MEGA Show Sets Records For Attendance, Written Orders
By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 9/3/2010
Germantown, Tenn. - MEGA Group USA, the home-goods buying group, reports record attendance and vendor written orders at its biannual National Convention last month in Louisville, Ky.
 MEGA members customized the group’s TV commercials with “green screen� inserts shot at the show. |
The 2,500-storefront furniture, majap and CE show drew more than 70 vendors, including Whirlpool, GE, Marcone Supply, Bosch and Electrolux, and featured the largest contingent of electronics exhibitors in several years, MEGA said.
Members appeared optimistic, the group reported, despite the rough retail sales environment.
"All the dealers seem very positive and upbeat this year," said electronics division manager Jim Sendrak. "Business is certainly tough, but dealers know that business is out there for those that aggressively go after it."
To help dealers compete effectively within their markets, MEGA introduced new and expanded advertising programs, including new TV spots to compliment the group's print inserts, and "green screen" technology that allowed dealers to shoot customized inserts for the commercials at the show.
Other highlights included a state-of the-industry update by GE Appliances' Dave Bilas, who stressed the importance of promoting during key selling times and holidays. Added MEGA president Rick Bellows, "There is no doubt that consumers are responding to aggressive pricing and value-driven propositions. Dealers need to take advantage of the major holidays such as Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas to push these points and drive traffic during these periods. Consumers are shopping then, so our members need to be heavily promoting then."
The convention, held at the Marriot Downtown in Louisville, also featured a service workshop led by USA Services Association's Paul MacDonald and a full slate of seminars including:
- "Total HD Experience" training by Almo's Jack Halperin;
- "In-depth Advertising and Marketing" training, including Internet, social-networking and search engine optimization training;
- special insights into Toshiba technology presented by DSI's Greg Hughes; and
- "Consumer Finance = Profitable Sales," presented by GE Money's Diane Hortman.
In addition, keynote speaker and retail consultant Bob Negen of WhizBang Marketing shared proven business practices, marketing tips and sales-force training methods based on his experience as founder of the Mackinaw Kite Co., a small chain of specialty kite stores he launched at the age of 23.
MEGA also paid out more than $1 million in "Fast Cash" during the show, which maximizes buying opportunities by putting additional margin back into dealers' businesses, the group said.
"Our mission is simple," said Bellows. "We do what is best for our dealers, period. We succeed only if they succeed first. The convention is just one of the many things that we do to help them, and we look forward to continuing it year after year."
For more information, visit www.megagroupusa.com.
Talkback
-
Unless you are a manufacturer who can't afford marketing funds... or a retailer not relevant anymore, what's your point? You could have said the same thing 5 or 10 yrs. ago when times were good.
M. Burns - 2010-8-9 23:35:58 EDT -
Manufacturers spend millions of dollars per buying show which in the end is passed on to the dealer. Here is a list of the most obvious expenses manufacturers pay at buying shows directly or indirectly through the buying group:
Event planners and coordinators.
Key note speakers and other presenters.
Sometimes free entertainment or shows are paid for by the group.
Expensive show floor booth space.
New elaborate displays, those displays don’t come cheap.
Then the displays have to be shipped from one buying show to the next without being destroyed.
Trucking in products for display.
Selling off the merchandise after the show at a big discount or shipping it to the next show.
Crews to put together the displays and uncrate and install the products.
Hotel rooms for manufacturer, buying group, and event planning staff.
Subsidized dealer hotel rooms.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner for thousands of people and I am sure nothing was off the dollar menu.
Food and alcohol at parties, tens of thousands of dollars which are spent on alcohol alone for one party.
Some of the buying show expenses are paid directly by manufacturers, while other expenses are paid indirectly through the buying group. A percentage of each dealer’s volume is paid to the group and those funds are used to pay the rest of the expenses from buying shows. But all of the expenses are passed on to the dealer in increased merchandise costs from the manufacturer.
I estimate that there are thousands of dollars spent per store front on buying shows. And depending on the size of the dealer it is entirely possible that more money is spent on the buying show itself than on the discounts received by the dealer.
Tony Cuchiara - 2010-7-9 16:24:54 EDT
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES