SEMA Show Seeing Strong Exhibitor Interest

Nearly 2,000 exhibitors are confirmed to participate in the 2013 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show priority booth selection process taking place later this month. According to a press release, the number represents a 6% increase over the number of companies that participated in the process in 2012.

“With the increased commitment exhibitors are demonstrating earlier in the year, it’s apparent the SEMA Show provides unmatched brand-building visibility and sales exposure in one venue,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of events and communications, noting the show takes place Nov. 5-8 in Las Vegas.

Manufacturers exhibit at the event each year to showcase new automotive parts and accessories, and to connect with more than 60,000 buyers from throughout the world. Through programs and features such as the New Products Showcase, product demonstrations and sectionalized floorplan, exhibitors are able to connect with the most relevant buyers.

“The earlier a company signs up, the more likely they are to take part in all the added-value programs we have available,” MacGillivray said. “We’ve seen direct connections between the amount of planning a company does to the level of success they achieve.”

Nearly 70% of buyers visit the SEMA Show with a plan and identify the exhibitors they want to meet with in advance, according to a 2012 SEMA Show survey. The most influential factors that buyers reported as having an impact on their decision to visit an exhibitor were participation in the New Products Showcase, the Show directory listing, and pre-Show contact from an exhibitor.

Companies may still sign up to exhibit at the upcoming show at www.SEMAShow.com/buyabooth. Attendee registration will be available from the site in early May.

Registration Now Available for ’12 SEMA Show

Attendee and media registration for the 2012 SEMA Show is now open at www.SEMAshow.com/register. According to a press release, the annual trade-only event takes place October 30-November 2 in Las Vegas.

“Preregistering online is the easiest and most economical way for buyers to obtain credentials to the SEMA Show,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA VP of events and communications.

Buyers registering before the early registration deadline pay just $25. They will also be sent their badges in the mail in advance of the event, allowing them to hit the show floor immediately when the SEMA Show opens on Oct. 30.

While media credentials will be available for pick up on-site in the Media Center, preregistering will avoid delays and ensure that media are able to maximize their time at the show. Preregistered media will also ensure that media receive updates and press releases in the days leading up to the Show.

The SEMA Show is the leading automotive trade gathering in the world, where manufacturers and buyers of automotive specialty parts and equipment gather to do business each year. The event attracts more than 100,000 industry professionals from more than 100 countries each year. For more details, visit www.SEMAshow.com.

SEMA Appoints Wyly to Manage New Data Co-op

Bringing 30 years of specialty parts aftermarket experience to the table, Jon Wyly has been hired to launch and manage the new Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Data Cooperative.

“We are pleased and excited to have Jon taking the lead as we roll out this key industry initiative,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “Jon brings a unique mix to the table, combining broad experience in the specialty parts arena with exceptional insight when it comes to data management applications that will be needed in the future.”

Wyly’s career spans 30 years and has included key roles in sales, marketing, e-commerce, business technology and data management. A lifelong automotive enthusiast, he is well known to the specialty parts industry, having co-founded the SEMA Business Technology Committee and having served six years on the SEMA board. His background includes 25 years at Arrow Speed Warehouse, ending as executive vice president, and more recently as VP of e-Commerce at Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc. He was named SEMA Person of the Year in 2005.

Wyly’s immediate priorities will include launching a “beta” phase of the Data Co-op, which will precede a full-scale rollout. The SEMA board has identified the Data Co-op as a critical strategic issue, and has authorized funding to support the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the system.

“Our ability to get information about the industry’s products to more data users—more WDs, more jobber-retailers, more auto parts stores—is the key to expanding our total market,” said Kersting. “Better data means more sales. You’ve got to have clean, standardized product information easily available to the channel partners.”

SEMA is also collaborating with leading aftermarket associations on data standards, and with the hard-parts industry’s OptiCat data repository, so that complete product information for both specialty and hard parts can be accessed from either system.

SEMA Show Suggests Aftermarket Still Healthy

Car manufacturers might still be struggling to emerge from the depths of the industry’s worst downturn since the Great Depression, but the so-called “aftermarket” is firing on all cylinders – perhaps in part because of the weak economy.

As reported by MSNBC, with American motorists forced to hang on to their cars longer than normal, they’re spending more on maintenance, and that’s a big portion of the estimated $30 billion in annual revenues generated by some 6,700 car parts manufacturers, distributors and retailers who make up the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA).

Car owners can shake off their boredom by dressing up their old car with some new features, perhaps some new alloy wheels, a custom grille, sports seats or even an entirely new, high-performance crate motor, like the one introduced by Chevrolet at this year’s SEMA trade show.

The annual event is a showcase of just about everything automotive — everything from air fresheners to wild (and sometimes wacky) concept vehicles.

Nearly 2,000 different exhibitors crammed into the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center last week to pitch their wares to more than 135,000 wide-eyed attendees from over 100 countries.

“It certainly demonstrates there’s a reason to be optimistic about the future of the auto industry,” said Peter McGillivray, the trade group’s vice president of marketing, as he stared out at one of the convention center’s crowded halls.

With one of the largest stands at the million-square-foot show, Chevrolet created a life-size “Hot Wheels” track to show off a custom Camaro painted in an eye-popping metallic green. Dubbed the “Chevy Hot Wheels Camaro Concept,” it’s currently a one-off for the annual automotive extravaganza, though executives of the carmaker hinted they could find a place for it in the growing Camaro line-up.

MSNBC reported that the Chevrolet display also featured a dozen different concepts based on its new Sonic subcompact — from the Sonic All Activity Vehicle, designed by racing great Ricky Carmichael, to the Sonic Boom, a prototype featuring two large subwoofers and 10 six-inch midrange speakers mounted in the rear hatch in a pair of turbine engine-like clusters.

The annual SEMA show was originally designed as a showcase for automotive suppliers and vendors, and sure enough there were plenty of exhibitors who’ve come up with a great idea, cobbled together a prototype in their garage and showed up hoping to sell some of their new widgets.

But automakers like Chevrolet have also ramped up their presence in recent years.

Chris Perry, Chevy’s vice president of marketing, suggests the show provides “a great canvas” to pitch its products to those who influence market trends. Indeed, SEMA’s McGillivray contends that the show and other organization events “can influence as (many) as one million vehicle purchases a year.”

The SEMA Show has evolved in other ways.

While performance parts — like fast-shifting gearboxes and supercharged motors — were the show’s original focus, there has also been what McGillivray calls a “mind-boggling” growth in the number of vendors showing off their mobile electronics gear.

That’s no surprise. With roads more crowded than ever, fuel prices hovering just below record levels and tough new mileage standards going into effect, motorists are looking for other ways to improve the performance of their cars.

Like completely updating a car’s interior.

“We’ll manufacture the interior in a day” and install it a day later, suggested Brooks Mayberry, the CEO of Katzkin — a SEMA member that produces customized replacement leather seats and finishes for more than 2,000 different vehicles.

The firm recently signed a deal with national dealer chain CarMax to offer both used and new car buyers the chance to upgrade their vehicles. And the company was at SEMA hoping to drum up even more business.