AIMExpo continues their conquest of the North American motorcycle show market, with news that their organizers plan to expand past their Orlando show and have a series of regional events.
AIMExpo originally came to market as a motorsports show that combined consumers and industry insiders; it seems organizers were hoping to recreate the dynamic of shows like Intermot and EICMA, but in Florida. In the two years since the first AIME show, they’ve had a major impact on the show business in North America, and for good reason: People get excited about going to a location like Orlando for a show, rather than places like Indianapolis or Cleveland, which is where these sorts of shows were traditionally held mid-winter in the US. AIMEXpo has grown, while those shows seem to have shrunk.
But now, organizers are talking about doing more than just the one mid-fall show in Orlando. Marketplace Events Motorcycle Group, producers of AIMExpo, say they are planning a series of consumer-only shows, running in time to promote 2016 models.
That means they have only a few months to throw these shows together, but the company has already proven they can put together a show on a tight timetable, so it’s certainly doable. Plus, their management already has experience in this sort of thing. Mike Webster, their president, was one of the people behind the Great American Motorcycle Show series.
The organizers haven’t named any of the potential locations yet, so we don’t know if any of them are slated to run in Canada. It’s hard to see Toronto getting another show on top of the two existing shows, and all the other major urban centres have their own shows as well. Given the wacky behind-the-scenes maneuvering characteristic of the Canadian show circuit, though, nothing would surprise us at this point.
