Well, here we go…off to the Big Show, the summer gift show at AmericasMart in Atlanta. Admittedly, I’m a bit curious about the next few days and how they’ll play out. In January, we were all looking each other in the eye for the first time since the market nose dived into oblivion. It only took 24 hours for the collective :::sigh::: to be heard across the three block campus as everyone recognized they were in this thing together.
Now, six months later-—to the day-—everyone’s had time to adjust to doing business differently. Buyers have adjusted into ordering smaller, with different frequency. Vendors have adjusted to the reality that warehousing inventory is unavoidable, and costly. Reps are still adjusting to the fact that buyers expect a lot from them…and will jump to house account status in a heartbeat if they don’t get it. And the companies who own the marts themselves continue to adjust to the shrinking list of tenants able to make their rent.
In January, folks were scared. Today, they’re determined and they’re changed. Is that a bad thing? No, not in my opinion.
Everyone from the top of the supply chain down needs to be smarter than they were a year ago, and savvier than they were two years ago. Everyone is going to need to find cleaner, leaner ways to move product from point A to point B in a manner that fits consumer spending…the lynch pin none of us can adjust.
Our relationships are going to change, folks. There’s no getting around it. But change is good, even when it’s hard. Together, we’ll find the new paths to carry us through fourth quarter.
Just do me a favor, reps and vendors? Don’t drag out the tired song and dance about traffic being down. Of course it’s going to be down, and of course it will seem disproportionately quieter with the vast majority of buyers opting to burn through the show in only a couple of days (news flash: the seven day stay is over for all but the lucky few). Rather than bemoan the obvious, embrace the buyers you do see, and thank them for spending their threadbare time and money to be in your showrooms and your booths.
Otherwise, adjust to the fact they’ll pass you by for someone else who does.
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And please, please please, vendors if you are bored or if the show hasn’t met your expectations keep it to yourselves; buyers don’t want to hear it. And I don’t want to be assaulted the moment I step into your showroom or booth. Stand at my elbow, or follow me around, and I’ll be out of there before you know it.
Hope Atlanta is good for ALL!