Comments on: The Atlanta gift show from my perspective http://alwaysupward.com/blog/the-atlanta-gift-show-from-my-perspective/ Success only runs one direction.... Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:39:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John Ranes II http://alwaysupward.com/blog/the-atlanta-gift-show-from-my-perspective/comment-page-1/#comment-1854 John Ranes II Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:07:09 +0000 http://alwaysupward.com/blog/?p=3775#comment-1854 After spending January 2009 at the Chicago Market, we returned to Atlanta in 2010 - count that as buyers from Wisconsin! We actually squeezed our normal 6 day buying stint into 3.5 days - A bit stressful! We'll allow more time in 2011. Good to see you Cinda while dining out one evening (Legal Seafood is actually one of the better downtown places to dine.) The show traffic was heavy but all our key reps were very accessible. You are correct in that we were hit by more pre-show email blasts than in any previous year. Suppliers have definitely been reaching out with promos and specials. Note to vendors: Nothing beats an actual scheduled appointment visit to our shop during the first 3 months of the year! All looks good for a strong 2010 as we conclude our January sales! John After spending January 2009 at the Chicago Market, we returned to Atlanta in 2010 – count that as buyers from Wisconsin! We actually squeezed our normal 6 day buying stint into 3.5 days – A bit stressful! We’ll allow more time in 2011.

Good to see you Cinda while dining out one evening (Legal Seafood is actually one of the better downtown places to dine.) The show traffic was heavy but all our key reps were very accessible. You are correct in that we were hit by more pre-show email blasts than in any previous year. Suppliers have definitely been reaching out with promos and specials.

Note to vendors: Nothing beats an actual scheduled appointment visit to our shop during the first 3 months of the year!

All looks good for a strong 2010 as we conclude our January sales!

John

]]> By: Dan Marx http://alwaysupward.com/blog/the-atlanta-gift-show-from-my-perspective/comment-page-1/#comment-1810 Dan Marx Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:38:45 +0000 http://alwaysupward.com/blog/?p=3775#comment-1810 My 2 largest lines had huge increases over last January's show. Freight incentives also were a big plus. Many new customers were drawn in by that. Both companies opened many new accounts. Retailers were very receptive. Most had strong Christmases, and seemed very optimistic and eager for a strong first half of 2010. Both companies also had a large % increase in new products for 2010. They are not running scared. Not only did the northeast have a strong presence, Cinda, but there were oodles of buyers from Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It truly was a strong national gift show. Dan Marx My 2 largest lines had huge increases over last January’s show. Freight incentives also were a big plus. Many new customers were drawn in by that. Both companies opened many new accounts. Retailers were very receptive. Most had strong Christmases, and seemed very optimistic and eager for a strong first half of 2010.
Both companies also had a large % increase in new products for 2010. They are not running scared.
Not only did the northeast have a strong presence, Cinda, but there were oodles of buyers from Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It truly was a strong national gift show.
Dan Marx

]]> By: Sheri f. http://alwaysupward.com/blog/the-atlanta-gift-show-from-my-perspective/comment-page-1/#comment-1806 Sheri f. Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:32:46 +0000 http://alwaysupward.com/blog/?p=3775#comment-1806 Cinda, I really appreciate you noting that retailers are avoiding vendors who sell direct to the public. It is so shortsighted of these artists to compete directly with their own customers. I interact with many artists who insist that they don't have enough wholesale orders to survive and this "forces" them to retail, often at a much lower markup than a retailer can be expected to sell at. I maintain that if artists put all that time and energy into their wholesale business they would see their wholesale business grow, thereby building a foundation for their future as opposed to the odd sale from a single customer. So many of us retailers are exhausted from being forced to play detectives. This could even be the reason for the rise in Hold for Confirmations. Before investing in an artist these days the retailer has to go home and scour the web to make sure they're not going to be undersold. I miss the days when wholesalers wholesaled and retailers retailed. I hope that by the end of this show season the message has been clearly sent to those vendors who don't get it or don't care. Meanwhile I'll just keep trying to support and spread the word about those who do. <em>Editor's note: What makes the detective work even trickier are sites like Gilt Groupe, Ideeli, etc. where merchandise is sold direct at wholesale or near wholesale prices. These invitation-only sites allow vendors to fly under the radar, not accessible by mere Google searches. A good friend in the stationery industry just tipped me off to yet another one...that includes many of the upscale paper and gift lines I used to carry in my own store. Promise to keep you posted as soon as I learn more info.</em> Cinda, I really appreciate you noting that retailers are avoiding vendors who sell direct to the public. It is so shortsighted of these artists to compete directly with their own customers. I interact with many artists who insist that they don’t have enough wholesale orders to survive and this “forces” them to retail, often at a much lower markup than a retailer can be expected to sell at. I maintain that if artists put all that time and energy into their wholesale business they would see their wholesale business grow, thereby building a foundation for their future as opposed to the odd sale from a single customer. So many of us retailers are exhausted from being forced to play detectives. This could even be the reason for the rise in Hold for Confirmations. Before investing in an artist these days the retailer has to go home and scour the web to make sure they’re not going to be undersold.

I miss the days when wholesalers wholesaled and retailers retailed. I hope that by the end of this show season the message has been clearly sent to those vendors who don’t get it or don’t care. Meanwhile I’ll just keep trying to support and spread the word about those who do.

Editor’s note: What makes the detective work even trickier are sites like Gilt Groupe, Ideeli, etc. where merchandise is sold direct at wholesale or near wholesale prices. These invitation-only sites allow vendors to fly under the radar, not accessible by mere Google searches. A good friend in the stationery industry just tipped me off to yet another one…that includes many of the upscale paper and gift lines I used to carry in my own store. Promise to keep you posted as soon as I learn more info.

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