Dear friends,
I hear your pain and I am with you in this. Unfortunately, markets, fairs and shows, are not established or moved away with visitors or buyers will. Aside exhibitors' costs, many other less obvious but equally important reasons are determinant when it comes to setting the place of a show. If exhibitors’ cost was the only decisive argument, I'd have long ago had the NY show stolen and moved over to Romania
Do I need to remind you of buyers' important but yet passive role in the market? Not only do those buyers always follow and meet the vendors at the market place but they are also in total awe at the view of new products, technologies, or fashion trends that are being proposed to them. Unfortunately, in our industry buyers are excessively passive and dependant on their suppliers for materials, tools, technologies and even good-taste design.
Mr. Peter Ackerman, if you really mean to change something -I admire your courage and determination- you need to be talking to LJ, LaMarche, Roma, Pistorius, and the like. Only you, the main exhibitors, can make things move one way or the other if NYC is no longer serving your interests; framers will simply follow you.
I am the first to admit that things are rotten at the NY frame show. I would venture to say that the big absent names deserted the NY show not to save money but because it no longer serves their interest. LJ took his severe and emaciated look because it does not address yesteryears worldwide, sophisticated competition or attendance. NY frame show is no longer the most important and sophisticated frame show in the world and its audience and attendance is poor and getting poorer and less demanding with every year.
Peter, you are the only sizable vendor to have brought this topic in the open and I respect you for that, but, since no other big vendor has joined you in addressing this topic, there are only three conclusions that I can gather:
- They don’t read the Grumble (and I can't believe it),
- They don't share your opinions (again, hard to believe it) or
- They don't think this forum to be appropriate environment for important frame industry policy making.