Leaving Atlanta

Sixty-four degrees and sunny in Atlanta. Friendly people. Good food.
Twenty degrees and a foot of newfallen snow on the ground in Minneapolis. Windy. Four-foot drifts.
Unfortunately, the Atlanta Market ended today, which made it hard for me to find an excuse to stay another day or two, so it's home to the snow and ice.
Aside from a brief downpour Sunday morning, the weather cooperated in a big way with the Western-English Atlanta Trade Show. About 105 booths were part of the show, which would make it the industry's third largest trade show at this point behind Denver and AETA Expo.

We'll have a figure on number of buyers later from organizer Roger Tully. By any measuring stick, this would be considered a successful market. Tully has managed to successfully resurrect a show that was mired below sea level and it just keeps growing.

The succesful formula? A strong tradition of a community with a trade show and a large dedicated group of people who desperately did not want to see it disappear. An organizer who knows and understands the equine trade industry, particularly reps (he's one himself). Good food WITHIN the trade show venue (now that is truly an accomplishment. An affordable venue, if not the most pretty. Free parking. Plenty of parking lot space for trailers and mobile homes. Reasonably priced hotels.

There's probably several other parts of the formula I'm forgetting at this juncture. But the one single aspect that seems to have brought success to WEA and Tully Markets is that family feeling. Yes, everyone is made to feel like family at this trade show, but over and above that, all of the trade show "staff" are members of Tully's immediate or extended family. Daughters, sons-in-laws, sisters and some who have no blood relationship but wanted to be part of the fun fill all of the key roles in this production.

They do as good a job at coordinating and hosting as any professionally paid organization. If you didn't have a good time at the Atlanta Market, it's your fault.

I did mention the food but let me reitterate. The North Atlanta Trade Center comes complete with an in-house caterer. Saturday night, the entire shebang was treated to a Mexican buffet that rocked. Not only was the food good, it was hot and served with a smile. Sunday, the lunch entre was roast turkey. Now, this wasn't some pressed prefab turkey breast product. This was the real gobbling version. Monday? Stuffed bell peppers.

To this juncture, WEA is predominately Western in product lines. If there were some way to slap this market up alongside the AETA Expo, you would have the market everyone in the industry has dreamed of for years.

Roger said he's going to make a big push for English vendors for the fall market. Meanwhile, AETA is looking for Western vendors.

Speaking of the fall Atlanta market, we took the opportunity to announce that Tack 'n Togs Magazine would once again sponsor the Atlanta Trade Show Golf Tournament. Our staff had hosted this event for several years, but the effort became far too frustrating under the previous association that ran the trade show.

If you're a golfer and are going to be in Atlanta for market this fall, bring your golf clubs! We'll have more details on the tournament in the next few weeks.

The Real Deal

A few months back, an owner of one of the companies that serves our industry asked me about the newly restarted Atlanta Market and the market organizer Roger Tully.

"Is he for real?" the person asked me.

I wasn't sure how to respond.

"I mean ... there aren't really people left in the world who are that nice, are there?" the company owner said. "He has to be the most genuinely nice person I've ever spoken with."

Yes, I assured him, Roger is the real deal. There's not a lot of pretense about him. He does what he says he's going to do.

So this weekend I get to spend some extended time with Roger and his staff (mostly family!) and soak up some Georgia sunshine and warmth.

This is Roger's second market since the former association market here in Atlanta crashed and burned. His numbers appear to be up considerably from the first go-round.

The venue here in Norcross is modest, but serves its purpose. I'll have more numbers later, buyers, vendors, etc.

Throughout the years, a lot of us have said to anyone who would listen, "Let's get markets down to Denver and one other." I have since come to realize that several of our regional markets -- like Atlanta -- have become such a tradition, they may never disappear.

But think of the dream show that could be created if somehow the Tully Market in Atlanta could be merged with the AETA Expo. Western meets English. Now that would be a winning combination.

Something to Stand For

The British call trade show booths "stands." But that's not the only difference. Since BETA International is the only trade show many in the UK attend each year, they put their heart, soul and a good bit of quid into the effort. Even small stands generally have very lively presentations.

This year, the top award for a stand at BETA was won by Equilibrium Product Ltd, a company that sells a variety of horse products. The stand was a good blending of beauty and function.
As you can see in the pictures above, it was divided into two sections by a tower. Inside the tower were additional products and other storage items. On one side were all the products. On the other side were working tables. Customers began their journey on the product side, took the opportunity to touch, feel and consider and then crossed to the opposite side to write orders.

