Thread: The Future of the Wood Show

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

I hope the Wood and Metal show is a great success, next year in Sydney....the concept is cool,and it is something new and innovative...competition is a healthy dynamic in business jim,so hopefully the Sydney wood/metal working fraternities support this show..and it will in turn, support you...

Mapleman I checked dates of said show its not just Wood & Metal but also Craft all the same 3 days so for LOML and I it will be worth going a 30min drive, Free parking, not so damn cold being March, all thats would remain is the vendors who'll be there.

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Mapleman I checked dates of said show its not just Wood & Metal but also Craft all the same 3 days so for LOML and I it will be worth going a 30min drive, Free parking, not so damn cold being March, all thats would remain is the vendors who'll be there.

Like i said earlier..hope folk support it,they might just be pleasantly surprised.This show may well tick all the boxes,in terms of delivering what the punters want at a wood show..if i lived in Sydney,i would definately check it out..(apparently this company has been doing expos since 1990...so they are not cowboys in the industry)...

Hello all,
I would like to say a few things about the Sydney show and make no comment about others because I havent been there.
I have been to all the Sydney shows and have to say that the new venue is by far the best, air conditioned under one roof, good parking and transport.
In fact I went on 2 days this year for the first time. I found everyhting was well set out and comfortable. I saw plenty of demonstrations and eventually saw and bought
everything I wanted and more. The food and coffee outlets were satisfactory and the toilets clean and tidy. I have no serious complaint and dont know about costs etc for
stallholders. My one small matter is that the selling and display of TAFE and Guild stall was a little out of the way and could have been better placed. Yes I found it very
enjoyable along with many other woodies that I went with and who also conmmented favourably. So thank you to all and sundry for their effort. Drillit.

Originally Posted by chambezio

Please don't let it be so...............Speaking for myself, the last Wood Show I went to was Brissy. Being half way between its a toss up but also my be a second chance, if I miss Brissy its not a long wait to catch Syd. I haven't been to either for some years. Between health issues and money (lack of) at the actual time we just haven't got it together. I do lament not going! Locally we have the big green shed and a really good builders hardware but they don't have the specialist tools, timber etc etc that is on offer at the Shows. OK you can argue that I have access to the world with the internet but you can't compare that to face to face contact with products and the people who are on the stands.

I am determined to go to one Show next year and am putting aside a few sheckles when I can to make it possible. Either Syd or Bris requires us to spend a few days to a week to make the travel worthwhile. (Gone are the days when I would have gone down and back look at the show all in the one day.

Another thing that I might add is that maybe many people are at saturation level. You can't keep buying the same tools year after year. and that of coarse goes to major purchases as well.

I am like a kid in a chocolate shop when I go to the Shows. You see the names of the suppliers you have read about but here they are in the flesh offering YOU their stuff. Its great. I would not like to see them go.

Thats just it these suppliers were not at the Melbourne Show, there was only one Bench Saw supplier there & he had a display area of 2 metres X 2 Metres.

I agree with Jims comments we need to be more constructive with our comments. We have been dealing with Liz & her team for the past 5 or so years & can feel her pain when we read some of the comments after all the effort we go to put on a good show.

Just a thought when my kids school puts on an event I spend up & donate for the sake of the school & future of our kids, I personally think that this show is a great gathering of friendships for a lot of members but more important showing of a good old craft "working with wood" & think this community should support the people that support it rather than buying from out of community companies.

I couldn't see another show doing what TWWWS has done in the past for all lovers of wood

Originally Posted by VEK TOOLS

I agree with Jims comments we need to be more constructive with our comments. We have been dealing with Liz & her team for the past 5 or so years & can feel her pain when we read some of the comments after all the effort we go to put on a good show.

Nobody is disputing that Liz and her fellow organisers and the exhibitors who DID attend bust their guts to do the best they can to put on a great show.

By the way, I am sick of the "management" cop-out of "I will only listen to criticism if it is positive". What a great excuse to declare any criticism you do not want to heed as "negative" when in reality it is honest and from the heart and made by someone who cares enough about the future of the event that they actually took the time to post it instead of just going home and never returning.

Anyone who is pushing that line needs to take a long hard look at themselves. The people who are making the perceived "negative" comments arent the ones who benefit financially from the shows. They are the ones who enjoyed its past successes and diversity which are missing today. All they want is for the shows to be successful. I cannot for the life of me see why the organisers and exhibitors arent hanging off their every word.

Their main thrust is not to criticise the ones who are still there (organisers and exhibitors) but to ask why past attendees are no longer supporting the show.

This is the reoccurring theme amongst the so-called "negative" commenters. They are calling into question why the number of exhibitors is falling every year resulting in a drop in attendance overall.

Maybe if Liz or the organisers as a whole could at least attempt to address these issues to the forum instead of just effectively putting them into the "too hard" basket by calling them "negative" it might be a step in the right direction.

