Show Time

	DON'T waste time negotiating with temps.

Once an item or group of items catches your eye, it's time for a chat with a sales person or company principal. But make sure you're speaking with someone working for the product company, as many firms hire temporary sales people just for the shows. These reps tend to have little prior knowledge of the lines offered.

Be sure to take notes during these exchanges with vendors, because when the show is long over and you're back at the office inundated with work, and the sample room is being filled up with diverse product, memories get overloaded. Any onsite conversations about the product can be extremely helpful in determining the item's viability and appropriateness when putting a campaign together.

Some of the issues to address while speaking to company representatives are product history, competitors' exposure, and historical significance. How does it fit the catalog mission? What is the provenance? Is there a designer or artist of importance? What's the romance or story behind the design?

Most important: Talk about the price, and ask if there are discounts available. Often only principals or national sales managers can authorize these.

	DO cover lead times and exclusivity.

Discussing lead times is also important. If the vendor can't fill the initial order for 120 days after purchase orders are placed, you may need to walk away. Also ask about any exclusivity options, and if the item can be tweaked to accommodate proprietary offerings. Whether you order samples or take away photographs of the items, if you are serious about the merchandise, having this vital information will make decision making much easier later on.

If you order samples at the show, you'll get a copy of a purchase order to take away. This provides vendor information and some limited details, such as style number, price, and a minor description. You can give the merchandise information form to the vendor and request that he or she return it with the samples or during the time of sample shipment. This is particularly important for new vendors, because it helps eliminate misunderstandings and confusion once a relationship is established.

In addition to scouting out new product, attending trade shows can help you stay abreast of new and emerging trends. Even if your catalog or Website isn't “trendy,” it's critical for you to know what's stale and overexposed, what's mainstream and classic, and what's been updated and introduced. Shows are good for learning about competitors' successes and failures — sometimes you will even hear of your rivals' upcoming merchandising strategies.

What's more, traveling to product fairs — though demanding and time consuming — often helps renew energy in merchants. You just may find that hitting the right shows will provide you with the inspiration you need to put together a winning product assortment.

Leila T. Griffith is a catalog merchandising consultant based in Jacksonville, FL.

	Temp to perm showrooms

While most merchants focus on the temporary booths at any given trade show, you can often find goods at the permanent showrooms. What's the best way to cover them? Just as with the temporary exhibits, you need to develop a system when walking the floors.

Since most buildings have stairs and escalators between floors, it's usually best to start at the top via an elevator, and then work your way down floor by floor. Like the temporaries, permanent showrooms usually group product by category, so you can pass over entire floors if this merchandise doesn't apply.

Permanent showrooms usually present new collections days before the temporaries open, and they are still geared up a few days after the show exhibits close. Most markets today also have permanent buildings that stay open until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. some nights.

In fact, at 4 p.m. some showrooms offer a “happy hour” of sorts, serving anything from wine and chips to margaritas and buffet. If you have the time to stop in, this can be a relaxing opportunity to look at lines and unwind after the temporaries have closed for the day.
—LTG

	A few shows in store

Here's just a sampling of some of the upcoming merchandise exhibitions:

Mar 8-10 Atlanta Spring Gift and Home Furnishings Market, Atlanta

Mar 16-18 International Home & Housewares Show, McCormick Place, Chicago

April 3-5 Boston Gift Show, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center

May 6-8 The Gourmet Housewares Show, Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

May 18-21 New York Stationery Show, New York

May 31 - June 3 Portland Gift & Accessories Show, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR

June 18-24 Dallas International Gift & Home Accessories Market, Dallas

July 8-16 Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market, Atlanta

July 20-23 Philadelphia Gift Show, Reading, PA

July 26-29 San Francisco International Gift Fair, The Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco

Aug. 16-21 New York International Gift Fair, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 and 94, and Metropolitan Pavilion, New York

Sept. 7-10 International Autumn Fair, Birmingham, U.K.

Oct. 3-5 Kansas City Gift Show, Overland Park, KS

Oct. 20-26 International Home Furnishings Market, High Point, NC