Instead of the standard plastic horse models, Equilibrium went to an engineering firm and had modern art versions of horses constructed for use in their stand. Coupled with high-quality flooring and a great lighting scheme, it's easy to see how this stand was considered the best in the show by the judges.

In the United States, where most companies attend several trade shows each year, the need is for a stand that's more portable and less extensive to build and strike. Far too many companies simply set up on a table divided with curtains and leave it at that.

Somehow, we have to convince those who show in American trade shows to adopt the BETA standard, put a little thought and life into their stands for the benefit of everyone. Interesting how many vendors in the US push retailers to spruce up their stores and make a good presentation and then they come to trade shows and slap up a booth that took them all of 40 seconds to conceive and erect.

Cheers to Equilibrium for their efforts. May your tribe increase.

Just BETA ...

Live horse demonstrations are a highlight of the BETA International Trade Fair. Only one of the remaining American trade shows still utilizes horses, which seems odd considering they are the backbone of the industry.

Yesterday, 2,500-plus legitimate buyers walked through the turnstyles at BETA International here in Birmingham, England. About the same numbers were expected for today (Monday) and tomorrow, the final day of the event.

It was a rewarding experience to be stalled in the hallways of the trade show several times throughout the day because of the crush of traffic.

Those of you have been attending American trade shows of late know that other than Denver in January, traffic jams have been rare.
I am always amused -- if not a bit dismayed -- to hear retailers and vendors bad-mouth the BETA trade fair. It's a matter of perspective, I supposed. Any trade show can improve, but that quality of vendors, the number of products and the plethora of choices are superior here, in my estimation.

Yeah, there are things that could be improved. For instance, I suggest that the BETA organizers hire a "no-smoking" police force. Equip them with some donated fly spray bottles filled with vinegar or lemon water and have them squirt every smoker in the butt.

Besides being a known and proven health hazard, second-hand smoke is just disgusting, and people who blow it the face of others are obnoxious.
I have previously opined about the quality of the food in the cavernous National Events Center where the BETA trade show is held, but I have good news to report on that account. The center has been undergoing renovation, which seems to have also included landing some good food vendors. What American doesn't feel at home with the smell of Subway's baking bread wafting through the air?

So far, everything I've had to eat at the NEC has been great and even the prices don't seem quite as offensive as they had been previously.

Even the weather has mostly cooperated this year. This afternoon rain moved in, but what would a trip to the United Kingdom be without at least one day of bone-chilling, finger-numbing ice-cold rain? Oh well, it was a good chance to test my new rain coat purchased especially for this trip. (It worked great!)

Beating a Path To BETA

Greetings from the United Kingdom! The BETA International Trade Show opened here at the National Events Center in Birmingham, England today. Attendance was about average for an opening day. Exact figures have not been posted yet. We'll get those up tomorrow.

In addition to buying activity, Sunday was filled a flurry of activity. The BETA Innovation Awards were judged and presented. It was my pleasure to serve as a judge for this program this year.

We reviewed a number of excellent entries. I'll share more with you about the winners down the road and in our printed edition of Tack 'n Togs in April.

The Best Stand Awards (booths are called stands here) were also given. We'll try to round up a couple photos of the winners for posting later.

BETA and the trade show in Germany are the two largest overseas trade shows. For years, the two shows have co-existed, indeed, enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. Last week came word that the organizers of SPOGA are planning to expand their event twice-annually and one of those shows will almost directly conflict with BETA -- held once a year.

We haven't confirmed all of the details yet, but apparently the same infection that has hit the American trade show scene is also impacting trade shows around the world. No one is certain what the impact will be just yet, but it has the potential to be nasty.

A bright side of this year's trip to Birmingham has been the cooperative weather. Last year was filled with gloom and snow and ice and wind so cold it cut through layers of clothing and chilled you to the bone. This year, the sun has actually shown and the temperatures have been very moderate.

Stop back tomorrow for more updates, photos and other information.

Up, Up and Away

I always get a little verklempt when I board an airplane bound for another country. I'm probably about as patriotic as the average American, but at some point when you travel overseas, you realize that the freedoms and privileges you've enjoyed all your life suddenly don't necessarily apply.

