Admittedly, there’s a sense of relief that comes with the last major gift show of the season. If there’s a line I haven’t seen yet, God only knows what it would be.
Those of you who keep up with these postings know that the (absurd, ridiculous, over-the-top, unsubstantiated) rumors about Atlanta got under my skin pretty good. Sure, the economy stinks, and sure, we’re all feeling it, but is blowing the thing into Chicken Little proportions really the best way to turn things around?
Sorry. You’ve already seen my original rant and follow up. Back to New York…
Lo and behold, retailers haven’t checked out as reported by the naysayers. They attended NYIGF in solid, order-writing numbers, oblivious to the nonsense floating around in uninformed circles. The world is not ending. Storefronts have not vaporized. Retailers are not cowards, curled into little fetal position balls under their desks.
And they aren’t numbskulls. They still planned shorter trips to save on expenses and get back to work-—just like in Atlanta. Vendors I spoke to (and there were a lot of them) felt positive about things, and were a whole lot more realistic about translating foot traffic into turnout.
Atlanta was great. New York was great. Dallas held their own, and Chicago was The Little Engine That Could, as evidenced by their strong seminar attendance. I’m calling this summer show season a winner folks.
Don’t even think about arguing this, or I’ll have to get the soapbox out again.
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