Interbike to open doors to consumers by special ‘invitation’

Better head on over to your local shop and make nice. Some bike shops attending Interbike in 2013 will be allowed to invite their favorite customers to the annual tradeshow in Las Vegas, opening the door to consumers for the first time.

The limited-access initiative, called Interbike by Invitation, will allow registered retailers to invite customers to attend. These special invitees will be treated as special guests of that shop and will be afforded preferential treatment at the show.

Interbike will not be adding a day for this initiative, and instead will be extending Friday’s hours and allowing access to both consumers and retailers on Friday, September 20, 2013. The show will now be extended two additional hours that day, to 6 p.m.

Retailers that register for Interbike will be allotted a limited number of consumer access invitations based on their geography. Consumers invited by retailers will be able to register on the Interbike website beginning in April, 2013. There will be a $50 entry fee for all invitees, which will include special access and a host of other benefits planned for the event. Interbike says the program was also created as a means of strengthening the bond between retailer and customer. 

The program will not include the Outdoor demo days and no products will be allowed to be sold at the show.