04172014 Rugnews.com Editorial: Go to Market

 RUGNEWS.COM EDITORIAL:
GOING TO MARKET A MUST
EVEN IN DIGITAL AGE

By Lissa Wyman

In this age of Social Media and instant digital gratification, it's still important for both vendors and retailers to go to market. I had to miss the recent round of Spring markets and I feel like I have lost touch  -- the Human Touch.

I am very grateful that Gary James, my friend and former colleague, represented me in High Point and wrote excellent articles about what was happening there.

But I wasn't there in person to see my friends and share some gossip or to touch and feel the new rugs. We couldn't discuss the state of the industry or the direction it was headed. I missed seeing the body language that often tells me the true story of what is going on. I missed making new friends. I missed the parties and seeing people in their new positions.

And I'm just a lowly observer of the industry, not a real player.

I have been attending home furnishings and floor coverings markets since 1970. In bad times and good times, the criticism has always been the same: Too many markets, too expensive to attend or to show.

That's very true. But attending market still beats the hell out of sitting at a keyboard looking at pixilated products and making buying decisions based on fuzzy images.

Going to market also beats sitting around in the store waiting for a sales rep to show up. When a rep doesn't see a retailer at market, he or she tends to forget who that person is (or was).

And have you ever tried to negotiate via email? Believe me, it doesn't work. You also can't go out to lunch or play a round of golf on the Internet.

Don't get me wrong. Obviously, I love the Internet and how it has opened new worlds and new opportunities and new ways to share our experiences.

But nothing - NOTHING - beats the face-to-face satisfaction of being with our business friends and seeing and touching new products.

For me, missing a market brings a sense of loss. I don't know what to prepare for. I don't feel the trends ebbing and flowing. If I were a retailer or vendor, missing out on those things would certainly have a pretty quick impact on my business.

Missing markets turns us into Rip Van Winkles pretty fast. We wake up and brown is no longer the on-trend color. (By now, I'm sure everyone knows how I feel about brown.)

So I urge EVERYBODY to go to at least one Summer Market. You won't regret it.

I'll see you there!

04.17.14