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I was amazed at the amount of different bass boats there were there. As a true "boat" show, it was pretty good. I stopped off at Paddletales in the morning to get my fix of gear. So if this is what we have to look forward to for the years to come, I can at least live with it.

Boat shows packed, Paddletales events busier than ever, people travelling to Toronto for fishing shows, events in Richmond and the EY centre coming up...Likely with great attendance, yet people say there is no demand for a large central, once a year show. The demand is there. The buy in from retailers, or lack of organization is the problem. How much is local community exposure worth to a retailer? No idea, as each has different goals and budgets. There was definitely something wrong with the Ottawa show because over the years quality exhibitors kept dropping out. I have no idea why, poor management? Lack of return? Or did the exhibitors get what they needed out of the exposure and moved on? The same thing happens here on Fish Hawk all the time. People join, post a lot, get lots of picture exposure and then move on to their own possible profitable venture. No hard feelings, but it sure is nice having one centralized place for like minded individuals. Bring on open water.

We did our last Ottawa Outdoor show I believe 14 years ago. We had a 30' booth, and our expenses back then were somewhere north of $7000.00. I suspect today it would be closer to $10,000.00. In these figures is space rental, truck rental, parking, meals for those helping etc. What is not included is theft, which was considerable. Actually, the security staff was the biggest problem. To go to a show, our store was trashed for minimum 2 weeks. After the show, I would do the best I could to balance inventory as nothing at the show went through the computer. All this for diminishing returns. As well, it seemed everyone coming into the booth was angry about admission prices, parking, lack of other exhibitors, and so on. The first year we did the show was great as no one knew where we were, but after that year it was downhill, and I mean steeply downhill.

Now to the present. We just finished a VERY successful event at Paddletales. The store was packed. Since we didn't have the overhead we could offer more attractive specials, there was a party atmosphere. I have no idea how many new customers we gained over the weekend, but I had more than a few come up, shake my hand, and thank me for the great time along with a promise that they would be back. We could display everything, not just what would fit in a 30' booth, we knew what our inventory was when the show was over, and my store looked like my store on Tuesday when we opened back up. On top of this, we fed everyone, setting a new record for chicken consumed at 605 pieces (old record 480). The bill for chicken, veggie trays, fruit trays, cheese trays, chips, pop, and water.....less than $1000.00. Sales....nearly 4 times the sales we had the last year we went to Lansdowne. I actually turned a profit. Had we done the same sales at a show, we probably would have lost money.

So, I hear you. You miss the shows. I understand that. Please understand that I don't miss them. I feel that the marketplace has evolved away from the show, and I'm just fine with that.

Ed
Paddletales Tackle

Ed summed it up big time for retailers to do a show. Now over the yrs doing the shows I think what a lot of the people coming to the shows enjoyed was the companies who had displays setup with their merchandise along with personnel to talk to you about new products and exsisiting product lines. Montreal and Toronto shows used to have a lot of these company displays and were always a big draw as you could see and touch the product so then when you left you had an idea what to look for in stores or online now. I loved the way Ed did his event and we got great deals as well.

Ed from Paddletales Tackle summed up what a show is like for the vendor, which is what I suspected. I know exactly where you are coming from. I worked for a computer/ audio/ video company, and trade show, business showcase, and other events always was pack up, setup, showoff and tear down. I do miss it to a point, because there was all these contacts you make, and people you helped out, new toys to try, demo equipment to try. But also these shows are dyeing off. So many social media groups and hangouts now.

But as an show visitor, I do miss it. But anyway.

Thanks for sharing that Ed. Everyone needs to hear it from the horses mouth sometimes.

Glad ya had a great weekend!

RJ

Pro Tackle (Stacey) will be at the Richmond show.

I just hope it was from the horses mouth and not some other parts RJ.

From a retailer's perspective we used to attend the Carp show with a large booth (10x50). However as has been pointed out the cost to plan out your booth, pack up your stuff, transport it to the show, pay staff to work the show, all while trying to keep your storefront open did not make sense. Then there was the transport back to the store and all the work to get the store back in order. And of course the cost for that booth! Although when we first opened it was good exposure and we could consider it advertising, now we feel that it is in everyone's best interests to hold instore events where we can take the time to talk to everyone and actually help them and show them new products. The Carp Show had so many people that most just walked by the booths as it was too hard to stop and get in and really see the products. Therefore we hold an Anniversary Sale and Customer Appreciation event every April (20-23rd this year) and have prostaff on hand and all the new tackle and existing tackle on sale. We will even have one of the new Ranger aluminum fishing boats on display. This year we are also doing a March Markdown Madness Sale this weekend (March 24-26) where we will focus on deals and clearance items. We find this works better for us.
No admission, no parking costs, win/win for everyone! Hope to see some of you out at our events!

Probably one of the other reasons that shows are a bit less popular than before is that will the social medias and the internet, you can get all the info you need there. In the past this was not possible and if you wanted to see some stuff, then you needed to get places in person.