I've never had a bad experience traveling overseas, and certainly the BETA International Trade Show is more like old home week for me than a foreign assignment. You're not treated as an outsider for very long at BETA. Everyone is friendly and helpful, even eager to get your take on things.

I think it hits me most when I pull out my passport and insert it in my travel gear where my driver's license would normally appear. Suddenly, you are a citizen of the world, not just the United States.

I have long been an advocate of Americans traveling overseas, particularly in the equine trade industry. Whether you're a manufacturer or retailer, getting a new outlook on things from a fresh approach can be helpful.

And the United Kingdom is a good place to start because we share a common language ... well, sort of. There's the occasional Irishman that you have to listen carefully to make sure he is, indeed, speaking English.

The biggest realization for me is that people do things differently all over the world, yet everything still gets done. Sometimes the method or the pace isn't what you're accustomed to, but it doesn't seem to matter that much.

Retailers in the equine trade industry in the United Kingdom face many of the same challenges our retailers here in the United States, plus a few we don't experience. The concept, of course, is the same and the outcome (hopefully) is the same -- satisfied customers and profit.

Over the next few days I'll be sharing my thoughts and feelings as a world traveler. If you read every blog, you should be chomping at the bit to come to BETA International next year!

A Hat Comeback?

Last week, I picked up a copy of the premiere issue of "Classic Style," a new magazine that covers fashion and related topics. The cover story caught my eye.

"Return of the Hat." The author made quite a case for rising popularity of bowlers, homburgs, tear drop fedoras, porkpies and other styles.

"A hat tells the world you're a man. Boys wear caps, but it takes a man to wear a felt hat with a brim that runs all the way around it."

He makes a good point. The story is enlightening.

I did send a comment to the editor that I found it amazing that a style magazine could publish more than 10 pages on hats and never once mention a Western hat. A rising tide lifts all boats. Depending upon how you look at it, the rise in popularity of Western headware is driving the rise in popularity of other hats.

It would be tough to write a definitive piece about the rise in popularity of hats without at least mentioning what's going on in the Western wear sector. But there's no denying the magazines strong focus on hats is a plus for everyone who manufactures hats, no matter what style, type or vintage.

Images from the Akubra Hats Factory in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia, were used to illustrate how hats are made. Stetson was mentioned in several references, along with Dorfman Pacific.

You can visit the magazine's Web site www.classicstylemag.com to learn more.

'Flicka' mah Bicka

Okay, don't get me wrong here. Any exposure that horses get on the big screen is positive for our industry. I know that. There's nothing like watching a herd of horses thunder across the plains to make people want to jump up out of their chairs and go ride a horse.

That said, I think I have found an exception. The movie "Flicka" is now out on DVD and the push is on. I saw the movie in the theater some weeks back. It was not good. In fact, it was awful. Actually, I was embarrassed for the people who made this movie and the people who starred in it.

First of all, the writers took a perfectly delightful book by Mary O'Hara, "My Friend Flicka," and mutilated and scorched it until they thought it fit a contemporary setting. The script is the big problem here. It reads like a second-grader reader.

"Here comes horse. See horse run. Horse runs fast." Duh.

The crew that wrote this script obviously never heard a real horse person talk in their entire lives. On top of that, the premise was unbelievable.

For those of you who don't know, the movie is about a rebellious young girl who apparently grew up on a ranch and comes home from boarding school to spend the summer. Mind you, she grew up on a ranch, correct? Well every time Katy (played by Allison Lohman) gets up on a horse, she falls off.

I grew up around ranch-raised children and I know many ranch families today. Believe, their 16-year-old daughters don't fall off horses unless a horse is making a very determined effort to get shed of them.

Premise two ... every time Katy appears on the screen, she's in a different outfit and each one more frilly and prissy than the one before it. None of what she wears during the entire film is anything any ranch-raised female would be caught dead riding in.

It goes downhill from there.

None of the other characters were anymore believable. Tim McGraw needs to stick to singing, acting obviously isn't his bag. He has two major facial expressions, one is blank and other is pained. The rest of the characters are totally inconsequential as far as the story is concerned.

The scenery and the horse herding scenes are beautiful but they fly by much too quickly and are only marginally connected to the plot.

