Last Months Blog posting dealt with how to prepare for the upcoming CHA Show if you're not
going to attend the show.
I also mentioned a Blog posting from last year about working a show if you are attending the show.
Below is that Blog posting.
Working a Show
We're all making our
plans for the upcoming CHA Show.
This years Summer Show starts Tuesday July 23 in Las Vegas.
You can get full details by going to the CHA website
The success of any trip to a Show is dependent on the preparation
we do prior to going to the show.
As a buyer
for department stores, I
attended many trade shows. The Stationery Show, Housewares Show, the Furniture
Mart in North Carolina
The first thing I was
told was that a show is not a sightseeing trip. It's a trip to accomplish
specific things that were planned in advance.
Here's what I had to do
to prepare for a show.
1.Analyze my business
What categories were
contributing what share of my business? I must know where my business is coming
from to plan for future growth.
What categories do I
consider growth categories and which are stagnant or in decline?
Plan how much money I
intend to allocate to each of these categories and in what month I plan to
receive that merchandise.
Plan what promotions or
special events I had to buy for .
2..Analyze your vendor
base
Which vendors contribute
what share of my business? I firmly believe in the 80-20 rule in business. You
do at least 80% of your business with 20% of your vendors. Every
time I check this out I find it to be true. Be sure to have appointments
scheduled with the Reps who sell you these key lines.
Do you have plans to
meet with your current vendors in those categories?. As a buyer, I had to have
specific appointments scheduled with the Representatives of my key vendors. Not
just I'll stop by your booth, but SPECIFIC times to meet. And be sure to
take advantage of the early appointment hours. Your Rep can make
an appointment with you. That adds valuable time to your
schedule.
3..What do I want from
these vendors?
Visiting a vendor's
booth with your Rep you should have specific goals to accomplish..
What's new??
What's hot?? Don't
overlook hot sellers from a vendor. A product
doesn't have to be new to be hot.
What's your show
special??. Take advantage of the specials offered at the show.
Do you have any special
events planned for the future? Shows are a good time to line up things for your
special events.
4.First Things First
Your first appointments
at the show should be with the Reps and Vendors that you do most of
your business with. If I told my management at Macys that the first morning I
was just going to walk the show and see what's there I would be sent back to my
office to redo my plan. I was expected to use the first days of the show to
work with those key Reps and vendors where I did most of my business.
5.Put it in writing
You need to put all of
your plans down on paper.. Don't trust to memory.
Have a buying plan done
by month with dollars allocated by month. You know that all the new merchandise
doesn't ship right away. Your Rep can tell you when each
vendor expects to ship . Then write your purchases in the month it's expected
to ship. Compare those to your planned purchases for that month. Knowing how much
you've spent and when to expect the merchandise is critical.
You should review this
at the end of every day.
6..Save some Fun Money
Your primary reason for
being at the show is to purchase that merchandise that you know will contribute
most to your business. But we all want to buy some fun new merchandise that
will spice up our assortments. You definitely want to do this , but it should
be the last thing you do, not the first. Don't run out of money for important
purchases because you spent too much money on fun stuff.
I hope some of these
ideas are helpful. It's how I was taught to work a show by some of the most
successful retailers in the world.
But the most important
thing to remember about working a show is
BE PREPARED
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