August/September 2010

INDUSTRY

NEWSLETTER

2010

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By Joseph W. Mellek III, associate editorial manager

dmg world media

fter 21 years tenure at the industry’s largest and longest-running trade show – including 14 successful years as show director, Lori Kisner has been promoted to senior vice president of dmg world media’s Business-to-Retailer division, reporting to Alan Steel, dmg world media executive vice president.

As senior vice president, Kisner will manage the new B2R portfolio that includes Surf Expo, the California Gift Show, San Francisco International Gift Fair, Seattle Gift Show, and Portland Gift Show. She will continue to work out of dmg world media’s office in Atlanta, Ga.

George Little Management LLC

With more than 1,000 exhibiting companies and buyers from around the globe attending the market, the July 2008 show was a success.

At the February show, the “Union Square” neighborhood will focus on general gift merchandise while “North of the Bridge” will feature gourmet, tabletop, lifestyle and food and wine wares. The “Marina” will highlight home décor, fashion accessories, personal care products, children’s products, and an area dedicated to design goods.

GLM®, a dmg world media business, has announced the promotion of Anita Schachter to vice president, Canadian Gift Shows. In this role, Schachter is responsible for all aspects - including sales, marketing, management and operations - of the semi-annual Alberta Gift Show, Montreal Gift Show and Vancouver Gift Show. She will report directly to Dorothy Belshaw, senior vice president, GLM.

“Anita’s in-depth knowledge of the Canadian gift market, combined with her leadership skills and tradeshow expertise, make her a natural fit for this role,” said Belshaw. “Under her guidance, the gift shows will continue to prosper and serve the evolving needs of Canadianbased retailers, distributors and wholesalers.”

Schachter joined dmg world media in 1998, and has held various sales and management roles during her tenure.

Beginning in the spring of 2009, the Tourist, Resort & Imprinted Products Show™ (TRIPS) will shift to a new period and location, to run in conjunction with the Vancouver Gift Show and By Hand Vancouver, Canada’s Artisan Gift Show. The next edition of the annual show will take place March 1-3, at the BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC.

Launched in Toronto in 2004, TRIPS highlights some 50 exhibitors of apparel, Canadian handcrafted items, First Nations art, imprinted merchandise, Inuit art, jewelry, museum products, resort wear, tourist sundries, souvenirs and specialty foods. Among the show’s unique features is a focus area dedicated to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), including headwear, souvenirs, pins, bags and luggage, posters and sunglasses — all related to the Vancouver 2010 activities.

An anticipated 1,000 attendees — representing resorts, tourist attractions, seasonal businesses, specialty retail operations, resort souvenir shops, gallery and museum and gift stores - will participate. GLM® has announced that the winter 2009 edition of the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) will run Sunday, January 25, through Thursday, January 29, 2009, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 90, 92 and 94.

This one-time shift, from NYIGF’s traditional Saturday-Thursday staggered opening/ closing date pattern, will occur due to venue availability. These opening and closing dates apply to all nine of the fair’s divisions.

Winter market highlights will include:

• Some 36,000 buyers from around the world are expected to attend this showcase for 2,900 gift, home and lifestyle exhibitors.

• EX·TRACTS®: New discoveries in beauty and wellness will expand at the Javits Center to feature 130 innovative and emerging personal care suppliers.

• Details®, a special focus area featuring a mix of contemporary personal accessories for the specialty boutique market, will expand at the Javits Center to feature 80 exhibitors.

• Accent on Tabletop will expand the luxury and design-driven tabletop and home entertaining lines within NYIGF.

• At Home will continue to refine its hard good home offerings at Piers 92 and 94; and its luxury home textiles offerings at the Javits Center.

• After-hours entertainment and a full range of educational seminars addressing color and design trends and retail strategies will be offered for market participants.

M & M Gift Shows, LLC

In November, 2007, IGES welcomed buyers and exhibitors to a new home at the Sevierville, Tennessee Events Center, at Bridgemont, the largest exhibit facility in the Smoky Mountains. The show had record buyer attendance and many exhibitors had all-time record trade show sales.

