Trade Show Q+A’s

It’s been a month since my recent trade show and whilst things were still relatively fresh in my mind, I thought i’d answer some of the questions I was asked about it through a Q&A blog post

At the beginning of June I went to The Business Design Centre for a 2 day greeting card trade show called Progressive Greetings Live or PG Live. If you are not familiar with how a trade show works they are an exhibition event run over a few days where you promote your business and products to retailers and shops to buy at a wholesale price for them to then go on and sell. This is a cheaper price than you would sell at direct to consumers in return of larger volume orders.

Was this one easier planning and setting up as you had the experience from Top Drawer?

You may know that I had previously done my first trade show 9 months earlier at Top Drawer London which I wrote a about in a previous blog post called ‘starting out in wholesale’

PG Live was my 2nd trade show.

I would say it was easier in the sense that I had some experience of what to expect so I felt less nervous this time, however the level of work I had to do to prepare was the same, as I added new designs and new collections as well as launching gift wrap which was a new product area. It took me around 6 months of work to be ready again to do another show. My space was different too to my previous stand which required me to re-plan my layout.

Setting up I did entirely on my own this time around, I had my husbands help for my first show. I don’t think I would have felt confident enough to do it alone first time but I was quite happy to do it this time around.

Greeting Cards displayed on plywood velcro shelves

Do you need a minimum number of Designs to do a trade show?

You will need a minimum number of products/ designs I think it probably depends on the show and the type of products you sell. For this trade show Progressive Greetings the minimum amount of cards designs required to exhibit is 50. I think with Top Drawer it was 70 (I can’t quite remember but the organisers would make you aware of this when you enquire)

How much does it cost?

PG Live and Top Drawer were similar costs for a shell scheme package which basically means you get your walls and carpet provided

I paid for a 2m2 space or equivalent at both events which cost me around £1800 the main difference being lighting was included in may price at PG Live whereas I had to pay for a spot light at Top Drawer which was £120

(I saved around £200 on the standard price of PG Live by being a GCA (greeting card association member). membership costs £100 a year so it’s worth joining if you are considering exhibiting there)

How do the two trade shows compare?

There are a few differences

Top Drawer encompasses all types of products you may expect to find in a gift led retailer from fashion, home-wear, beauty, food and drink , greetings and stationary. Its located in Kensington Olympia in West London. It attracts large retailers alongside independents.

PG Live (Progressive Greetings Live) is a greeting card publisher only show located in The Business Design Centre in Islington North London. It also attracts large retailers along side independents but I mostly felt it was an opportunity for larger greeting card publishers to catch up with their stockists, there were people looking for new publishers but I didn’t as have many orders on my stand as I did at Top Drawer (4 compared to 15)

Follow up after the show was very similar for me at both, I haven't really gained orders through my follow up emails, although these may still come through. I’ll continue to follow up with those that showed interest at the shows and I made some good contacts through both.

Both shows were very well attended and busy (I know this has not always been the case from hearing other peoples experience from previous seasons and years)

Did you prefer Top Drawer?

YES!! For me I did I personally feel it is a better fit for my brand and who I am targeting as a stockist.

Top Drawer (I feel) has better social build up, branding and is marketed really well.

PG Live is very friendly and the organisers are lovely but it felt a less modern a show, it’s an established show in the greeting card industry and as a newcomer I found it quite cliquey not in a nasty way I just didn’t feel I fitted in.

On a stockist level Top Drawer was much more successful for me and therefore it meant it was better value for money.

I’m doing these trade shows to gain stockists. I don’t regret doing PG Live and I would look at doing it again in the future, but i’ll be doing Top Drawer again next year, as well as looking at other opportunities.

How to potential stockists approach you?

If you have ever done a market then it is really similar in the fact that you are setting up a stand to showcase your products to buy. Just with the difference being rather than selling direct to the consumer you are selling to the retailer. So visitors (retail buyers, independent shop owners etc) will walk around the show browse the exhibitors, maybe stop by for a chat and to get some more information. They will likely ask about price, and minimum order, they will want to know what the minimum order is with carriage paid (which basically is minimum order value you will sell at with free delivery). Smaller independent shops may then decide to place an order with you there and then, which I have done via a printed order form or using my laptop and using the order form this way. Invoices and stock will then follow after the show. Larger retailers if interested will likely have a much longer process in getting an order.

