Every market always has its variables— as you well know — but our recent Apparel & Accessories and Total Home & Gift markets had more than their fair share.
The FIFA World Cup was in town with several matches in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex at the same time as our markets. The same situation was occurring in Atlanta which caused that market to combine their shows and move dates up ahead of ours. And the overall economic picture remains uncertain.
Understanding these pressures, we got out ahead of all of this and it paid off, especially in terms of new buyer visits. Our formula was relatively simple: keep our traditional market dates, which retailers and exhibitors appreciated, but at the same time secure normal hotel rates knowing the World Cup events would be impacting prices and availability. As it turned out the hype of the games’ impact on travel and hospitality was much worse than the reality, and overall, we exceeded many exhibitors' expectations.
The end result was that we had a record number of new buyers — those attending Dallas shows for the first time — across our shows. That’s pretty impressive given the way the retail sector is performing these days and the often-ingrained habits of retailers who continue to shift their attendance (and dollars) to Dallas.
Beyond the at-market experience, I was excited to hear World Cup fans’ positive comments about Dallas as a city and their experience while here including shopping for cowboy hats and enjoying barbeque. It reaffirms in my mind why Dallas continues to be a top destination.
In my conversations with exhibitors, it was clear that some segments performed better than others. Exhibitors with new products and collections, for example, outperformed others. One exhibitor told me they expected Armageddon and it ended up OK, while another had their best Dallas show ever. Overall, we received kudos from exhibitors for June shows that largely beat expectations.
I like to think our proactive efforts to get out ahead of some of these issues had a lot to do with it. Once again, it’s our belief that we have a partnership with our exhibitors and attendees, and your success is our success. That’s the way it’s worked for the almost seven decades we’ve been in business with you.
In closing, every market has new challenges, even if this year, we’ve had more than usual. But together we came through June with one of our better seasons. And now we are ready for the next shows including The Men’s Show this month and our big schedule of August events.
Cindy Morris,President and CEO, Dallas Market Center