NZGTA Newsletter - August 2014

August 2014

New Chairman and End of an Era…

At the 2014 AGM, Bill Spillane, one of the NZGTA’s founding members and Chairman spanning more than 25 years announced he is stepping down from the role.

With so many changes afoot with the NZ Gift Trade Association we thought it timely to send out an update to members. We trust you will find it valuable.

Bill Spillane needs little introduction as one of the two founding members of the NZGTA, leading it’s formation and growth as a powerful industry voice, representing in any one year close to 600 member Gift & Homewares wholesaler, importer and manufacturing businesses. Bill has been instrumental in building the basis of what remains a profitable and sustainable trading ground for the New Zealand Gift and Homewares industry. It is difficult to give justice to all the very positive initiatives that Bill and his very loyal and long serving committee members have delivered over 25 years. Bill has spent years negotiating on behalf of the association for many industry leading supplier offerings, as well as guiding new and existing importers to visit international trade fairs, connecting them with manufacturers in China and across the world. Bill has strongly defended the best interests of New Zealand wholesalers and with the backing of his own successful housewares importing business was instrumental in driving his own private family acquisition of the NZ Gift Fairs from the Daily Mail Group’s DMG World Media NZ Ltd back in 2009, which may have otherwise seen these events in the hands of any number of international gift show organisers. A few other highlights include Bill and the committee establishing the Key Buyer program for the Gift Fairs, which, to this day remains a unique and valued offering for member nominated VIP retailers to enjoy a program of convenient vehicle shuttle services from airports and hotels, a dedicated VIP retailer lounge and other special benefits to entice our most important retailers and bulk buyers to these events. The committee has also been instrumental in establishing the highly anticipated exhibitor networking evenings at the NZ Gift Fairs. Bill has worked tirelessly to listen and act on industry feedback on how to improve trading conditions and the NZ Gift Fairs. He believes it is good timing for him to step down from the Chair role, leaving the not for profit incorporated society accounts in a very strong, sustainable position Bill will remain on the executive committee in an advisory role, and continue to be a familiar face around the gift fairs. Bill’s ability to implement improvements to the NZ Gift Fairs has been fast tracked in recent years as an owner/organiser of the events over the past five years. The role is one that requires leadership, and a dedication of considerable

As always feel free to send us your feedback at fiona@nzgta.org.nz

Regards

The NZGTA Committee

NZGTA new website The long awaited new NZGTA website www.nzgta.org.nz is finally live! A great new look for 2014. Check out the history of the NZGTA, meet the people behind the Executive Committee and read about their journey in the industry. A dedicated group of people, the committee continue on from their predecessors, guiding and shaping the NZ Gift industry. Make sure you visit the services and benefits page and see as a member what’s in it for you. The expansive range of providers means savings for members regardless of the size or nature of their business. We have also included quick links so you can easily access information including the Gift Fairs.

time and effort each week. These factors along with the NZGTA office also being located at the NZ Gift Fair office, there was no surprise when the committee unanimously voted in favour Brent Spillane as the new NZGTA Chairman, who also holds the role of Managing Director of the NZ Gift Fairs. Brent has helped shaped some of the more impressive NZ Gift Fair initiatives in recent years including GiftTrader, an exclusive online platform for gift exhibitors to list and sell their product in between fairs, which is now enjoying more than 3000 Gift Fair retailer visits each month. Along with a change of chairman, there has been a further change in guard with the following long standing committee members making way for new representation:  Brian Dick ( Toucan Territories )  David Robinson ( Image Gallery ) With the recent sale of David Archbold’s business, Flower Systems, David has stepped down from the committee. Brian Dick is also making way for new exhibitors to nominate themselves for the role. While these resignations open the door for new entrants to the committee, it is important to not only thank, but acknowledge the support and commitment each of the retiring executive committee

members have made during their tenure to the gift industry and our members.

NZGTA committee members are chosen for their commitment and dedication to the growth and development of the gift fair industry.

Our committee continue to draw on personal experience and learnings gained through the development of their own businesses, a valuable commodity they can then share and also to guide them in the decisions they make on behalf of our members.

