Preparing for trade show season
By Adam Martin
Trade show season is the perfect opportunity to discover new trends, connect with key partners, and fine-tune your store’s strategy. Are you prepared to make the most of it?
Know what makes your store different
Before you go into any weekend where you may be making big decisions for your store, make sure you know what it is that makes your store different.
Trade shows are filled with innovative new products. They’re a great opportunity to make quick decisions that can move your product mix forward—but there’s a catch. Quick decisions are only easy when you know the criteria you have for the given category. What are your margin expectations? Where do you have product mix holes? What product characteristics are you prioritizing right now? Come in with the prep work done and everything will be easier.
Make the easy decisions
Trade show season often comes with the chance to have formal business meetings with your biggest partners. Use this to make sure you have the right product mix with their brands.
Avoid making the mistake of having slow-moving, legacy SKUs taking up room that can be utilized for newer and better products. Ask your vendor partners what changes they will want to see in your product mix if you have fixed space available but are willing to swap products—they may have suggestions that can benefit both you and them.
Lock dates in
Take advantage of having so many brand leaders in one place and lock in your calendar for the rest of 2025 and beyond.
If you are looking to have customer events or staff training sessions, these can be effective ways to get your calendar filled. Make sure to ask your small brand partners too. Often founders are looking for a chance to tell their story and are overlooked for these opportunities because of their limited resources. But with the help of various tech tools, even the smallest brands can connect with your teams—and trust me, they are interested.
Understand the costs of holding inventory
For store operators, one of the most exciting things that come with trade shows are the deals available from vendor partners.
While taking advantage of these deals is a great strategy and can really help your margins and promotion programs, don’t forget to do the math to understand the cash implications and holding costs of overbuying. Make sure to set a budget and stick to it. Similarly, know your inventory turn expectations within each category and ensure that your longer buys won’t put these forecasts in trouble. Without a plan, a great deal can quickly become a bad decision.
Trade show season is the time to position your store for success in 2025. By preparing strategically, you’ll not only discover game-changing products, but also build stronger partnerships and develop a clearer path forward. Start planning today!