The 2018 edition of Shot Show is in the books and everyone in the industry is full steam ahead. It's always great to wander the floor in Las Vegas and catch up with old friends, check out the new products, and chat about the upcoming year. This year's show was particularly interesting after the soft year many experienced in 2017. The old saying goes, "when times get tough, the tough get going," and our industry is a great example of that. After our week in Las Vegas, a few big takeaways were pretty clear; there is a big push for innovation and a general sense of optimism for 2018. 

In down years more pressure is placed on manufacturers to stand out from the crowd, whether it is a new marketing push or new product. We saw a lot of both. Many companies are using new ways to reach out to customers or garner new attention with new innovative products. This is a healthy process and will continue to move the industry forward. At NASGW, we hope to see many new products in our New Product Showcase at this year's NASGW Expo in Pittsburgh. 

The other theme we took away from Vegas was the general sense of optimism. In conversation after conversation, many are looking at 2018 as a bit of a rebound year. They aren't expecting any records to be smashed, but most do feel that 2018 will bring some incremental growth and will be stronger than 2017. This was a very welcome outlook after the struggles many in the industry felt last year. The mood on the show floor was very positive. Most felt like we had weathered the storm of 2017 and are headed to calmer waters. 

There's no doubt that 2018 is a crucial year for our industry, but Shot Show was a great start. At NASGW we are following the trend of innovation with our own innovative data program that will provide a depth of information, never before seen in the industry. Users will be provided up to date, actionable analytics to help monitor sales trends and inventory levels across the industry. We are excited to share this amazing new tool with our members later this year. 

We hope that you all had a great time in Las Vegas and we look forward to helping each of you move the industry forward in 2018.