Share this on

Not Just Another Gift Show

GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 6/17/2011 5:28:17 AM

MARY LIZ CURTIN is a retail expert and consultant.South America is not usually on an American buyer's list of trade show venues, But visiting the Peru gift show and Peru Moda in April was a great addition to our schedule, and not just for the tourism.
Retail is not just buying and selling; it is presentation, imagination and excitement. we small business owners need inspiration and a little relaxation.
     The show, small by American standards, is beautiful and filled with handcrafted goods, many of them Fair Trade. The show offers terrific sweaters, hats, mittens and scarves, as we expected, but the hand-worked belts, bags and pillows were a great bonus. Peru Moda showed some stunning contemporary designers' work.
     There is no duty on Peruvian imports and many vendors are willing to ship orders small enough for a single store. Peru is also very affordable (the airfare was the biggest expense by far) and it was easy for us to buy enough to justify the trip financially. Of course, we have to sell everything we bought to pay for the trip, and then just barely.
A Retailing Tour
     Since we were in a foreign land, we took the time to visit museums, tour the city and see the sites, which we don't ever do at a domestic show. We also had a grand tour of retail stores and that was probably as good for our business as the product we bought.
     The retail highlight of the trip was Dedalo, a gallery and restaurant located in a beautiful, rambling former home in Lima. The all-handcrafted-in- Peru inventory ranges from contemporary takes on traditional crafts to belts, handbags and tiny bags being sold by a visiting artist dressed in native attire. This store has it all, including an inside patio where art shows and craft demonstrations are held. It was absolutely inspirational.
Buy. Tour. Learn
Mary Liz Curtin with the owner of a scarf shop in Lima.     As highly as I recommend a trip to Peru (and I have not even mentioned the unbelievable food), we don't need to travel so far for similar experiences. There are great opportunities right here, but we retailers rarely take advantage of them.
     This summer I plan to make similar trips by adding a day or two to each trade show I attend to visit local shops and maybe even a museum. Ask the reps you meet at the show what their favorite stores are, rent a car and go shopping. A quick visit to Google maps and you are all set. Make notes not just of the product you see and the display ideas you can adapt, but make notes about the customer service (good and bad), gift wrapping, special treatment and any little thing you notice about the service in the stores you visit. Some things will encourage you to make changes, others may remind you of areas where your standards have slipped. The greasy fingerprints I saw on a store's door in Chicago made me come home and brandish the Windex bottle at the next staff meeting; the woman who carried my bags to the car at a store in Kansas City prompted me to remind our staff to do the same.
Widening Horizons
Peru      Retail is not just buying and selling, it is presentation, imagination and excitement. We small business owners need inspiration, excitement and a little relaxation. A little culture wouldn't hurt, either. Everything we look at, every place we visit, helps widen our perspective and can provide fodder for our creativity.
     Long-distance travel is not needed for this kind of touring. I'm planning to take some time near home for the same activities: visiting other shops of all kinds, touring the museums (without a third grade class in tow) and enjoying visual presentations of all kinds. If I add a great lunch to the day, it will count as a mini-vacation, which is as close to time off as many of us will get this year.
     Travel, whether it is international, domestic or just down the road, will give your spirits a lift, bolster your creativity and probably improve your business. Let your inner tourist free...

Share this on

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

No related articles for this topic.

Also by this author

»MORE

Featured Company

FurnitureCore.com

FurnitureCore.com is a dynamic web application aimed at the furniture industry. Retailers and manufacturers alike will find our deep reserve of tools to be exactly what their furniture business needs.www.furniturecore.com... more