A Visitor’s Guide to Trade Fairs

Lee advises newcomers to check on suppliers’ trading terms to be sure it fits their budget. Also check what the minimum order is for free freight, or the freight cost of a particular order, as it can make a big difference to the profit margin. "Never assume anything—you do have to manage the situation. Follow up your order with a phone call when you get home and be vigilant until the order arrives safely. Most suppliers are very good but there is the odd one out in every situation and it’s your business that is at stake."

For Brigitte James, the gift and homewares business and the trade fairs that are part of it, is still new and exciting. She and husband Wayne had planned to buy a business in 2007, but one of the Loot Homewares stores came up for sale near their north Queensland home early in 2006, and the opportunity was too good to miss.

As part of the Loot chain, they can buy as much or as little of the parent company’s stock as they choose, and then fill their own store with other selected items. With two fairs under their belt, they already feel like professionals.

"The previous owners took us to the fair in Melbourne and it was overwhelming," recalls James. "It was a couple of very big days but it was fun. By the time the Sydney fair came around, we had taken over the store so we had more of an idea what we wanted and felt more comfortable about what we were doing."

James says her approach to a fair is to go down every aisle and look at each exhibit. She checks out the products in terms of whether they are something her customers would like, and the people, in terms of whether she feels comfortable about starting a relationship with them.

"I take a binder with me and if something takes my eye, I will jot down a note about it and go back. We tend to order as we go, but we don’t go crazy with numbers of items.

"You definitely have to keep your customers in mind, but, also, if I see something that I think will work and is good value, I’m prepared to give it a try. It may not be what I like, necessarily, but I’m not the customer."

At the end of the day the James’ take the catalogues and their notes back to their room and double-check what they’ve done. "If we’re not happy with anything, we will go back and cancel that order, but we really haven’t had too many problems."

In fact James can only think of a couple of negatives so far, and they relate more to freight costs and lost freight. "One order arrived late and we only received half of what we had ordered, and the freight cost proved to be really expensive, so I wasn’t very happy with that.

"The other delivery was supposed to be five boxes and we received two. No-one seemed to know where the other boxes were. And when we opened the two we received, there was stuff that we hadn’t ordered. The interesting part was the stuff we received was all very good and did very well for us, so I would order again from those suppliers even after that experience.

"Everyone makes mistakes. If they’re not too expensive (and there aren’t too many of them) you learn from them. This is not a science.

"I like buying from trade fairs because you can see the items ‘in the flesh’ and meet the people you will be dealing with," she adds. "That’s all part of the fun as well as being a good way to build the business."