I Went to the Know Show. I’m Back

I haven’t been before, and I didn’t stay long, but that’s a really good thing because it’s an indication that the show is accomplishing just what it’s supposed to be accomplishing.

The show was full of focused retailers paying close attention to presentations by reps and, as far as I could tell and from what I was told, writing orders.  Sometimes there would be ten or twelve people sitting in a booth as the rep went through the line.  They were quiet and attentive.

The aisles weren’t jammed, there was no carpet on the floor and the booths were mostly not big and fancy.  There were no competing sources of loud music and not much in the way of in-booth parties and craziness.  Relax, it’s not like you couldn’t find a beer here and there.

If it wasn’t as upbeat at other shows I attend, that’s because it’s not supposed to be.  It’s not a marketing extravaganza.  It’s a place to attend to the nuts and bolts of business and people seemed to be doing just that.

So you can see why I didn’t stay long.  I wasn’t going to meet consulting clients there, senior executives were generally not attending, and the reps in the booth were busy talking to people who wanted to buy product from them, so why waste their time with me?

The Know Show was a preview of the snowboard product I’ll see at the end of the month at SIA’s show in Denver.  I saw Volcom’s shoes for the first time.  I knew they’d be making them, but I walked by wondering if there was anybody who wasn’t making shoes at this point.  Which made it about perfect when I walked by a booth for a company called Generic Surplus that also makes shoes.

There are so many nice shoes out there, and mine are so uncool (as I got told at my last trade show- you know who you are).  I am just going to have to break down and buy some new ones.  Boy, that will be a market top.

DC was exhibiting their snowboard hard goods under the slogan, “Snowboarding: Defined by DC.”  I don’t even know where to go with that.

I saw Canadians doing business with Canadians in a solid environment for doing business.  I liked it.