With prices on the rise this year, the show knows the importance of getting the most bang for your buck, and the show wants to help. IGES is offering buyers several complimentary services, including free airport shuttle service, free parking, free improved shuttle service between the events center and Gatlinburg, free lunch on Friday or Saturday, free cash give-a-ways, $8,000 worth of free restaurant gift certificates and gas card give-a-ways on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and a chance at two night’s free lodging for pre-registered buyers.

In addition to cash and gift certificate winners, every IGES buyer wins by taking advantage of the great specials being offered by vendors and being first to preview new 2009 merchandise at the 2008 edition of the show. Adding to the festivities, drawings will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for substantial cash prizes.

The 2007 Grand Prize winners were: $5,000, L.A. Kahn, Dixie Corner, Gatlinburg, Tenn.; $1,000, Patty Park, Alpine Fantasy, Roswell, Ga.; and $500, Robert L. Shelton, Boonies Grocery/Grill, Limestone, Tenn.

The IGES show is proud to announce a special signing event by artist Jody Bergsma on Friday, November 7, 2008, from noon until 5 p.m. The event will take place in booth 2538 in the main exhibit hall, Sevierville Events Center, Sevierville, Tenn.

Bergsma will be giving a sneak peek of her 2009 images and signing complimentary pieces of her exceptional artwork. A special drawing will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, November 9, and the lucky winner will be awarded a Bergsma signed original. The winner need not be present to win.

Surf Expo

“Roy was named one of the industry’s most influential people by Transworld Business and has deep and long-lasting business relationships with most of the manufacturers and retailers Surf Expo serves,” said Lori Kisner, who was recently promoted to senior vice president of dmg world media’s Business-to-Retailer division. “Few people in the industry have more longevity with Surf Expo. As a boardshop retailer for more than 25 years and then founder of the Board Retailers Association, he’s been to the last 46 shows – which is actually two shows more than me. We’re very excited to have him accept this new role.”

After a nine-year tenure with the show, Surf Expo has announced that Nikki Houston has accepted the position of show director of the Imprinted Sportswear shows and will be leaving dmg world media.

Other staff changes include Amy Hornby assuming the role of account executive for the Surf category. Hornby has worked as a Surf Expo sales director. Additionally, Doog Becker, Skate and Wake category account executive, will assume sales responsibility for the Wind category.

Surf Expo has shifted its January show dates to better service industry needs. The show will open a day earlier and will close on Saturday, January 17, instead of the tradition al Sunday close. Resort, Swim, Boutique, Souvenir and Coastal Home will be held January 14-17, 2009, and Surf and Skate, January 15-17, 2009.

Show management elected to make this one-day shift forward with its scheduling at the request of several anchor exhibitors in the boardsports category. These exhibitors recently received word that the Action Sports Retailer show had decided to move its January show dates forward, creating a costly, rushed, and difficult transition between the Surf Expo and ASR shows.

In recent years, two of Surf Expo’s September shows have overlapped with the Yom Kippur and/or Rosh Hashanah holidays. With the previous dates, this conflict, which affects retailers and manufacturers from across show categories, would occur again in September 2009.

By moving the September date pattern to a Thursday through Saturday schedule, September 24-26, 2009, the show will end the day before Yom Kippur begins, and will remain consistent with the date pattern of the January show.

Urban Expositions

“This is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time,” said Fulghum. “With the Winter 09 return of the Philadelphia Gift Show to its original home in the suburban Philadelphia area, steady growth within our stable of new and established shows, positive industry feedback on our newly launched National Country & Crafts Show and recent Boston Gift Show acquisition, it’s clear that the company is heading in the right direction. I felt that the timing was right for me to make this move.’

Fulghum and company President Doug Miller, both veteran trade show and mart management executives, founded Urban Expositions in 1995. Tim von Gal, founding member of the Urban Expositions team and executive vice president of marketing, development and information systems, became a company partner in 2000.

In January 1996, Urban Expositions launched the semi-annual Philadelphia Gift Show, which quickly became the largest gift trade show in the mid-Atlantic region. Since then, Urban Expositions has acquired, expanded and launched a number of gift and resort shows across the country.

Responding to growing industry demand for a comprehensive, cost-effective and convenient South Florida gift event from regional and island retailers, as well as manufacturers and sales representatives, Urban Expositions will launch the Fort Lauderdale Gift Show. Set to debut August 8-11, 2009, the new all-category gift trade show will be held annually at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. The new show will replace Urban Expositions’ Miami Beach Gift Show, which has been held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla.

