I’ve been thinking about the upcoming Chicago Gift Show. (Note: Dunitz will be in the Beckman Handcrafted section in booth #8-8088.) Word has it that the number of temporary exhibits will be growing significantly this season. It is no secret that all of the major wholesale gift shows have been shrinking…..shrinking lots and lots. In the past few years all the shows have been creating more aisles, wider aisles and buyer lounges to make the shows appear as if this was not the case. Buyers are complaining because they have less merchandise to choose from. Obviously with higher booth fees and a slumping economy, exhibitors haven’t been able to make ends meet.
Kudos to the Merchandise Mart team. They slashed their booth fees for 2010 to encourage show growth. They’ve been successful. Instead of exhibitors departing, they’re signing up. I’ve been told that as of today, about 15% more exhibitors have committed to the show. The sales staff expects this to jump to 25% - 30% before the doors open. Get the word out there. What a great opportunity for buyers. They’ll have more choices to choose from. Tell all – come to the Midwest and check out what the Chicago Market has to offer. No more fake corners.
For those of you that believe in buying “Fair Trade”, the Beckman Handcrafted section will have at least 16 exhibitor that belong to the Fair Trade Federation. Yes, Dunitz is among them. Last season there were only 4 or 5 of us. This is just another reason to shop this market. See you there. ND
