Feb 21, 2013

February 2013 San Francisco International Gift Fair Attracts Premier Retailers From Western Region, Nation

Drawn by its growing reputation as a key resource for upscale designs and unique finds, top western region and national retail buyers from department and chain stores, home furnishing, museums, zoos, aquariums, wineries as well as national, state and local parks and premier tourist destinations flocked to the February 16-19, 2013 edition of the San Francisco International Gift Fair held at Moscone Center.

“The San Francisco International Gift Fair continues to attract a strong presence of top western region and national retailers who come here to find ‘new’ and ‘different’. We heard time and again from buyers on the floor how excited they were to find new lines and how successful their buying trip to San Francisco was because they picked up new vendors that they aren’t seeing at other shows,” said Doug Miller, president, Urban Expositions. “The show’s upscale product mix and the addition of new resources to the growing Design, Museum and Handcrafted divisions proved to be a boon for a number of our buyers.”

The Urban Expositions sales team has continued to expand the exhibitor base with each successive show. The February 2013 edition brought together more than 900 booths representing thousands of lines conveniently organized into 11 product sectors on the show floor, including: Gifts & Collectibles, American-Made Handcrafted, Design, Home & Garden, Museum, Personal Style, Tabletop, Gourmet & Housewares, Treasures to Go, Village Arts, Vintage Collection and World Style Handcrafted.

The vast and versatile selection received rave reviews from attending retailers.

“The San Francisco International Gift Fair proved to be a winner for me. I was able to find five new vendors within the first two aisles and a total of 13 new vendors by the end of the day. The gift show offered national and locally known companies that will make our new store in San Francisco complete,” Jonny Gieselman, Bye Bye Chicago, Chicago, IL.

“I enjoyed the show and the city is fabulous. I met new vendors, saw lots of familiar faces, placed orders for new product and did a couple of repeat orders, so it was definitely worth attending, ” said Suzanne Tawil-Betlach, Director, Balboa Park Visitors Center, Long Beach, CA.

“Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy’s booth had fabulous designs and Keena’s booth was fresh and inspiring. My buying trip to the San Francisco International Gift Fair has been positive,” adds Cheryl Shonnard, Funkie Baby, San Leandro, CA.

Exhibitor reports of brisk order-writing and new business added to the buzz on the show floor:

“The San Francisco International Gift Fair continues to be one of our favorite trade shows. There is a lovely selection of products here and the show floor is elegant,” said Penny Webster, Woven Promises. “The vibe of the February edition is much more upbeat and we’ve seen a lot more foot traffic,” adds Johnny Segers, Woven Promises. “We’ve met a lot of new customers, which is why we come, and we’re seeing our old customers coming back as well.”

“We’ve had a great show, we sold lots of programs and we’ve also sold to buyers we’ve never seen before,” said David Miller, ETC

“Great new accounts! The traffic on the show floor just got progressively better and better each day,” said David Evey, Zensual. “There’s a vibe and an energy that just kicked in and we’ve been writing the whole time.”

Urban Expositions continued many of its buyer friendly services, including a parking rebate program benefitting the San Francisco Food Bank, complimentary coffee each morning in the buyer’s lounge, and a top-notch buyer education program. Retailers were able to attend free seminar presentations on a host of topics, including social media marketing, retail efficiency, buying and order management, as well as a 2013 trend presentation for the giftware and home accessories industry led by Gifts and Decorative Accessories Editor-In-Chief Caroline Kennedy. Another program that sparked interest with retailers was a presentation by Aramark Parks & Destinations Retail Director Chris Lake outlining how to build and sell a winning collection of made in the USA products.

“This year the educational presentations were just wonderful. Caroline Kennedy’s trend presentation was spot on. Our customers are telling us by our sales that they want more fashion technology. Caroline’s presentation had a whole section on accessorizing your technology so it fit right in with are customers are asking for. I just love being able to come here and be a student of the industry,” said Lily Stamets, Manager, UCSF Medical Center Gift Shop, San Francisco, CA.

“This is a show you can’t miss. The product selection is very diverse. I enjoyed Chris Lake’s seminar ‘Real Americana’ and I loved the explosion of all of the made in the USA products at the show,” adds Carlene Miller, Aramark at Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA

The next edition of the San Francisco International Gift Fair will be held July 27-30, 2013 at the Moscone Center – South Hall. The Urban Expositions management team is already working on programs and promotions to ensure the show’s continued growth. Urban will continue to strengthen and expand the show’s Design, Museum and Handcrafted divisions as well as invest a significant part of the show’s marketing budget to buy down hotel rates and quality properties to once again offer retailers significant travel savings.

Exhibitor/Attendee Information
For more information on exhibiting, contact Leanna John at 678.370.0330 or ljohn@urban-expo.com. For information on attending, contact Briana Mackey at 678.831.4573 or bmackey@urban-expo.com or Jhana Jordan at 678.370.0338 or jjordan@urban-expo.com.

ABOUT URBAN EXPOSITIONS
Urban Expositions is the largest gift, airport and souvenir trade show organizer in the U.S., hosting a total of 24 shows each year. In January of 1996, Urban Expositions launched the semi-annual Philadelphia Gift Show, which has become one of the largest and most successful regional gift events in the nation. Since then, the company has continued to grow through acquisitions and new show development. Based in Kennesaw, GA, Urban Expositions offers a complete roster of trade show management services, including exhibit sales and marketing, operations, exhibitor/ attendee promotions and services, media relations, seminar and event coordination, database development and management. For more information, visit www.urban-expo.com or call 800.318.2238