Article Number : 1781 |
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| Date | 2/22/2007 9:02:06 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=1781 |
| Abstract | Surfaces 2007 is now in our rear view mirror, but before it is completely out of view let’s revisit and reflect one last time... |
| Article | Surfaces 2007 is now in our rear view mirror, but before it is completely out of view let’s revisit and reflect one last time. By all accounts, the feeling was that attendance was off from last year’s record numbers. The aisles certainly seemed less congested. And you know what that means? Absolutely nothing when you look at the big picture. The truth is there was no way traffic could have been stellar. In fact, to attract as many attendees as it did is a feather in Hanley Wood’s cap. There was more working against Surfaces this year than I have attended since my first in 1995. Let’s start with the economy. Unless you’ve been in a coma for the last six months, you’re well aware how retail and builder business have been tanking. That means a retailer who may have taken two or three associates to Surfaces in the past pares the guest list. Some, unwisingly, may have even cut it out of the budget completely. But the economy is only half the story. This year the dates were moved back a week due to a scheduling conflict at the Sands Expo. (Believe me, it was not Hanley Wood’s preference.) What it basically did was throw Surfaces into direct conflict with a number of high-profile events that either compete for or overlap Surfaces’ attendee base, the biggest of which was Mohawk’s Color Center meeting in Dallas. There are 2,000-plus Color Center retailers. I’m not saying they all came to Las Vegas in the past, but you know precious few attended both this year. Also overlapping Surfaces was the Builder show in Orlando. That’s the Super Bowl for that segment of the market. Then there was the Abbey Carpet convention in Houston that began two days after the curtain closed on Surfaces. I’m sure there weren’t many Abbey dealers who decided to take two trips in the span of a week. Still, all of this could not derail the industry’s premier event. Every exhibitor I spoke with was more than satisfied. Keith Campbell, Mannington’s chairman, said the company accomplished all it set out to do and more. Dean Nixon, Mullican’s national accounts director, said his company not only saw more people this year than last, but he was touting the quality of the attendee. Gord Kostik, president of EZ Cut, sold nine cutting machines on the first day, well ahead of projections. Don Finkell, president of Anderson Hardwood Floors, was ecstatic with interest and sales of the brand spanking new Lifestyle Boutique merchandising concept. I could go on and on. The point is this: When evaluating Surfaces 2007, don’t look at the numbers. The true gauge is in the satisfaction on the part of the exhibitors. |