For more in-depth profiles on your dedicated committee members check out the feature article in the Spring Gift magazine .

n3 Launch & Progress

YOU’RE A MEMBER, SO ENJOY THESE SAVINGS NOW! On 1 May 2014, the NZGTA launched a ground breaking new partnership with n3. There are 100s of good news stories with many of our members already starting to see significant savings for their business. n3 are a partner with the NZGTA with the organisers of the NZ Gift Fairs significantly subsiding our association membership, so this means that there is no additional cost associated with signing up . They’re not selling you anything, they’re just asking that you get on board to enjoy bulk buying discounts that they’ve negotiated to keep your costs down! So don’t delay further or you will miss some great savings.

A typical member saves 12%

A typical member saves 22%

A typical member saves 17%

A typical member saves 32%

A typical member saves 15%

A typical member saves 34%

A typical member saves 5%

A typical member saves 37%

and many more…

The friendly n3 team are available to answer any questions or to assist you with the process to get on board and start saving, so call them today 0508 20 30 40.

Gift Fair Marketing

Online Magazine

Have you checked out the online magazine yet? It’s great to have access to the magazine no matter where you or your visitors are and of course, the additional feature is the “Showcase”, buyers can click on some of the product to view and also to order.

What brings visitors to the Gift Fairs each year?

Have you ever really thought about it? While marketing is no exact science, the XPO team don’t miss a beat, they continue to analyse feedback and data from each show, and with their ear to the ground, they continually evolve their strategy and processes to ensure maximum numbers of visitors are drawn to the Gift Fairs each season. To get an appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes, check out the XPO’s marketing board at the next show, located in the exhibitor lounge. Just a reminder that traditional retailer parking at the next event will be at a premium given the Cirque Du Soleil tent taking up much of the raceway. Retailers will be encouraged to get in early on the Sunday opening day to secure their park early. The organisers successfully lobbied raceway management resulting in securing the raceway track for parking across the 3 days along with the Alexandra Raceway management opening up parts of the racetrack for retailer parking during Spring Gift. Cornwall Park Cricket Club will also be available for parking. Parking changes» parking map » Spring Gift Fair Car Parking

The online magazine is available on the event website www.giftfairs.co.nz a good 4-6 weeks prior to all gift fairs for retailers to research. The physical magazine will only be sent to Key Buyers prior to the fair now but hard copies will be available for all retailers to collect at the fairs. Those that still rely on hard copies will see this as additional reason to attend.

Did you know: the Gift Fairs website gets around 10 – 12,000 unique visits in the month prior to each event.

Gift Trader

The momentum continues to build with more exhibitors signing up or loading more products, pleased with their sales using Gift Trader.

A few facts which are important to share and help you in deciding to get more active online:

A bulk upload facility is available.

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 Now reaching 2,000 products online with 3000 unique visitors recorded each month.  Buyer access to Gift Trader expires, with access only being maintained by visiting the Gift Fairs annually.  An added advantage using Gift Trader, retailers view products and follow up by making appointments at the fair.

Not only does Gift Trader continue to increase its exposure for exhibitor products but currently features strongly in advertising with the NZ Retail Magazine and also contains links to the Gift Fairs. www.gifttrader.co.nz

The word is really getting out there and provides exposure to a wider market share, one which is showing strongly to be in growth mode.

Attendance Prize Just a reminder, we have a fantastic travel prize offered at each fair and entry is available to all those attending who buy from multiple exhibitors, so please make sure you encourage visitors to complete their forms with each purchase. For those busy shoppers, additional entry forms are located at “Fair Info” so tempt them with the possibility of winning a fantastic travel prize, upselling the benefits of buying from you at the Gift Fair.

While there are some buyers from the larger stores unable to enter due to company or store policy, there are plenty of others who will be pleased to be in with a chance. Gift Fair Seminar Sue Lindsay, in association with Icehouse and BNZ recently presented: Sue provided amazing business insight with a very motivational, heart-warming presentation, bringing the human perspective to the issues small business/ entrepreneur faces in today’s market. While we include the power point presentations on our website where possible, there is nothing like being there in person. The seminars are held at lunchtime during Autumn and Winter Gift and are open to visitors and exhibitors, so if you have chance to attend, don’t miss the opportunity, invest an hour in your business and get your ticket. Even if it just affirms your business strategy is great and you’re on the right track, there is nothing like giving yourself a pat on the back! “The Success Agenda”

