3 Suppliers Pull Out of SEMA Show

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Kicker SEMA

At least three suppliers have cancelled plans to exhibit at the SEMA Show in November due to rising cases of COVID.

Kicker, BOSS Audio and Race Sport Lighting said they have withdrawn from the show, which has become a popular venue for car audio suppliers.

“Management continues to make the health and well-being of our employees and customers the top priority,” said Kevin Campbell, Director of Global Marketing. “This is a tough decision, but one we feel must be made.”

Suppliers including Sony, Metra, AAMP, VOXX and Linkswell said they still plan to attend the show at this time.

Race Sport found that many of its top customers were not planning to attend the SEMA event this year. The lighting company decided, instead, to invest in more lighting displays for retailers.  Race Sport is working with 5-Axis to deliver more displays in the fourth quarter. It also developed a brochure to be mailed to 2,000 customers, which answers the three most asked questions at SEMA. “‘What’s new? What products should I have in my shop? How can you help me sell more product and grow my business?'” said Race Sport Lighting’s Steve Jergensen.

Some of the suppliers listed on the SEMA floorplan in the North Hall are Rockford Fosgate, Metra, Sony, Aamp Gobal, MTX, DB Drive, VOXX, Linkswell, Scosche, Cerwin Vega, Mobile Solutions, Soundstream, Brandmotion, Cedar Electronics, AudioControl,  Nakamichi, Elettromedia, VAIS, PowerBass, and Massive Audio.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly as we have been attending SEMA for many years,” said Navid Farhand, Executive VP Sales and Marketing at BOSS International Group. “SEMA has become one of the most important events we attend all year…Unfortunately, as a company we have a responsibility to keep our employees safe and healthy, which is why we had to make the difficult decision of pulling out of SEMA this year…”

The SEMA Show will be held November 2-5 in Las Vegas.

Regarding COVID measures, SEMA said it “is monitoring the evolving COVID-19 landscape and expects to have details in the coming weeks about what requirements will be in place for the SEMA Show. While subject to change, Nevada currently requires masks for indoor events such as trade shows. Nevada does not require proof of vaccination for trade shows.”

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2 Comments

  1. PowerBass has opted out as well, not sure why SEMA has not updated the floor plan but i think once they actually do, there will be a much larger picture of open spaces.. Our new reality is safety first and i would say if this was outdoors this might work, however there is allot more to consider. international customers most likely will not or even can not attend, many domestic customers are not planning to attend, and all in all this isn’t a make it or break it event for our industry and its brands. Spending the funds to focus on your dealer needs or inventory and production makes allot more sense at this time and keeps everyone safe and business flowing.

  2. If SEMA had a vaccine requirement like CES this probably would not have happened. I myself am going to CES only for that reason alone.

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