What sort of volumes to retailers place?

An initial order with an independent stockist is likely to be a minimum order with free carriage paid. In my case this is a £100 order. But I have had initial orders of anywhere between £100-£600. Graham and Green stocked my cards last Autumn and placed a minimum order across their 6 stores so I had a £600 order with them. Harvey Nichols are similar they have 6 stores so they tent to buy an amount for each store. The more stores a retailer has the larger the order may be. It sounds exciting to have larger stockists approach you but their demands may be unachievable. They may want ridiculous terms agreed to which could be a big financial risk. I am very lucky with the two larger retailers I have worked with, I have heard horror stories as I am sure you may have encountered with the likes of Paperchase (and others)

As an ex retail Buyer I am aware of how poor supplier terms can be, it’s also equally hard as a buyer to get new brands into larger business because of the amount of hoop jumping that you need to get through.

Larger retaillers generally don’t tend to pay until 90 days of receipt of an order and will expect sale or return agreed to which means you are liable for the stock if it doesn’t meet certain sell throughs. It’s really tricky if you are a small brand to be able to work this way. I’m quite happy to be growing my independent stockists and getting smaller but regular repeat orders that I can manage.

Do you have press packs, stockist packs, catalogue, business cards, freebies, order forms?

I have had all of these things

Press packs - I didn’t know what these were at all but at Top Drawer they had a press office who were really helpful they would be the first point of call for any press that attend the show so its good to drop some catalogues, few samples and press release (which is basically just few sentences and image about a product launch you may have happening). At PG Live they had goody bags for visitors but it was about £250 I think to put a product in them. I’ve never had any approaches from press during or after a trade show.

Stockist packs - I didn’t have these. At Top Drawer I gave away a greeting card with my business details to the reverse which went down well but for cost reasons I didn’t do this at PG

Business cards - I took my existing business cards to PG Live these were fine to use

Freebies - No I didn’t but would think about a freebie card in the future again it all comes down to cost

Catalogue - I love a catalogue. I realise that it is not as environmentally friendly as a digital copy but it is so much nicer and can really create a wow factor for your brand. For me they are a really important investment, you will be asked for a catalogue whether its in digital or printed format or both. I used catalogues a lot when I was a buyer they are useful to take away and look though in your own time, they help you remember who you may have seen. I really wanted mine to look professional so I paid for it do be designed. I printed it onto 100% recycled paper. I think it has helped me look more credible and will have certainly attracted certain stockists.

Order Forms - I have an order form which doubles up as my invoice and packing list, set up in a google docs sheet, its not necessary to print these out as you can place orders digitally although its useful to have a few with you incase tech fails on the day!

Did you learn anything from other suppliers/ stands?

I was having problems throughout PG Live with my shelf brackets falling off due to the uneven wall surface which meant the velcro system i’d used in the past (command strips) didn’t work at all. It was very stressful and I saw other stands who had learnt this and had other solutions

An alternative hanging shelf display which I liked (hooks over the top edge of the walls)

I was also approached by a German distributor and had some advice from other card publishers on how distributors work. A distributor will sell your products to international stockists, they generally work to a 50% commission of your wholesale price so the amount you will make per sale is quite small. I was advised to ensure that carriage costs to freight forwarder and shipping insurance costs are paid by them. It is an interesting opportunity and often a way into international markets. I haven't done anything further with this at the moment.

Top Drawer had a lot of free talks available mostly for visitors but I took the opportunity to go to the free ones available out of hours to the exhibitors and I learnt about how to work with press offices as well as having some one on one coaching from a marketing expert on Pinterest. I really liked this about Top Drawer.

Thanks for reading this I hope that you have found this insightful and useful. I am no expert and very new to trade shows and wholesale but try to share my experience honestly in the hope it may help others thinking about doing something similar

If you’ve enjoyed reading this then i’d love for you to have a browse at the greeting cards and wrap in my shop or visit my website to learn more about me if you’d like to become a stockist you can contact me here

Melissa x