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AIMExpo 2025 - the best year yet
It is four years since AIMExpo , the United States ' three-day dealer expo , converted to being a Trade Only dealer expo ( 2022 ) and this latest edition was , by general agreement among exhibitors and visitors alike , the strongest yet . Originally conceived as an ' American EICMA ' and quickly bought from the founders by the Motorcycle Industry Council ( MIC ), Covid forced cancellation for two years ( 2020 and 2021 ). When the show reemerged into a decisively changed international motorcycle industry expo landscape , the MIC had taken the bold but correct decision to shorten from four days to three , reverting to the classic US trade show model of dealer and broader Industry attendance only . Among many exhibitors , there is still and always will be at least somewhat of a question mark over the dealer attendance - especially in V-twin segment terms - whenever the show , any show , is staged outside of the midwest . The MIC says that the show pulled 2,419 dealer personnel ( owners and senior managers mostly ) representing 1,060 dealerships as part of a total industry attendance of 5,347 industry professionals - a number that includes exhibiting staff , media and 446 ' affiliated ' industry professionals . If the dealer number is accurate ( and there ' s no reason not to assume so ) then it would indeed be a ( modest ) increase over last year ' s 1,908 personnel / 903 dealerships count for the 10th anniversary show , which itself was said to be some 14 % up on 2023 . Either way , the MIC is calling 2025 " the biggest , best one yet ", and with 408 exhibitors occupying some 300,000 sq ft ( 20,000 sq m ) of exhibit space it ' s hard to disagree . However , we are well beyond just sheer numbers as being the only or best metric for measuring the contribution that AIMExpo is now making to the industry . Indeed , focusing on any quantitative metric is to miss the point - unless someone can develop a way to define the dollar value of deals done , contracts initiated and connections made . The show is a global nexus at which , more than ever , the real action is further up the distributive food chain . Manufacturers , brand owners and importers / distributors from all over the world are attending to meet proto partners from everywhere else - not just the United States . It would be interesting to see if the MIC releases international visitor head count and countries represented numbers . EICMA apart , not since the ultimately timed out and rather thin ' Distributor Expo ' concept has the industry had a focused forum further up the industry ladder . That event used to be staged at the old , now demolished Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas - that show was a child of its times and less satisfactory as a solution than AIMExpo already is . Sadly , EICMA does a really poor job at providing facilities for international visitors to meet others - but that is something that AIMExpo has the potential to do very well . There is not yet a formal , provisioned and equipped International Motorcycle Industry Business Centre , and that would be a next stage that the organizers could take a look at . While international visitors value their time at the show , they do find it difficult to register - their status in relation to the show is unclear to them - and integration into the show attendee process could be better developed . Exhibitors would value that
too . Maybe appoint someone ( preferably with a language or three ) as an international visitor ' go-to ' or ambassador . Those remarks aside , all is good as far as I can tell . The show started life , in its hybrid four-day trade and consumer V-1.0 format , in Orlando in Florida in 2013 . After four years it moved to Columbus , Ohio ( 2017 ) and saw an immediate uptick in its reach into the important ( in American market terms ) V-twin segment . The show then went southwest for the first time to Las Vegas in 2018 , before bouncing back to Columbus in 2019 . Then the pandemic cancelled all bets . In aftermarket terms at least , the class of 2025 exhibitor cohort left Las Vegas with what was widely assessed to have been a successful week tucked in the back pocket . The jury was out about what the 2026 move to Anaheim , California ( January 7- 9 ) will mean . That has been a move forced on the MIC by that perennial date / venue availability problem . Sceptics have always pointed to California as being a place where trade shows go to die - dealers there are notoriously reluctant to attend . Personally , I think that there are enough dealers ( and custom shops ) concentrated in ' So-Cal ' for the present number to be sustainable . Despite being notionally ' coastal ' it has the necessary hinterland gravitas to draw on . Though it will take time to settle in , I have a hunch that for the ' Industry ' and international profiles of AIMExpo , the Greater Los Angeles area is not such a bad idea . The idea of alternating between the southwest and midwest , or even having two shows , should not yet be entirely jettisoned though . Even if each show was smaller , in combination they would square-the-Geo-circle and would likely mark an increase in net market reach . Serving the two distinct markets would deliver on the MIC ' s mission to represent as much of the American powersports industry as thoroughly as possible . Though the MIC will always be hobbled in custom industry terms by Harley ' s refusal to get over themselves and play nice with the other children . The fast-growing Harley dealer heavy National Powersports Dealer Association in USA ( NPDA ) took its first tentative steps into the dealer gathering game in 2024 . It staged its first annual ' Dealer Connect ' convention in Columbus , Ohio - albeit in September - and by all reports they made a good start with it . They are now likely to want to develop and build on that . Even though their membership profiles and missions are very different , unless the MIC and NPDA can work together somehow it would be a shame to see the market fractured in trade show terms again . Time will tell but either way , kudos to the MIC and its organising team - they have worked hard to get the show to where it is and whatever happens now , wherever it goes from now , " they have done good ".
Robin Bradley Publisher robin @ dealer-world . com