by Recently Casual News Now spoke with IMC about the upcoming Atlanta market and what changes the casual industry can expect.
As a follow-up, we spoke to a few exhibitors to see how they’re preparing for the January market, as well as the big July show.
Leisa McCollister, vice president of marketing at O.W. Lee, says their showroom will be open in January and fully merchandised.
She adds that the company has never shown in Atlanta before and will use July for its official “grand opening,” but will be very much open for business in January as well.
“We are sending less staff than we will in July, similar to how we staff up for shows at Las Vegas market,” she explains. “We will be adding more fixtures and signage, etc. between January and July. We are using January to get into the space and see how we will really use it before we add the final touches.”
William Kruzel, business development partner at Mamagreen, says the company is going “all out” as far as making sure the showroom is 100% ready and having a strong number of C-level team members present.
“The only real change for July then is to apply all the lessons learned from January, perhaps add a few fun events, and schedule more rep meetings,” he says. “We’re displaying our newest 2022, one-half line extensions with new pricing for 2023 (no more freight surcharges) and new marketing materials. I’m pretty excited and know it will be a learning experience for all involved.”
Castelle also will be participating in the January show, but Rory Rehmert, senior vice president of sales, says this will be a soft opening.
“While we will not be fully set up, we will be ready to do business,” he explains. “The January show will give us the opportunity to be visible to dealers and designers that frequent the gift show. We will be able to get a read on the January market and be able to get a lay of the land in our new space.”
