N.J. show thrives, after all
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, August 30, 2004
Edison, N.J. — Larry Karel heard plenty of complaining from the exhibitors setting up for the 45th edition of his Furniture & Accessory Market here.
"All I heard during set-up day was that business was terrible," Karel said in his show office here. Exhibitors voiced concerns about everything from the economy to terror attacks to rising interest rates.
Karel wasn't sure what to expect when the curtain went up on the no-frills show here, which has become a staple of his company over more than half a century.
He needn't have worried. The show opened strong and spilled beyond its 5 p.m. closing hour. "We were open until 7:30 that night," Karel said. "I was thrilled."
His August show here, which draws what he calls a United Nations of furniture retailers, took up all 1,000 booths available in the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center, spanning more than 200,000 square feet. "Try to find an empty space," he challenged one show attendee.
Karel, the Dean of the Drive-In Markets, is sticking with the same formula for success he has honed in his 44-plus years with Karel Exposition Management, the Aventura, Fla.-based company founded by his late father, Jules. The business retains its family flavor, with Karel's daughter, Jill, among the staff of 13, most of whom are women.
Karel, 65, is still excited about the challenges of running a trade show company. "My last two years have been the best in the last 44 years," he said.
He has expanded his roster of events in Long Beach, Calif., and Orlando, Fla., each of which are now set for two shows a year. And he recently announced a completely new venue: Houston.
The story of his adventure in the Lone Star State reveals the speed with which Karel can operate.
One of his long-time exhibitors, Thomas "Chopper" Russo of Union City Furniture, had been lobbying Karel to give Houston a try. Karel hears lots of pitches for new locations for his shows, and he initially resisted Russo's overtures. But the more he thought about Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, the more excited he became.
Once he made a decision, the details for the show came together more quickly than for any other new show.
"In two weeks after I had the gut feeling that Houston could be something, I had the convention center, the service company and the hotel all set," Karel said. The show is set for next May 22–24 at the Reliant Center at Reliant Park.
In just one week, he sold 150 booths for the Houston show. "The response has been such that a very early sell-out is expected," he said.
If the show does as well as Karel thinks it will, it will be held twice a year. That's the pattern that KEM has followed over the years.
In one city — Edison — the company has gone one step further: A few years back it added a holiday show in November to give it a total of three Edison shows on its yearly calendar.
With the focus on the new Houston show, Karel isn't currently planning any other new venues.
"People have said I should show in San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas and Minneapolis," Karel said. "Some even say we should go back to Miami Beach" — where his company once held well-attended shows. "But I tell them all I'm not ready for those other venues yet. My gut feeling is I'm not ready for those cities."
His antenna on such things is finely tuned. He regularly adjusts his schedule, adding a show here or dropping one there, with nine or ten shows on the calendar in any one year. The trade show business is dynamic.
One new move for KEM is the addition of a Vietnamese agent, who is scouting for Vietnamese furniture companies to show at the Long Beach show this November.
Although he got his Medicare card in May, Karel has no plans to retire anytime soon.
"I'm more excited now than I've ever been, with my new show in Houston and the new show we've added in Long Beach," he said. "I want to build what I have."
Karel cancels 2010 Philadelphia trade show
06/08/2009N.J. show thrives, after all
09/01/2004Karel cancels Philly show
07/13/2009Karel expands to Houston
07/09/2004
