Grassroots Outdoor Alliance doubles the size of Discovery event at upcoming Fall/Winter Connect Show

With its November Connect outdoor retail buying show just six weeks away, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization dedicated to the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail, is seeing strong ongoing attendance by retail buyers and brands, with over 270 exhibitors and more than 150 retailers in attendance between all aspects of the event.

Moreover, Discovery, a five-hour event on the front end of the show designed to help retailers explore opportunities to work with new brands, has more than doubled its size at the Fall/Winter Connect show, with 132 companies exhibiting.

The Fall/Winter Connect Show takes place Nov. 9-12, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo., with both the Grassroots retailer education day and Discovery on Sunday, Nov. 8. On the front end of the event, Discovery offers new and emerging brands the opportunity to show product highlights to specialty retailers, while the four-day Connect show focuses on line showings supporting established brand-retailer relationships.

With registration now largely complete, there are 160 retailers and nearly 400 retail buyers registered to attend the show, a slight uptick from the previous fall show. On the vendor side, 143 brands will attend Kansas City Connect during the primary part of the four-day show, also a slight increase.

In all, Connect will provide a forum for 10,275 appointments between retailers and brands, amounting to 8,325 hours of meetings. The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance team has tracked buyer engagement statistics since the organization began pre-scheduling all appointments for retailers and brands in 2016.

“We took an educated risk this Fall season with Discovery and moved that event to a larger space,” said Chelsea Flynn, Senior Director of Events for Grassroots Outdoor Alliance. “We knew the demand was there based on consistent Spring participation and, with the smaller space we had for previous Fall Discovery events, they sold out quickly. Our retailers want to interact with new or emerging brands each season, and we’re excited to report that 40 percent of the brands exhibiting at this fall’s Discovery are first timers.”

“As the national outdoor specialty buying show, Connect’s sturdy foundation and ear to the ground for what retailers want has allowed us to lean in on what the show does well — have the right brands on the show floor, allow for easy appointment requests and scheduling, and encourage brands to engage with retailers in fun and impactful ways,” Flynn said. “We look forward to bringing the outdoor specialty community together this fall for our last show in Kansas City.”

In 2027, the Connect Show will move from its current venues in Kansas City for Fall and Reno, Nev., for spring to new locations in Omaha, Neb., for fall and Oklahoma City, Okla., for spring.

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance will release more information on its upcoming retailer education component in coming weeks.

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a retailer-owned network of 100+ independently owned outdoor retailers and 75+ vendor partners, working together for the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail. Through data collection and analysis, direct member support, specialty events and deep vendor partnerships, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is creating both a vision and roadmap for the long-term success of independent specialty retail. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance also operates Connect, a twice-annual legacy show experience that spans four days, offering an efficient and structured format for retailers to conduct pre-season line showings and business conversations.