COVERINGS 2009 – THE CADENCE LAUNCH
May/01/2009 10:53 AM Filed in: Tile
The Cadence Collection was launched at Coverings 2009. Attendance was considerably decreased from the last time Coverings was held in the Windy City 2007 attendance was 37,000 while 2009’s attendance was 22,000. Despite the obvious downturn in the Economy and a 40% decrease in attendance, show organizers reported, “quality attendees led to a high level of sales interest and activity on the show floor.” This was the first trade show where Architectural Collections exhibited. We had no frame of reference to previous shows as an exhibitor, yet our experience and results echoed what was reported with regards to attendees; they were serious buyers and they were serious about our line.
So what is unique about our line that attracted the interest of the attendees?
First,
It was designed from a retail-point-of-view;
The line had to represent value; i.e., “perceived value”;
The line had to be saleable; i.e., sell day in and day out;
To ensure the salability, it was designed from top sellers from our retail showrooms;
It had to be of today’s fashion; colors and textures were taken from the top sellers from our retail showrooms.
Second, it’s merchandising sample package left nothing to the imagination giving both the salesperson and the customer the tools needed to make an informed presentation and decision. The Master Sample Boards for hanging in the showroom very quickly show the depth and breadth of the line…easy to grasp the overall vision. The Grouted Boards were the most popular part of the sample package…why? Because they show the customer what a installed mosaic would look like. If your business is like so many others, you have to go out and get the business and bring it back, vs. waiting for the customers to come to you. The Swatch Cards are your “on the go” tool kit. And, the Sample Binders are for your presentations in the store or for outside calls. Finally, the brochures are your customers “take away” - handout.
Third, the kit of parts are presented in one Master Sample Kit complete with a Dealer Handbook that takes you from a Credit Application to the Price Lists + actual tile samples of the complete line.