Richard Gottlieb

Dallas, the Mellow Show

Yes, I said mellow. I never thought I would associate that word with a toy industry event but most of the people I met with were in an easy going mood. I made a concerted effort to speak with as many attendees as possible about their reaction to the show. In doing so, I was careful to search out buyers, reps, manufacturers, inventors, product designers, and anyone else who could have an opinion. Based on those conversations, I have deduced that the event was mellow because:

• Virtually 100% of appointments were honored.
• Most buyers showed up for appointments on time or close enough so meetings were never rushed.
• Buyers were described as open and communicative.
• Virtually all major U.S. buyers were in attendance. (Canada, however, had some holes as Wal-Mart Canada did not show as did some of the Toys R Us Canada buyers.) 
• The Dallas Market Center staff was strongly complimented for their gracious efforts in assisting confused attendees find their way around the show. Some actually walked attendees all the way to their designations.
• The show was all under one roof which allowed appointments to occur on time and took a great deal of the tension out of getting places.
• Show costs were sited as a third the cost of New York.
• Dallas is centrally located and typically a non-stop flight for most attendees.
• Once in Dallas, most attendees could walk to the show and those who could not had to trouble finding cabs, show shuttles or hotel transportation.

As you would expect not everything was perfect:

• The manufacturing community was less supportive than the buying community with a number of holes, most notably Mattel, Lego and Hasbro, who had a very low profile. (Some manufacturers did not sign up for the directory so it was not always possible to know what manufacturers were in attendance. It is hoped that this will be rectified in the future). 
• Texas reps were, not surprisingly, very well represented but there were some surprising rep no shows from other parts of the country.
• There were a few complaints but those were around difficulties in showroom numbering, difficulties in using cell phones and Wi-Fi for internet connections. These are correctable and need to be. In this day and age, cell phones and the internet are not an added value but an essential. 

The negatives were, however, far outweighed by the positives. The exhibitors meeting on Thursday night was sparsely attended.  I counted less than 75 people in attendance. Low meeting attendance means that exhibitors had little to complain about and those who were in attendance were generally low key as opposed to the histrionics we have seen at past exhibitors meetings. Most telling to me, New York based reps and manufacturers that I spoke with were complimentary and prepared to sign on for future shows. 

Mellow aside, this show worked and it worked well because the buyers showed up, the buyers were relaxed and the buyers were receptive. After all, it’s ultimately all about the buyers. 

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on October 12, 2007 | Comments (0)