Wow, The Las Vegas Souvenir Show (1) was incredible!

I have attended the Las Vegas Souvenir Show for many years now but I must say that the 2016 show was perhaps the best show in terms of attendance and even more critical in terms of an incredible product selection. I found over 120 new products that I hope to infuse into my aging product line. Over 120! I had at best hoped for 40-50 new products but this year the exhibition space was configured in a much more ‘finder’ friendly configuration. I was much more easily able to navigate the over 1200 booths which represented multiple categories of products such as; resort, tourist, giftware, toys, souvenirs, fashion, jewelry and more.
I cannot wait to infuse these great new products into my product offering as it will freshen my lines and make them much more productive. It will also arm my distributors with many more products in their toolbox. This will excite them and will incent them to focus on selling more of my product than my competitors’ product. Also, due tho the addition of so many products my company can now compete to own certain retail categories by bundling our best sellers with other new products to make a compelling presentation to retailers to allow us to be the ‘category captains’. I love the Las Vegas Souvenir show!
I was also pleased to see that there were a record number of new artists and Manufactures of products at the show. It is great for the newcomers to get the exposure that the show brings and it is mutually beneficial as the buyers such as myself can build new relationships, infuse new product and many times at a steeply reduced price as the newcomers are often eager to place their products even at greater discounted prices that their competitors offer.
There were also a few suppliers who were willing to produce customized products which would be reserved only for one buyer. I was able to get a few of these ‘exclusive’ arrangements on a few products that will be the ‘shiny’ offerings in my product portfolio. This will also help me to differentiate from my competition and provide me with leverage in negotiating with retailers.
It is obvious to see that there is a very positive trend of manufacturing coming back to the United States as there were more ‘Made in America’ products this year then I can remember in several years. (2) Going back before China became such a Manufacturing power. It is advantageous to have several Made in America products in your line as many retailers, e-tailers are wanting to increase the percentage of ‘Made in America’ products in their product lines.
As always, it was great to meet up with longtime friends, many of whom I first met at the Las Vegas Souvenir Show many years ago. The show is a great place to network with other like industry professionals who have a tendency to help one another as we all can relate and commiserate with the others pressures and challenges.
To top off a great show, during the last hour of the final day, I ran into an owner of a Las Vegas search engine optimization– firm. He was passing out cards and happened to hand me one. I have really struggled to monetize my website, to fully maximize the revenue potential that my site has. I have spent significant money on a great website but simply have not been getting the traffic I need. After my conversation with the SEO firm owner, I am very excited and optimistic that his firm can maximize the sales of all the new products I have found at the show.
Thank you Las Vegas Souvenir Show!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Yelp