Aug 5, 2013

Steady Order-Writing, Quality Resources Define Summer 2013 San Francisco International Gift Fair

San Francisco International Gift Fair exhibitors reported steady order-writing and quality traffic during the summer 2013 edition. Tracking evenly with the summer 2012 edition, attendance for the July 27-30, 2013 San Francisco International Gift Fair included top western region and national retail buyers who arrived ready to buy.

“The feedback we got from our exhibitors indicated that this was a solid order-writing show. We continue to focus our efforts on expanding and strengthening the exhibitor base for the San Francisco show and retailers are noticing,” explains Doug Miller, president, Urban Expositions. “The show’s upscale product mix is proving to be a magnet for business-minded, trend-driven retailers in a range of categories – from museums and wineries to specialty boutiques, chains and tourist destinations.”

The July 2013 edition featured 900-plus booths representing thousands of lines categorized into the following sectors: 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 selection offered retailers a one-stop resource to re-order their best-selling designs and to discover brand new resources.

“This is probably the best show I have attended in a long time ,” said Connie McCulloch, White House Historical Association, Washington, DC. “It’s easy to shop and everything looked wonderful. I loved the Museum section and found a number of vendors for some of my new projects.”

“We were thrilled to be back at the San Francisco International Gift Fair,” said retailers Judith Gille and Sarah Brazeau, of City People’s Mercantile, Seattle, WA. “We’ve found all kinds of fun, new products that we haven’t seen anywhere else.”

“I really liked the show. It just gets better and better. We found so many new and unique resources that really will add a point of difference to our shop,” said David Amos, Mark Anthony Group, Vancouver, BC.

Kitty McDermott Okamura of Sausalito’s Pinestreet Paper agreed. “SFIGF never fails to delight. It’s always a great buying experience.”

Exhibitors were also pleased with the SFIGF experience and the business that was written during the four-day show.

“I continue to be impressed with the quality buyers that are coming to this show,” said Peter Trouw, R-Biz Associates.

“We’ve opened lots of new accounts,” added Ray Brisebois, Flamingo Zone.

“As a new exhibitor, we were looking for good wineries and we found them at this show,” said Cynthia Montgomery, Mommy Tonic, Inc.

In addition to product, buyers had a full roster of time and money-saving buyer services and educational programs to choose from. Among them, deeply discounted hotel rates, an increased parking /transportation rebate offering up to $10 towards the cost of area parking or public transportation, complimentary coffee each morning in the buyers’ lounge, and countless show specials from exhibiting companies. A solid educational program included presentations on a variety of topics ranging from merchandising and add-on sales, to social media, marketing and cash flow strategies.

In addition, Urban Expositions also rolled out its new mobile show app at the San Francisco International Gift Fair, giving attendees and exhibitors a planning and scheduling tool that put all the show resources – exhibiting companies, lines, product categories, events, floorplans and more – at their fingertips.

The next edition of the San Francisco International Gift Fair will be held February 15-18, 2014 at 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 at 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 29 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