events and learning more about the audience they serve.

OX4: Lodestone did a great job in increasing the number of vendors and exhibitors at the Expos. How will Emerald interface with their sales team, and what did you note that could be added to or enhanced?
EEX: From our perspective, maybe overall best practices, and a sharing of knowledge and expertise. Our background with Surf Expo in action sports, and what we have planned together for Outdoor Adventure X is a good start. We have ties to manufacturers in action sports and outdoors that aren’t participating in overlanding and this may provide crossover opportunities.

OX4: Overland Expo West is near capacity already or likely nearing that. If all vendor space is sold out, what opportunities will there be for outdoor, overland or off-road companies who still wish to participate?
EEX: We are committed to OE’s existing locations, and we’ve not done any research yet around the present locations. We will look at the OE East location in Virginia, and yes, we’ll study OE West to see if there’s anything than can be done about the space issue.

OX4: Since the pandemic, Lodestone had become a media company in addition to events, generating and creating content without the input of its Media Partners. Will Emerald continue with content creation and look to engage Media Partners, or instead task Lodestone with solely event production?
EEX: We’ve not had that discussion, but I will discuss it with Lindsay and Jessica and see if we can involve more media partners.

OX4: To what extent is Emerald looking to gain a consumer ‘face’? Is this the start of broadening Emerald’s scope, and adding a consumer events division to your existing trade show group?
EEX:  Quite simply, we are expanding because our vendors are interested in reaching consumers. We have deep experience in reaching retailers, and this is complemented by the addition of Lodestone to have an impact on consumers. This is a part of our expertise in outdoors.

OX4: The pandemic has been really tough on trade shows, and in some cases it has reduced the number of vendors and the buyers who normally attended. Is producing consumer shows a reaction to a slowdown in the trade show business?
EEX: We realized this, and trade shows are market driven. The rebound of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a great story. In 2017, there was an issue over the politics in Utah, and the natural environment. Now we can look back and see what good came out of that discussion. We moved the show to Denver, and now we’re moving back to Salt Lake City.

Outdoor Retailer (OR) will continue to prove itself, and we’ve had a double-digit increase year-over-year (YOY). Brands are ready to come back. They have an appetite for a national show with a much broader array of products on display. Regional events tend to be commercial selling shows, selling. The media attention at OR is excellent. For example, the debut of eco-friendly products – OR is where new happens. For the outdoor audience, this is about discovery and emergence.

 

OX4: Talk of a recession is in the news, yet consumers came out in force during the past Holiday season. Do you foresee growth in the outdoor and overland industries? Are you feeling there is still growth in these segments, and that it will continue as more young Americans learn to enjoy the outdoors?
EEX: We, and apparently, they, believe there’s growth in both industries. Both segments benefitted during the pandemic. There’s been a leveling off for some brands, but there’s also been more discovery. Many companies and brands are still working out inventory issues, and it may be deep into 2023 before they are resolved.

OX4: How is Elastic doing?
EEX: Doing well. Elastic is showcased at our B2B events. It’s a next-gen B2B wholesale eCommerce platform with more than 20 years of experience and iteration serving the needs of manufacturers and retailers. Elastic works with hundreds of brands, including The North Face, New Balance and Stanley to streamline buying, increase sales and organize digital merchandising assets in one place.

OutdoorX4 would to thank Jeff for taking the time to speak with us, and to Lodestone’s Lindsay Hubley and Jessica Kirchner, and Kelly Blake from CGPR for organizing this interview.

OutdoorX4 Magazine – Promoting responsible vehicle-based adventure travel and outdoors adventure