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Buying for your store can be a tricky thing. You want to have enough items so that there is variety, but you don’t want to have too much and be stuck with a crowded store and reduced profits. On the other hand, you don’t want to have too few items, as your store will look empty and unappealing.
This is where a strategy can save you and your store from either extreme.
While recently attending a trade show for another industry, I took the time to interview several retailers about their trade show “game plans,” so to speak. With the large number of booths and space to cover, it can seem a little overwhelming as to how to go about making the most efficient use of your time.
Many responded in a similar fashion — before writing any orders, they walk the entire show first, getting an idea of what is out there. Some said they collect catalogs, business cards and notes throughout the day to review and research that night, using those resources to form a roadmap for the next day’s activities. Some said they buy as they go, fearing they may forget where they saw something the day before.
While everyone has different needs, I have found a couple tips of my own that can help prevent buyer remorse:
- Review the show floor plan ahead of time and note what booths you “have” to stop at and those you “would like” to stop at. This can save you time wandering around and looking for specifics once you arrive.
- Walk the whole show before making any decisions. I know it gets tiring, but until you see everything that’s out there, you won’t know exactly what you want.
- Take notes, and then take more notes. When you return later or that second day, you will have a clear plan of where you need to go and what you want to see.
- Relax. Even if you don’t make it to every single place you planned, remember that you can always contact the company after the show — no one turns down business!
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Ruth Ann Steenburgh
Virginia Aquarium
What makes your store unique?
We have two stores at the Virginia Aquarium: Fiddler’s Cove is dedicated to all things Salt Marsh-related, keeping in touch with the building where it is located. Water’s Edge emphasizes the Open Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. Our aquarium’s theme is tracing the Chesapeake Bay, so we have a large campus with two buildings connected by a nature trail.
The Water’s Edge store has just been relocated and built so that the exit for the aquarium goes through the store and the store itself has been designed to actually look like part of the exhibit space. There are 155 swimming Lucite fish overhead, the spinner racks are designed to look like seaweed and the wind chime fixture is a piling.
What is your retail background?
I worked for three years in Hawaii as a department manager and buyer for Sears, seven years as a store manager for a chain of local department stores in Virginia Beach and 25 years as the Retail Operations Director for the Virginia Aquarium.
What is the most popular product you sell?
Right now it is a plush version of our aquarium mascot “Sandy the Sea Turtle.”
What trade shows do you attend?
The biggest trade show I go to is the January Gift Show in Atlanta, followed by The Gathering in Orlando, the Museum Store Association Show and the New York Gift Show in August. I have attended a few smaller ones, like the gift show in Sevierville, Tenn. and the Ocean City Show, but not on a regular basis. |
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What is your buying style?
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American International Toy Fair, New York City
Feb. 14-17, 2010
212-678-1141
www.toyassociation.org
Denver Gift, Home, Jewelry & Resort Show, Denver
Feb. 27, 2010 - March 2, 2010
303-292-6278
www.denvermart.com
Portland Gift & Accessories Show, Portland
Feb. 27, 2010 - March 2, 2010
800-346-1212
www.portlandgift.com
Click here to see a complete trade show calendar.
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Bugging Out
Take the guesswork and display concerns out of the equation with this instant display package from Cool Jewels by Phillips International. It includes the top 10 selling styles of “bug jewelry” and a free display.
Cool Jewels/Phillips Intl.
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Swallowtail & Laurel
The Ray Hooper Design “Swallowtail & Laurel Collection” includes blank A-2 note card, blank enclosure card boxed with coordinating envelopes on textured natural card stock and magnet pad with 75-lined pages, glued at the top and shrink-wrapped.
Ray Hooper Design.
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Let Sales Soar
Silk kites from China Star are hand assembled from natural wood, with a frame covered in a durable 100 percent silk fabric carefully painted with happy designs. They do indeed fly, and they are also perfect for decorating a child’s room – or your room, too.
China Star
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For the Birds
Constructed from a three-layer laminate of recycled paper, the GreenBird House is designed to last one nesting season and then is totally compostable. The informative packaging gives data on birds, habitat loss and conservation.
GreenBird, LLC | |
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