What happened to Timbecon? Hare and Forbes? where did all the "little" timber sellers go? Big timber sellers disappeared this year. I can understand why the stall that was selling the butt-jointed boxes with hinged lids not even cut off the boxes who was there last year trying to sell them for $1200.00 plus did not come back. If ever there was a flawed business model then that was one for the text books.

Like it or not but you harshest critics are also your loyalest customers. Every one of them is saying what a whole lot of others would also say if they cared enough to say anything

Doug

Doug mentioned Hare and Forbes, I've just been to the mail box and there was a sales catalogue from them - three day sale starting 17th of this month!

Does anyone feel like 'someone' has dropped a fart, taken off, and left everyone to point fingers at each other?

Originally Posted by doug3030

Nobody is disputing that Liz and her fellow organisers and the exhibitors who DID attend bust their guts to do the best they can to put on a great show.

By the way, I am sick of the "management" cop-out of "I will only listen to criticism if it is positive". What a great excuse to declare any criticism you do not want to heed as "negative" when in reality it is honest and from the heart and made by someone who cares enough about the future of the event that they actually took the time to post it instead of just going home and never returning.

Anyone who is pushing that line needs to take a long hard look at themselves. The people who are making the perceived "negative" comments arent the ones who benefit financially from the shows. They are the ones who enjoyed its past successes and diversity which are missing today. All they want is for the shows to be successful. I cannot for the life of me see why the organisers and exhibitors arent hanging off their every word.

Their main thrust is not to criticise the ones who are still there (organisers and exhibitors) but to ask why past attendees are no longer supporting the show.

This is the reoccurring theme amongst the so-called "negative" commenters. They are calling into question why the number of exhibitors is falling every year resulting in a drop in attendance overall.

Maybe if Liz or the organisers as a whole could at least attempt to address these issues to the forum instead of just effectively putting them into the "too hard" basket by calling them "negative" it might be a step in the right direction.

What happened to Timbecon? Hare and Forbes? where did all the "little" timber sellers go? Big timber sellers disappeared this year. I can understand why the stall that was selling the butt-jointed boxes with hinged lids not even cut off the boxes who was there last year trying to sell them for $1200.00 plus did not come back. If ever there was a flawed business model then that was one for the text books.

Like it or not but you harshest critics are also your loyalest customers. Every one of them is saying what a whole lot of others would also say if they cared enough to say anything

Doug

Right on the money Doug....

I worked with Mal at the Boutique Timbers stand at Homebush in Sydney and we had a great show, the layout was fine, there was no rain!!!! the crowds were good and interest in timber and the forum stand was very high. Sales and general atmosphere was really fine, so I find some of the comments here difficult to comprehend.

Mal also exhibited at Melbourne and thought the Friday and Sunday crowds were very good, although Saturday was slow. Sales however matched previous years.

I wasn't there, so can't comment on Melbourne but........ they do say that the further anyone lives from the tropics, the more miserable and unhappy the population becomes, just look at the Scandanavians.......
......and sales of hats and beer at the Cup yesterday was down as well as were the AFL crowds this year.
It may be just a Melbourne thing; perhaps global warming will cheer them up.
Greg

Originally Posted by Greg Ward

Mal also exhibited at Melbourne and thought the Friday and Sunday crowds were very good, although Saturday was slow. Sales however matched previous years.

I am not surprised Mal reported sales to match the previous years. There were only three people selling timber. Every year for the past 3 melbourne shows there have been less sites selling timber. I am surprised he didn't declare a record turnover. There weren't that many other places to buy it from.

Doug

Originally Posted by rwbuild

I think it has now got to the point that those who run the shows probably need to make a pros and cons list while the rest of us take a deep breath, a beer, what ever, let them sift through the comments and then present some considered scenarios that we all can then comment / vote on.

There has been a wealth of ideas and observations made which in one form or another will improve the shows but lets not get too semantic and keep it all on an objective level.

Good try RW but I think some may have missed your post .

Having said that...........Perhaps it is time, arguably for a new thread, to concentrate on suggestions for improvements and steps to revitalise the whole affair.

A last comment from me in this thread is that economic times are bad. They will probably get worse before they get better. We are also talking across several different venues and what applies to Melbourne may not apply to Brisbane. Unfortunately this sends confusing messages.

I feel most people have commented here with the best of intentions. Ie. the longevity of these shows.

If one of you feels a new thread purely on constructive suggestions (a brainstorming if you like) is warranted please start one up and make reference to it here as the last post in this thread.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Scott

Does anyone feel like 'someone' has dropped a fart, taken off, and left everyone to point fingers at each other?

You NEARLY got it right Scott.

Actually someone has defacated in their own pants and are trying to deny that they did it; it must have been someone else. Everyone told them it was potty time but they didn't want to listen. They are now denying that they are sitting in a mess of their own making and are trying to carry on as if nothing untoward has happened at all.

That said, Bushmiller has called for a new thread to discuss CONSTRUCTIVE comments to help rebuild the show. I suggest we follow his advice and turn the thread around to do that, but I think it should continue under this thread to keep the discussion of the problems and solutions under the one roof for ease of quoting previous posts etc.

