Canada summer markets exhibit staying power
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, September 9, 2001
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Buyer attendance at the two Canadian summer markets in June was on par with last year's events, according to organizers.
Furniture West, the factory association based here, said 1,148 buyers and other personnel representing 567 stores attended this year's Market Showplace in Calgary, Alberta. In 2000, the three-day event attracted 1,141 buyers and others from 548 stores. Most came from western Canada.
"Those numbers are excellent considering what's being going on in the industry," said Terry Clark, chairman of Furniture West and president of casual dining producer Acme Chrome.
Meanwhile, 2,434 buyers and others from 1,401 stores attended the summer Toronto International Home Furnishing Market, according to the Quebec Furniture Manufacturers Assn. In 2000, the Toronto summer show hosted 2,288 visitors from 1,317 stores.
Attendance in Toronto was strongest from Ontario retailers, while the number of U.S. buyers nearly doubled from last year. There also was a slight improvement in attendance from western Canada and Atlantic Canada, although attendance by Quebec retailers declined.
"The figures show an increase of 6% in total attendance, mainly due to an increase in the number of U.S. buyers," said Jean François Michaud, executive vice president of the QFMA, which also operates the Toronto winter market.
What retailers want
Clark and Michaud said that manufacturers would like to see attendance increase, but neither is convinced it will happen easily or overnight.
Michaud said the Toronto summer market was supposed to be the industry's second national market, after the Toronto January market, but it doesn't appear to be shaping up that way. Strong support from western Canadian retailers for Calgary, support from Ontario for the Toronto summer market, and the increasing popularity of the Quebec City show in September among Quebec stores seem to suggest retailers want something different, he said.
"A lot of retailers don't seem to have a big need for a second national show, but they seem to have a need for regional shows," Michaud said.
He said that growth of the Toronto market might depend on its appeal to retailers in neighboring U.S. states. "We're going to position Toronto as a niche show for certain kinds of products that they will be interested in," he said.
While it may not be possible to increase Calgary's attendance significantly, Clark believes the challenge is to make it a must event for Western retailers.
"It has been suggested that we have more seminars of interest to both retailers and manufacturers, but historically we haven't had a lot of success with those. It may be time to look at doing these sorts of things again," he said.
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