What we can learn from this exciting Vegas market
Larry Thomas, Business Editor -- Furniture Today, January 16, 2005
Earlier this month, I covered the most exciting, upbeat trade show I've ever attended. It was in Las Vegas, but it wasn't a furniture show, although about two dozen furniture makers exhibited.
It was the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual showcase of every type of electronics gadget imaginable. My colleague Tom Edmonds, editor of Furniture/Today's Fusion supplement, described it as "Best Buy on steroids." I think Tom was being conservative. It was more like Best Buy and Circuit City and Fry's and Tweeters and H.H. Gregg on a month's supply of steroids.
OK, maybe I'm getting a little carried away, but I did see lots of really cool stuff. And the show was really, really big, covering more than 1.5 million net square feet, including the entire Las Vegas Convention Center and the adjoining Las Vegas Hilton's convention center.
Interestingly, it had about the same number of exhibitors as the High Point furniture market, nearly 2,500. But attendance was about 140,000, roughly 70,000 more than a typical High Point show. CES is the world's largest single trade show in terms of attendance.
So with a show of that size, even the convention resources of Las Vegas were severely taxed. Long lines were common (I waited 40 minutes for a taxi at the Las Vegas airport) and hotel shuttles often got stuck in traffic.
But I heard surprisingly little grumbling. Most conversations were about (a) a new product, (b) problems locating a booth at the sprawling show, or (c) where to eat dinner. The occasional logistical hassles did nothing to dampen enthusiasm. The energy on the show floor was unlike any I had ever seen.
What could the furniture industry learn from an event like CES? Plenty, in my opinion.
First, our industry needs to stop hiding product behind walls and curtains so it can't be seen from the hallways and aisles. Why is everyone so paranoid? The vast majority of CES booths had no walls, and attendees could move freely without being pounced on by a sales rep.
Second, make it easier for buyers to shop by grouping products by category. At CES, for example, most car audio sources were together in the North Hall, while heavyweights like Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba and Microsoft were concentrated in the Central Hall.
Third, make it easy for buyers to register and pick up badges. CES attendees could register by phone, fax or online, and badge pick-up stations were in place at every major hotel as well as the Las Vegas airport. I'm still trying to understand High Point's Byzantine registration system.
And finally, welcome members of the press, especially photographers, with open arms, since they can help our industry get its message to consumers. At many furniture markets, a security guard often shadows photographers and TV cameramen. That surely doesn't make them feel welcome.
More than 4,000 media representatives were at CES. That's more than the Super Bowl and Wimbledon tennis championships combined.
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What we can learn from this exciting Vegas market
Jan 16, 2005
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