Thursday, May 21, 2009

I Gotta Vent

So a well respected and really nice journalist tells me she heard ICFF was down in attendance by 50%...SO NOT TRUE! It was down 12% - and actually Monday of this year was higher than Monday of last year! We know KBIS and HD Vegas was down in the really high double digits - but ICFF WAS NOT!

Moreover, I got testimonials from soooooooooo many as to the worth of the show/attendees/exhibitors - even Marianne Rohrlich of NY Times speaks of the energy (www.nytimes.com). People from Pentagram, Mancini Duffy, Gensler, M.Moser all raved about the show and the quality. The Japan By Design exhibit ran out of bags on Sunday!

So, listen - I know this is a "hot button" for me - but I hope you also know that when it sucks, I admit it. This was a really good year - and if an exhibitor didn't do well - they either:

  • Didn't show well - poor booth design or product assortment
  • Didn't have the product that was desired
  • Sat with a gloomy face in their booth
  • Or have a negative outlook

OH.............Have a nice holiday weekend!

1 comment:

Jan MacLatchie said...

Beth - Couldn't agree more. Traffic felt light on Saturday and Tuesday, but Monday was fantastic. My client, From the Source, a first time ehxhibitor of handmade sustainable wood furniture had tons of interest from top quality designers and architects,press and retail buyers. Parties were also jam packed with industry leaders and working designers. Thanks for speaking up. We all need to be resilient and realistic in this climate, not doom and gloom. Jan MacLatchie, Brand Strategist, Design Writer