I attended this trade show this past weekend and it was a success from a vendors point-of-view, but not so much for card carrying Pro Members...
I submitted a critique to IMATS about having a "Pro Members only" access to the floor for at least 2 hours before the general public is allowed in. This is in response to having product being sold out within 2 hours of opening. Once again I have to pay outrageous shipping charges to get product from US suppliers... This is not just me, but from other Pro Members as well when we bumped into each other when we made our rounds and did a quick chat/review of the show.
Once again, the practicals that pros use on set (bags, cases, chairs, covers, tools) were all sold out by lunch time on the first day, and unfortunately the US vendors can only import so much product due to various reasons (having spoken to them about it).
The guest speakers were typical autobiographical in content, and the demos were your typical "how-to's" --- great if you have a begining interest in make-up and want to pursue it further. But for the really experienced, it was painful, because we all (Pros) could all relate and we all have the same stories about our set experiences as most of those guest speakers. So in other words, nothing new. However, there were a few side-tracked insights that made me at least think, now why didn't I think of that.
Some Pro Members I've spoken to, have all said that the LA and NY shows they've attended, are way bigger with a lot more vendors and products that don't sell out as fast and they have vendors that have demos which are industry specific. And they say that the Toronto show is a joke because it's geared more towards the general public rather than the Industry professional.
I can sort of see why, as I've spoken to most of the vendors and they have to go through a lot of red-tape and costs just to get their inventory into the Canada, they say they don't make a profit but just break-even, so they only bring in general purpose products and just a few industry specific products like tools. They want their products to sell out, as it costs money to ship any unsold inventory back into the US.
I submitted a critique to IMATS about having a "Pro Members only" access to the floor for at least 2 hours before the general public is allowed in. This is in response to having product being sold out within 2 hours of opening. Once again I have to pay outrageous shipping charges to get product from US suppliers... This is not just me, but from other Pro Members as well when we bumped into each other when we made our rounds and did a quick chat/review of the show.
Once again, the practicals that pros use on set (bags, cases, chairs, covers, tools) were all sold out by lunch time on the first day, and unfortunately the US vendors can only import so much product due to various reasons (having spoken to them about it).
The guest speakers were typical autobiographical in content, and the demos were your typical "how-to's" --- great if you have a begining interest in make-up and want to pursue it further. But for the really experienced, it was painful, because we all (Pros) could all relate and we all have the same stories about our set experiences as most of those guest speakers. So in other words, nothing new. However, there were a few side-tracked insights that made me at least think, now why didn't I think of that.
Some Pro Members I've spoken to, have all said that the LA and NY shows they've attended, are way bigger with a lot more vendors and products that don't sell out as fast and they have vendors that have demos which are industry specific. And they say that the Toronto show is a joke because it's geared more towards the general public rather than the Industry professional.
I can sort of see why, as I've spoken to most of the vendors and they have to go through a lot of red-tape and costs just to get their inventory into the Canada, they say they don't make a profit but just break-even, so they only bring in general purpose products and just a few industry specific products like tools. They want their products to sell out, as it costs money to ship any unsold inventory back into the US.