Gift Fair Hall Allocation Exhibitor positioning at the NZ Gift Fairs is a sensitive issue for all of our members. To give you a sense of the size of the issue, the organisers currently have close to 25% of all exhibitors requesting some kind of repositioning across one or more of our events. The organisers of the NZ Gift Fairs are committed to providing members with a transparent and fair process that their team needs to follow when re-positioning any exhibitors to a stand and specific hall. A few of the considerations the organisers make for exhibitors to get into a finite number of main hall prime positions ( in no particular order ) include:

The number of Gift Fairs 

Investment levels i.e. Fair bookings (1, 2 or 3 in a year)

Continuity 

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If an exhibitor wishes to alternate shape and size of stand at different Auckland Fairs then the organizers are forced to investigate back filling options. Backfilling is not always possible (for one fair over another due to backfill exhibitors wanting the same locations for multiple fairs) so that exhibitor can risk losing their prime location altogether to an area better suited for altering shape and size

 Size and investment made in dressing the stand 

It is always the preference to have larger block stands on boulevard positioning for example

Longevity/History as an exhibitor  number of years attending fairs

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Strategic importance of product 

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Does the product mix of a new exhibitor wanting a prime position help fill a gap that will address buyer needs (as evidenced in surveys) or will it help attract new buyers to the fair

Competitor locations  location of stand/product to any likely competitor

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Backfilling 

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The organisers need to find willing exhibitors to relocate and backfill for instance for one show only, filing gaps left by an exhibitor wishing to resize for one show only. That’s not always easy when all exhibitors want ‘same location’ for all fairs so customers know where to find them The above listing is by no means an exhaustive list of factors considered, but it serves to explain some of the issues that the committee has mandated the organisers to weigh up when making stand allocations.

The organisers have recently implemented an electronic spreadsheet that weighs each factor and escalate exhibitor relocation requests in terms of priority (when availability comes up). At the upcoming NZGTA the event organisers will be presenting a fresh summary of these considerations in detail for the committee to again approve and ratify.

Travel Just a reminder, for those of you looking to travel soon, your contact is Emma Gillan at Corporate Travel Management. We have received some great feedback on the service Emma has provided to date, so get in early with your bookings and take advantage of some great deals. Visit our website for Emma’s contact details www.nzgta.org.nz Winner at Winter Gift Congratulations to Maree Hynes from Timaru, the winner of the Winter Gift 2014 Attendance Prize, a trip to the wine country in Martinborough. Maree has been a long standing visitor to the gift fairs and familiar to many exhibitors, so I’m sure you will enjoy reading all about Maree and the team that support her successful business, Maree Hynes Interiors on the NZGTA website . Winter Gift 2014 The Winter Gift & Homewares Fair in Christchurch has once again delivered a great atmosphere and displays of an international standard. Whilst the region is very much in its rebuild phase we have seen further positive overall trade visitor numbers. This increase was supported by exhibitors commenting on the number of new faces visiting their stands this year and placing very pleasing orders. We were delighted also to be hosting 20 additional exhibitors than prior year, a good message for South Island retailers that this event is recovering and remains cemented on our annual calendar. One particularly pleasing outcome were a few major hotel developers who were first time visitors at Winter Gift this year looking to outfit their new large scale projects with everything from furnishings to tableware, kitchenware and more. These first time visitors had seen Winter Gift advertisements in the The Press and/or radio campaign (a wider larger media campaign that the organisers remain committed to investing in). The organisers of the NZ Gift Fairs have recently purchased the South Island Hospitality Show which means they’ve got an impressive new database of hospitality trade visitors (think restaurant, hotel/motels, bars, etc) to attend the Winter Gift Fairs. If you haven’t exhibited at the Winter Gift Fair in recent times then you need to think again as there are category exhibitors making excellent new business inroads into that market.

Key Buyer Program When Key Buyers visit your stand, look for their distinctive KEY BUYER

badges with a gold seal. Many Key Buyers will be

familiar faces and have a long history in the industry or are associated to very successful retail outlets. Under review currently are the processes and management of the key buyer program. Again, utilising the data collected at the shows we will be looking at various aspects of what makes someone a “Key Buyer”. The committee will review the resulting information and provide their recommendations for action, with a view to ensure we support the people that support you as exhibitors. If you would like to nominate a retailer to be added or deleted to the Key Buyer program then please contact us www.nzgta.org.nz

NZGTA Partners Following the successful launch of n3 to 100+ new partners, the work doesn’t stop there - we continue to identify potential partner relationships which benefit members and also review performance of existing providers. “Services & Benefits”