The Big Show

Admittedly, there's a sense of relief that comes with the last major gift show of the season. If there's a line I haven't seen yet, God only knows what it would be.

Those of you who keep up with these postings know that the (absurd, ridiculous, over-the-top, unsubstantiated) rumors about Atlanta got under my skin pretty good. Sure, the economy stinks, and sure, we're all feeling it, but is blowing the thing into Chicken Little proportions really the best way to turn things around?

Sorry. You’ve already seen my original rant and follow up. Back to New York...

Lo and behold, retailers haven't checked out as reported by the naysayers. They attended NYIGF in solid, order-writing numbers, oblivious to the nonsense floating around in uninformed circles. The world is not ending. Storefronts have not vaporized. Retailers are not cowards, curled into little fetal position balls under their desks.

And they aren’t numbskulls. They still planned shorter trips to save on expenses and get back to work-—just like in Atlanta. Vendors I spoke to (and there were a lot of them) felt positive about things, and were a whole lot more realistic about translating foot traffic into turnout.

Atlanta was great. New York was great. Dallas held their own, and Chicago was The Little Engine That Could, as evidenced by their strong seminar attendance. I’m calling this summer show season a winner folks.

Don’t even think about arguing this, or I’ll have to get the soapbox out again.

The Big Night

Yup. A good time was had by all (including me and my friend, Ted Teale, from OneCoast), but most especially the Retailer Excellence Award (REA) winners. Two, in particular, top my list:

Marketing Achievement
Healdsburg, California retailers Linda Chartier and Shelley Anderson (Midnight Sun Bed & Bath Shoppe, Midnight Sun Children's Shoppe), Nanci Bosio (Papitre), Cynthia Zizi (Zizi), and Sue Sacks (Options Gallery, Inc.) pulled together to create a buy local campaign...then convinced the city of Healdsburg to pony up $30,000 in support of it. You ladies rock.

Industry Achievement Award
The Gift and Home Trade Association
Yes, this is one of the Board of Directors I sit on, so yes, I was pretty tickled about the nod...and even more tickled to hear Kelly Dierke and Andy Bjork (current Chairman and past President, respectively) extoll the virtues of the Retail Advisory Board and our positive impact on the GHTA. Such a glowing review was both a surprise and a delight to hear.

Other award winners were:

Gift Store Design/Redesign
Hearst Castle Gift Shop in San Simeon, California

Visual Merchandising/Display
The Umstead Hotel Gift Shop in Cary, North Carolina

Retail Internet Innovation
Moxie in DeKalb, Illinois (a storefront retailer with a website that succeeds)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Carole Dixon, retiring director of 41 Madison, the New York Merchandise Mart (aka: Tabletop Nirvana)

Outstanding Manufacturer's Rep
Cindi Smith, OneCoast

Rising Star
Whimsy Press in Atlanta, Georgia

Photo credit: Ted's camera, but I don't recall who actually took the shot...? Hey, told you we had fun....

Back to the Big Apple

Seems my WorldPerks account is getting a lot of NYC activity lately. Just ten days after being there for the NSA conference, I’m headed back again for the NY International Gift Fair and REA celebration.

Already, there’s lots of shuffling about, with vendors wondering what traffic will be like, and retailers asking themselves if they can squeeze everything into a scant 72 hours. Rest assured to all who attend, although this show will likely be a quiet one, it’s not the end of the world...just means we’re doing things differently this time around.

Vendors, please be patient with the retailers who attend. They’re either at the end of the buying process, or are close to it. If they take notes instead of write orders in the booth, see it as a plus. That’s business rescheduled, not business lost.

Buyers, think carefully before you write. There’s never been a 4Q more unpredictable than this one. Take a peek at my earlier post (“Counting Coins”) about how to navigate the waters with smarts.

Those who think things through carefully-—then plan accordingly-—will come out on top. Those hung up on a glass half empty have already drilled a hole in the bottom for themselves.

Trolley Tour: Findables

Final stop: Findables (1643 N. Milwaukee Avenue).

We were welcomed with open arms, this time by someone who’s been paying his dues in Chicago retail for over twenty years. David James Ginople is a vivacious, highly respected local businessman in the community, and someone who’s weathered both good times and bad. He immediately jumped right in, sharing his wisdom and enthusiasm with attendees, reminding them they can survive this crazy economy if they simply think out of the box, giving customers what they want while making sure they (the store owners) simultaneously get what they need.

After hanging on his every word, the group spread out in the store...then at the register (if you can get a roomful of store owners to open up their wallets and pay retail, well...you’re doing something really right). From terrific table top to beautiful jewelry and hats, his eclectic product mix works well. If you make it from one end of the store to the other without being seriously tempted, well, then you’re not really paying attention.

David could teach a master class on running a successful store. And on how to light up a room. And on how to best serve the customer. Pretty impressive combination, if you ask me.

Trolley Tour: Elevenzees

Note to stores invited to be part of the Trolley Tour:
Allow participants to take pictures inside. They’re there to see and learn, and they paid money to do so. Would have been nice to feel like a welcome guest rather than a closely watched trespasser.

Trolley Tour: Smitten

The Trolley Tour on Sunday night was a lot of fun, due in great part to the fact I got the coolest trolley group to ride with (figuratively, not literally, since it was about 100 degrees in the front part of the car where windows refused to open). We had fun.

So...to the stores on the tour. First stop: Smitten (1041 W. Madison Street).

This fairly new endeavor on the Near West side of Chicago is geared toward engaged couples looking for one stop shopping as they create the wedding of their dreams. From bejeweled frames to cute attendant gift ideas, their offerings were lovely; the atmosphere of the store is a cross between Paris chic and warehouse hip, with white painted brick walls, a massive black chandelier, and French doors that open from the back into what will soon be a refreshing garden area.

Private consult rooms are set off the main floor, which is a bright idea--but not based on light level. In the words of a nearby tour member peering into the small, decidedly dark rooms decked out in black and white, they’re “kind of depressing."

The attitude, however, was sunburst brilliant, as the owner, Kirstin (last name?) welcomed us with open arms. Undaunted by clicking cameras and a barrage of questions, she showed us all what retail hospitality is about.

If they bring in a solid selection of wedding invitation lines, this little gem could turn out to be one big, multi-carat diamond. So far, so good.

Counting coins

Here we go...the start of the Chicago show, with two (jam packed) speaking gigs tomorrow and my mom by my side. It’s Liz’s first time to the Mart here, as well as her first stay on Michigan Avenue. Should be a fun weekend.

The market season‘s officially into high gear. Today, one of my consulting clients asked how best navigate all the show specials popping up as vendors find themselves carrying the weight of excess inventory. Here’s my advice:

1. If an opening order is more than you need/want, it’s not a good deal. Walk away.

2. If a show special requires more product than you need, it’s not a good deal. Walk away.

3. If bumping a bunch of addition product into an order for the sake of getting free freight, do the math. If the additional product costs more than the freight would have, it’s not a good deal. Walk away (or simply lower your order).

4. If you’re required to buy really deep instead of really wide-—when the price tag would be the same-—explain to the vendor, the more shelf frontage they have, the more customers they’ll snag. If they still insist you order deep, walk away.

This year, it’s more critical than ever that you buy smart. There are a lot of offers and programs out there, many of which look great on the surface but may end up robbing you blind in the end. In the next couple of months, you’ll see me address several of the dealer programs in my Gifts and Dec column, “Retail Enabler.”

It’s a complicated market season, folks. There’s old math...new math...and retail math. Time to brush up on the latter.