Markets and their customers
Years ago, I was sent to interview Irv, a seasoned retailer with a now-defunct home furnishings chain. I knew next to nothing about retail, and blurted out something about how it must be very exciting to travel the world and buy things you like.
Irv, who went on to become a mentor and a very good friend, paused, then said, “Well, you know it doesn’t work like that. I don’t have the luxury to buy what I like. I have the obligation to anticipate, ahead of my competitors, what my customers want and make it available to them.”
As I contemplate what took place a few weeks ago in Las Vegas, and wonder how that might impact markets in High Point and Tupelo, I realize that trade show managers need to approach their ultimate customer, the retailer, with Irv’s mindset.
It really isn’t about what show management wants. And, despite the fact that exhibitors pay the rent, it really isn’t only about making them happy. It is, however, about the ultimate customer, the retailer. And the best and simplest way to find out what retailers really want and need is to ask them.
So, Furniture/Today currently is fielding a survey designed to provide a better understanding of how retailers who attended the Vegas market rated it, particularly as it compares to High Point and Tupelo.
We’ve already heard from hundreds, with more responding each day. We will tabulate the results and share them with the industry. You can help by filling out the survey online. If you are a Retailer, click here. If you are a Manufacturer, click here.
I hope trade show managers look at the results, draw their own conclusions and respond accordingly.
If one looks at trade venues that have come and gone, there appears to be a common, critical element: a perception, real or imagined, that the event failed to respond to the needs of those coming to shop the show.
Life is full of choices. In this case, the choice is simple. We can either learn from history or be doomed to repeat it. (to add public comments click on "Add your Comment" below, or to email Ray directly click here.)
donna@homemart-furniture.com commented:
The times they are a changing, just back from Tupelo after Vegas, what a distinct difference there was from the two markets. High Point is no longer the center of the industry, when the manufacturer became a distributor they also gave up a great deal more than the costs of making the product, they became just like the thousands of other distributors bringing containers into the country. The real center of our industry is in California and the west coast where the products arrive. The need to drag us to High Point no longer exists no matter how convenient for the old boys. High Point can offer all the free shuttles but the place is not practicable it never was just a benefit for a few that forced the rest of the industry to drag along.
