2005 ITA Show in Review
11.02.05

This year’s Trade Show in Nashville appeared to have been better attended than last year’s Orlando venue, but that is just my personal opinion based on traffic that I encountered at and around our booth. While the official attendance figures have yet to be released it was fairly evident that the move back to Nashville did not exponentially increase the foot traffic as was anticipated.

The most logical reason has to be related to the cost of gas exceeding the $3.00 a gallon mark. Historically, the Nashville venue has been the best regional draw based on the number of salons that fall into the 250 mile radius of Music City. Another potential cause for the gradual decline in attendance is the better job the lotion manufacturers are doing presenting their products. More attention is being given to “training” salon owners on the new product lines and programs rather than just doling out the free samples.

On a positive note, the attendees seem to be the serious salon professionals who are looking to make purchases. As a result, we the manufacturers are able to spend more quality time with those who are really interested in our product(s) and how our products will make them more successful.

This is my personal assessment and I’m stickin’ to it, but would be interested in hearing your opinion too. Please take a couple of minutes to complete a short survey of your experience by clicking on this link.