“There is an absolute need for a South Florida gift show and the new Fort Lauderdale location finally brings everything together for retailers from South Florida and the Caribbean,” said Doug Miller, president, Urban Expositions. “The Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center is a state-of-the-art facility that is easily accessible for fly or drive-in buyers. It is also surrounded by reasonably priced hotels, convenient parking, and many other wonderful area amenities. These factors, plus the strong support the show will see from manufacturers and regional sales reps, promise to provide a strong draw for retailers from South Florida and throughout the entire state, as well as the Caribbean and Latin America.”

Nestled on the Intracoastal Waterway and surrounded by all South Florida has to offer, The Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center is a high tech, 600,000-square foot, three level meeting and conference facility equipped with state-of-the-art technological services. The Convention Center itself offers unlimited expansion opportunities for the show, as well as easy move-in and move-out accessibility for exhibitors, a consolidated show floor for attendees, a sophisticated telecommunications and networking infrastructure, and more. In addition, Urban Expositions has negotiated discounted hotel rates in the Fort Lauderdale area for added exhibitor and attendee convenience.

Set to debut with more than 500 booths, the new Fort Lauderdale Gift Show will showcase products in virtually every category, including: general giftware; greeting cards, paper goods and social stationery; destination, resort and tourist merchandise; shell items; jewelry and fashion accessories; toys and games; decorative accessories; tabletop; logo products; gourmet products; garden gifts and much more. The show will also feature a special section of jewelry and fashion accessories available for immediate delivery to the trade.

In addition to product, retailers attending the show will also be able to take advantage of free seminars, as well as a number of special buyer incentives.

Urban Expositions has also announced a series of staff appointments related to the National Country & Crafts Show, Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show, Birdwatch America, Emerald Coast Gift & Resort Show, Philadelphia Gift Show, Miami Beach Gift Show and Galveston Gift and Resort Merchandise Show.

Shelley Fulghum has been named show director for the new semi-annual National Country & Crafts Show set to debut in February 2009 at the new Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa.

Jeannie Dorchak will take on the role as show manager, order writing, for the National Country & Crafts Show.

Erica Guess has been named show manager, cash and carry, for the National Country & Crafts Show.

Lisa Glosson has been named show manager overseeing sales and operations for the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show in Las Vegas, Nev.

Christina Bell will take on the position of show manager overseeing sales and operations for the annual Birdwatch America show in Atlanta, Ga., as well as the Emerald Coast Gift & Resort Show in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Jennifer Simon has been named show manager overseeing sales and operations for the annual Miami Beach Gift Show, Miami Beach, Fla. and the annual Galveston Gift and Resort Merchandise Show in Galveston, Texas.

The nation’s largest, longest-running souvenir, resort merchandise and gift show heads back to South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach Convention Center for its annual gathering from December 7-10, 2008. Known among exhibitors and attendees as the “Big Kahuna,” the Grand Strand Gift and Resort Merchandise Show will offer retailers an unrivaled selection of themed merchandise, resort apparel, gifts and souvenirs shown by the industry’s top name manufacturers, sales representatives and up-and-coming companies in more than 800 booths.

Among the highlights for the show are:

• Tremendous Product Selection - Retailers can explore booths filled with a wide selection of products from the industry’s leading resort and gift manufacturers and sales representatives in every product category.

• Goody Bag Giveaways - The first 100 buyers to arrive at the show on Sunday, December 7 and Monday, December 8 will receive a special shopping bag filled with free gifts from many of the show’s exhibitors.

• Free Buyer Seminar: Dozens and Dozens of Profit Producing Ideas, Sunday, December 7, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., with speaker Marilyn Nason.

Sunday, December 7, 10 a.m.- 11 a.m. Speaker: Marilyn Nason

Marilyn Nason, owner, Nason & Associates, author of Inside Retailing 101, and Souvenirs, Gifts & Novelties magazine contributing writer, will explore promotions and ideas that have worked for other retailers and how they can be adapted to an individual store’s goals.

• Grand Strand Show Parties – Continuing a tradition, Urban Expositions will host two show parties during the event.?