The GNS Market Fair in Melbourne this weekend was among the best organised I have seen and I’ve been at every one since GNS started them. There was a good mix of product and services suppliers, the floorplan was good and the GNS stand itself was the hero stand it needs to be.
Attendance was softer than suppliers needed to justify the expense. I think the various gift fairs as well as newsagency marketing group conferences with their own trade shows attached pull focus from the GNS fair that we the only fair for newsagents for so many years.
I talked with a few people about a national trade show on one weekend tied in with other events to encourage participation. I think this idea could work with the support of the marketing groups.
GNS applied a margin to all retail products sold at the fair. I expect some suppliers to lobby GNS about this as it’s not what you see at other trade shows. For example, a supplier at the gift fair which attracts 20,000+ retailers pays for the space and furniture with no surcharge on turnover.
Newsagents attend these fairs for a deal and not a penalty.