Taking sides ... with customers
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, January 29, 2006
Recently, while checking out Lifestyle Enterprise's Forbidden City Furniture Show in High Point, I had the chance to chat with Wyatt Bassett, executive vice president of Vaughan-Bassett.
After hearing about Lifestyle's efforts, Wyatt, along with some 60 other exhibitors, decided to turn the High Point showroom lights on in conjunction with the Lifestyle event.
One could argue that a Virginia-based furniture manufacturer such as Vaughan-Bassett would logically show in High Point, which it does.
However, after walking the aisles of the inaugural Las Vegas furniture show last summer, Vaughan-Bassett officials decided to open a showroom in the second building at the World Market Center, which should be ready for the January 2007 market.
With more than 3,000 domestic accounts, Vaughan-Bassett said the number of small and midsized dealers it saw at the first Vegas market heavily influenced its decision.
Not surprisingly, news of the company's decision to show in Vegas as well as High Point had some observers wondering if this meant that Vaughan-Bassett had "taken sides."
Without missing a beat, Wyatt admitted the company had done just that: "Sure, we've taken sides. We're on the side of our customer."
Way to go, Wyatt. Thanks for recognizing that it's not as much about where a show is held, as it is about the regard a show holds for its attendees.
As the new kid on the block, the World Market Center had the luxury of evaluating a myriad of other venues, which helped it get off to a strong start. Its leaders obviously are astute observers who are intent on getting it right.
So much so, sources say, that during the first show, the World Market Center brought in consultants to point out areas that could be improved.
Last week, we ran a front-page story reporting some of the enhancements the WMC made in preparation for this week's show: more food, more restrooms, better signage and more shuttles. I applaud that level of customer focus.
My only suggestion for making the buyer's life as easy as possible would be to extend WMC shuttle service to the Rio, home of the Las Vegas Furniture Show, run by a different company. (The Rio group is running its own shuttles to WMC sites and hotels.)
After all, the view from the high road is always better.
See you in Vegas.
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Taking sides ... with customers
Jan 30, 2006
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