Preben Bailey of the ISO Information office in Sweden, and wife Anna Thornberg Bailey visited the Global Shop in Las Vegas on their own behalf, and reported this to the British Magazine, RLI, retail & Leisure International upon their homecoming April 1:

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GlobalShop 2005, Las Vegas USA,

March 21-23, Sands Expo at the Venetian.   -  So what WAS the buzz all about?

 

How does this the second largest show for retailers (sorry GlobalShop, largest annual), compare to the recent Euroshop in Düsseldorf, seen through European eyes?

Preben Bailey of International Shopfitting Organisations information office in Sweden has been there and here are his comments. 

 

What is the virtual world of shop-fixtures, displays and decoration effects as presented by the GlobalShop compared to "the real world" of canals next door (or upstairs!) complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers, The Marcus square Campanile, Paris Eiffel Tower, Luxor Sphinx and Cairo Pyramids to mention a few?

Where does the illusions end and the reality begin?

After a number of years in Chicago, the annual GlobalShop exhibition last year moved to Las Vegas, and thus regained interest and stimulated visitor numbers. With about 900 exhibitors it is the largest annual store fixture and display exhibition, only passed by the Euroshop in Düsseldorf every 3 years, latest only a month earlier as you all know, and with over 1600 exhibitors.

 

But even if GlobalShop is smaller in space, visitor and exhibitor numbers, and obviously seems much more "local" than Euroshop it is also very different in other ways. First of all its target is the American market, the largest and economically strongest single and homogenous market of the world today – one language, one currency, one market of  250 million customers! Just like Las Vegas boasts of having 9 of the largest hotels in the world, USA probably has some of the largest store-fixture and display manufacturers, and that gives the word "local" a special twist. My only objection is therefore, that regardless of the name "Global" it is much more "local" than the Euroshop, so why not compromise on "Glocal".

 

What meets the European eye, just after Düsseldorf, is a very different exhibition lay-out with all activities in one big hall. It is divided into "The Store Fixturing Show" (sponsored by NASFM and by far the largest), "Store Design & Operations" (including floors and lighting),"The Visual  Merchandising Show" (NADI), The POP Marketplace (sponsored by POPAI) and the 2 smaller: "The Digital Store" and "Retail Marketing Services". No freezers, fridges or checkouts, and no special supermarket (food) shelving or fast food equipment, which of course reduce the size of the exhibition considerably, compared to Euroshop that covers it all.

 

And the booths are different. While the typical European booth is closed, includes some meeting rooms and private areas for undisturbed customer meetings, as well as extensive catering and bar facilities, all of which again requires a large staff, most of the GlobalShop booths are open, showing the product/products and with a couple of salespersons on the alert to "Zap" your badge. All visitors are registered and wearing a badge, and all exhibitors have a scanner to read their data, and a printer, where they can add: "Wants brochures", "call for meeting", or whatever is appropriate. Simple and quick, in and out, next please!

 

 It seems like a whole different exhibition culture! We rather miss the opportunity of a good talk with our business colleagues, I would not mind it to be over a beer and a snack, in relative privacy. But sorry, no. No time for that. This is business, we are here for only three days, and next in line may be interesting  (- too?). As mentioned it's a whole different attitude, and I am not the right person to judge whichever is the best way of doing business, but I do know what is most fun!

 

And maybe I am not alone in my believe that business in the retail and leisure industry should also be fun and pleasure, for I see signs of changes in the GlobalShop booths compared to previous years. ALU for instance, that present themselves as "producers of sleek contemporary and functional fixturing. Its architectural display systems are adaptable to retail and specialty stores and exhibitions" This New York based company had build a true European booth, White walls, closed, showing few fixtures in separate "rooms" and with a welcoming bar and food counter. Same trend was found with JP Metal America , wood and metal store fixtures from Canada and Artitalia, another Canadian company regardless of the name, but with office in New York. Artitalia had blown op a series of global shaped tents with few exhibits, a food and drinks bar, a DJ and "a million  people" inside. All these three examples seemed very popular, they were crowded.

 

But the majority of  booths are open, easy accessible, do not waste time or money on backroom or meeting facilities, they are there to make as quick and as many contacts as possible in the shortest possible time, and then prepared to follow up and establish a closer customer-supplier relationship later. Examples of European products presented in this true American way were the original Swedish, now English system OPTO, as well as the Danish Design System Abstracta, that is now owned by the American CONSORT group, as well as being represented and manufactured in England.

 

Junckers Hardwood Inc., representing Europe's largest sawmill for solid wood floors was there too. The sawmill only 30 Miles south of  Copenhagen, Denmark is on the program of the ISO Congress' factory visit tour, mid April 2005. Real wood floors has a comeback, as they are NOT damaging rainforests, they are excessively replanted, and it's a product of nature, much more friendly to your environment through it's lifetime, than any plastics. Feel for yourself next time, you have the opportunity. Lighting was in the same area, but this was a great disappointment to my European colleague and expert, John Nielsen of Flash Light, that is another stop near Copenhagen on the ISO Congress Tour. "They did not show anything, that you did not see much better and more advanced at the Euroshop", he said, and maybe he is right.

 

But if lighting was the weak spot (ha-ha!) inside, it was fantastic outside. Las Vegas by night, when the shop show is over, with it's lights, gigantic "TV" screens, neon, volcano outbursts with fire, flames, lava, smoke, steam and sound, laser beams towards the sky, illuminated Eiffel Towers, Greek palaces, the indirect illuminated Flamingo Garden (even a penguin island) and of course, last but not least, millions of  flashing, glittering, lightning slot machines. I shall stop here to prevent you from getting over excited, because next time the GlobalShop is moving East again. This time to Orlando Florida, where the dates are March 26-28 at the Orange County Convention Center. Not a word about Disney, Sea World, Cirkus World Barnum & Bailey, Golf courses and Kennedy Space Center only a couple of hours drive away, because what's more important than the business we are in, the trade and industry of our international shopfitting organisation.

(But a little fun does not harm, does it? See you in Orlando).

 

Preben Bailey

 

 

About illustrations:

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www.globalshop.org  No updated pictures per April 1, look again later!

 

Abstracta booth: (right)

A typical American open booth for quick contact and information.

Abstracta is a classic Danish designer system by the famous architect,

Poul Cadovius. The system now belongs to Abstracta by Consort in

Michigan, USA but is still represented and manufactured in England.

 

 

 

 

NASFM booth: (above)

The cosponsors of the GlobalShop, National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers is the world's largest national trade organisation of shopfitting, and the US member of ISO, International Shopfitting Organisation with Secretariat in Zürich and Info office in Sweden. www.nasfm.org and www.thbailey.com

 

Junckers booth and products: (bellow)

The largest European sawmill for solid wooden floors, Junckers of Denmark was represented through their local distributor. A typical American quick-contact in-and-out booth, that however gave a good show of the various sorts of wood. The Americans likes dark wood, but like Crate & Barrel, there is more "natural feeling" in the lighter types.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preben Bailey

On behalf of the ISO Management Committee

Information – Activities – New members

Thornberg – Bailey AB

Skogsvägen 6

S-240 12 Torna Hällestad, Sweden

Tel: +46 4653 202, Fax: +46 4653 229, e-mail: iso@thbailey.com

 

 

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