I think most of us have given up on the idea that another "Urban Cowboy" is just around the corner, but if the next couple movies featuring a horse are this hokey, it may set the industry back a few steps, rather than moving things forward.

The Sleeping Giant Rides

Last week, we listed a trade show in China on our Web site. So now not only do you have more than a basketful of them to attend in this country, there's even one in Shanghai.

The idea behind the trade show is to satisfy the emerging equestrian market in China. Some months back, I speculated in this space about what the future for equine product manufacturers might be in China. At the time, I had very scant information about whether anyone in China even knew what a horse was, other than perhaps as a dinner-time delicacy.

Turns out, they do. At least to the extent that someone in that country believes there's a need for a trade show to supply the stores that sell the products. If you're interested in details, visit www.tackntogs.com and click on "markets" in the green bars on the right. Scroll down to find the China information.

Home For a While

I've attended so many trade shows already this year I hardly know what to do with myself when I'm home anymore! The Hopper Indy Market wrapped up on Monday. Most everyone went away with a good feeling.

Kent's "Big Game" party in the Indiana Rooftop Ballroom was a smash. Great food, great music and, of course, the football game. At one point, there were 80 people watching the game on two big-screen televisions.

I had many interesting conversations with the retailers who attended. Many of them have been coming to the Indy Market for decades. The memory of Indy Markets past is still fresh in their minds.

Most recall a day when the Indy Market was three or four times the size it was this year. Of course, back then, there were far more retailers and without Internet, trade shows were about the only way to show your wares.

I have a short break in my travel schedule now before I head off for the BETA International Show in England.

The rest of this week, we'll take a look at a couple other issues that are facing the equine trade industry.

Gathering in Indianapolis

It's difficult to tell which is creating more buzz this weekend, the Indianapolis Colts playing in the Super Bowl or the Hopper Indy Western and English Market. Okay, that may be overstating it just a bit, but there was definitely a good feel about the first day of the trade show.

In terms of number of booths, this market is slightly smaller -- by about a dozen booths -- than the Hopper Orlando Market. But Indianapolis has been the site of an equine trade industry market for decades. Retailers show up twice a year, like swallows returning to Capistrano.

There were some hard feelings on the part of the members of the former association that operated the Indy Market, but in touring the floor today, I spotted a number of former board members set up and selling their lines.

Obviously, Indy is a regional market to a large extent, but it appears to be an indispensible part of the equine trade industry landscape, like its sister markets, including Reno and Atlanta.

The retailers attending are serious buyers, mostly clad in jeans and comfortable shirts, boots and hats. Despite the obvious Western bent, there are a good number of English vendors, all of who reported doing okay business during Saturday's show hours.

Sunday, the market kicks off with an educational seminar with Tom Shay. In the evening is the annual market party at the Indiana Roof-Top Ballroom, restoring a long-standing tradition at the Indy Market.

Of course, the evening will be co-opted slightly by the two large television screens that will show the Super Bowl from start to finish. Should be quite an evening.

How Super Is It Really?

Did you run an advertisement in your local newspaper for a Super Bowl sale at your store this weekend? If you did, you are in violation of NFL's exlusive right to the name and are subject to punishment. You probably didn't know that, but ignorance is no excuse when it comes to legal matters.

Heck, even writing this blog will probably subject me to a nasty-gram from the NFL reminding me that "Super Bowl" is verboten. They even want "Super Sunday" off limits to all of us ordinary Joe writers.

I understand where they're coming from. We talk a lot about the value of a brand in the equine trade industry. When a company has worked hard to achieve success with a product under a particular name, more power to them. They have a right to be protected.

But in the case of the NFL, they want to rule the world. Their proclamations are an infringement of my First Amendment rights (yours, too).

Some have gone to great and strange lengths to avoid entanglements. There's the ever popular "Sooper Bowl" wording. Then there's "Big Game." Wow. Or how about the charity that raises money to feed the need, called "Souper Bowl." Now that's original.

To give you some idea of how big the Super Bowl (oops, did it again!) really is, consider that 91 million people watched the game last year. Airtime this year is expected to sell for $2.6 million for a 30-second spot. Remember last year's Anheuser-Busch commercials? The horse world talked about those for months! They're in for five full minutes of commercial air time this year.

If you watch the Sup ... errr .... I mean big game, you'll no doubt see some of the best advertising American television has to offer. The quality of the football might be a little lacking, but the commercials will be huge.