Active Babs

We're interested in getting into wholsale for gift shows- not just t-shirt shows. Is there a directory of those shows? Any that are better than any other?
Also, have any of you exhibited @ the Outdoor Retail Show in SLC? Was it worth it?

 

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itsnotthatbad

Hey Babs,

I will tell you what very little I know. We went to the Atlanta gift show in July and it was great for us. Expensive, but a good experience.

The major gift shows, from what I understand are: Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York. You should be able to find them simply by googling the city and gift show. There may be a Chicago one, I'm not sure.

I'm also interested in the outdoor retail show. I think it's part of our market. We're still working on developing our line; I think we'll be ready for the January gift show here in Atlanta, but I don't plan on travelling to any shows yet -- plus the Atlanta show is supposed to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest. Thankfully, it's right in our back yard.

For us, we went to the Atlanta show with SIX t-shirt designs. We went just to get a feel, an education and hopefully sell some shirts. We sold enough to cover the expenses associated with the show. The value of what we learned was worth more than what we paid. It was great for us. We researched a LOT before going and were very prepared thanks to some super advice. I'm NOT an expert, but I will be glad to share with you anything from our experience that might be helpful...

-Kristie

 

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Active Babs

THANKS! We went to the Outdoor Retailer Show in SLC just to do research and it was unbelievable... over 2,000 vendors. There were a few small T-Shirt people (Adventure Gal, Attitude Jack, Dare2livedog) and huge vendors like Life Is Good. Very well-attended show and chatting with the vendors indicated they feel this is a great show because the organizers do a terrific publicity job. Think we're going to do this next Summer.

 

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itsnotthatbad

Quote: Originally Posted by Active Babs THANKS! We went to the Outdoor Retailer Show in SLC just to do research and it was unbelievable... over 2,000 vendors. There were a few small T-Shirt people (Adventure Gal, Attitude Jack, Dare2livedog) and huge vendors like Life Is Good. Very well-attended show and chatting with the vendors indicated they feel this is a great show because the organizers do a terrific publicity job. Think we're going to do this next Summer.

That sounds great. The apparelmart in atlanta is seven MILLION square feet. I don't know how many vendors -- thousands??? It's nuts. I was overwhelmed just looking around the few floors I could see. There are three "skyscrapers" (about 13 stories each) that house it... Just FULL of home, gift, furnishings, etc. It's nuts. I don't know how buyers do it.

Thanks for reminding me of the outdoor show. I found a couple of similar, but non-t-shirt businesses that I sent emails to so I could try to get some feedback.

-K

 

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