Drayton – An OTS Adventure

Drayton Partners were delighted to attend the recent Outdoor Trade Show in Liverpool in June, as official members of Running Industry Alliance. Wayne Mabbott and Harry Wells travelled across from the North East and up from London to descend upon a positively balmy Liverpool, basking in near 30 degree temperatures. Fortunately the air conditioning in the exhibition hall was enough to keep things cool, calm and collected!

It was clear to see why RIA had a strong presence at the show, as the OTS is a great platform and gathering of the outdoor industry and its professionals to showcase product, service and innovations, as well as providing invaluable opportunity to network with industry experts and gain valuable insights. With there being a strong correlation between trail running and the outdoor industry, this was a perfect coming together for RIA.

Wayne’s areas of expertise is across the sporting goods & outdoor sector and with Harry beginning to get more involved in this sector, it was a great opportunity to be able to see, speak and interact with many of the leading brands, get a feel for their products and positioning.

From a networking perspective, it was also great to meet with some current clients, such as the guys from Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen and also known contacts in the sector, such as Gil Marine and Ortovox. And with Harry having signed up for a marathon later this year, he got some valuable advice on some orthotics to break in during his training and was tempted into the world of carbon plated running shoes……

The after show drinks organised by Becs, Jonathan and Carole on the Tuesday evening were fun and there was a much welcomed drink or two with the opportunity to meet fellow members of RIA.

Drayton will certainly be back next year at the OTS !

To find out more about Drayton, you can visit the LinkedIn page or website .

If you would like to have a confidential conversation with Wayne, our expert in the apparel and footwear industry, feel free to reach out to him through his LinkedIn profile .

Check out the Drayton Partners RIA Member profile here  .