So to get the ball rolling on constructive solutions, I offer the following:

As I said in an earlier post, there are basically three stakeholders in the show; organisers, exhibitors and attendees. Really only one group, the organisers, are in a position to make the changes that the rest of us seem to feel need to be made.

It is difficult to suggest solutions to problems that the organisers face when we do not know their business structure, cash flow, required profit margins, whether they borrow money to fund pre-show costs or even if they are paying off a long-term debt. I do not want them to publish their situation as it is none of our business. The organisers are running the show, and I mean in every state and all the other shows that they run as a business to make a profit. They must cover all the costs of running the show and have enough left over to make a living commensurate with their investment and effort put in.

I think that we are pretty close to unanimous in wanting to get more exhibitors to/back to the show ( I am confining my comments to the Melbourne show as that is the only one I have been to in 3 years).

I believe that the orgainsers are bright enough to realise that too. They are probably already working on strategies to make it more affordable for new and old exhibitors to return to the show.

As I said, I do not know what their business model is but, if it suits, they are probably already considering:

- discounts for paying site fees 6 to 12 months in advance
- charging exhibitors a choice of flat fee or percentage of profits
- offering more space for the same cost if the show is undersubscribed
- some sort of incentive to return for those retailers who choose not to attend but hold sales in the weeks before and after. (this is a tricky one as I am sure most of us would agree it is unfair to those who have continued to support the event to offer incentives to win back those who have not, but I am sure that this type of thing is being considered by the organisers.)

The only people who can make a decision on any of this are the organisers. It is their business and their decision. The exhibitors come because they are looking to make a profit in their business but they will not come if the overheads erode all teh potential profit. The attendees pay their admission and expect a lot of exhibitors selling at affordable prices. Once again without knowing the business model I cannot be sure but I think that even if entry fees was to be increased by $5.00 it would not make a significant difference to the organisers bottom line and would probably result in lower profit as many would no longer attend.

At the end of the day, it is up to the organisers. There are current exhibitors who are doing well wile others are not; there are former exhibitors who would love to be able to return if they could see a financial incentive to do so and it is up to the organisers to win them back.

A little bit about my background so that everyone can understand my experience in these matters:

After I spent 20 years in the Army, I ran my own business doing concrete garden edging and light landscaping for 10 years until I had to stop due to back problems. During that time I used to attend markets and garden shows as my primary source of leads to get jobs. I started in 1997. I attended the region's biggest garden show every year. I used to have a 10m x 5m site in the open air. Without going into the costs of the show in detail, the site fee, paid to the local rotary club as a fundraiser, was negligible. The big bucks were in not doing any jobs for profit for three days prior to the show and paying your workers to help set up the site, the cost of materials to set it up and paying staff over the weekend to help collect contact details and assist with demos. Then after the show I had to restore the site to its original condition and usually had so many leads it was difficult to follow them up without cutting into productive profitmaking work time (had to be done after hours at the expense of leisure time and family time). While the first two times I attended this show were fantastic, my third attendance at this show was an un mitigated disaster. September 2000, three months after the introduction of the GST, everyones BAS was due and nobody was interested in the garden show.

During the time I was running my own business I was also a charter member of a lions club in the town I was living in. When I was President of the Lions Club a couple of years later we embarked on a large project to run a lifestyle expo. I know what it is like to be the organiser too! I know what it is like having the phone ring off the hook from every second exhibitor wanting some sort of preferential treatment, from a discount to wanting to set up earlier or pack up later or get more exhibitors passes than their site fee allows. They all think they are the star attraction and you could not run the event without them. Don't even get me started on advertising.

For those of you who have not experienced this IT IS A NIGHTMARE. But, as an organiser, you need to realise that the exhibitors are relying on your skills to run and promote the show to help you make the show a success from your point of view as well as theirs. If they fail to produce the goods it is hard to come back.


anyway I do not want to go on for ever,

Cheers

Doug

I have just finished reading some of the negative comments about the WW Wood Shows and the Organizers of these Shows, and feel they deserve a reply from a regular Exhibitor. For the past 8 years We have had a site at the Brisbane and Melbourne Wood Shows which covered the previous owners and the current owners of these Events. This was the first year that we did not attend the Melbourne Wood Show, through NO fault of the Owners, but due to health reasons.

We have had nothing but positive response from any suggestions we have put forward to Liz and her team, No request has ever been denied. Would these negative people be willing to devote the time, energy and their private money it takes, to put together an Event of this magnitude?

Venues have to be paid up front, well in advance (from the owners own funds). The Food and Parking is controlled by the venues committee, and out of Liz's hands.


Under Liz and her team's control, we have always has a successful Show.

To create and continue having these Shows, we need Positive Feed Back and Ideas.

Keep up the good work Liz and your team, you should be applauded and we will see you at the Brisbane Wood Show 2013.