BCPGA Kept Its Word At Show

The PGA of British Columbia lived up to its promise to deliver a set number of its members to that association’s trade show at the end of August at the River Rock Casino and Resort in Richmond.

That number, according to the association’s website, was roughly 245 members representing over 100 facilities. You can read the PGA of British Columbia’s take on the show here.

“I would really want to commend the B.C. board in terms of how they rallied together and did a really good job of getting their pros to rally together and come out and that’s a very significant step forward from where we’ve been in the past,” said Keith Keindel, executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association. Read more

B.C. Show Must Now Deliver Buyers

While the PGA of British Columbia is going ahead with an apparel/footwear buying show on Aug. 30-31 at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, it has decided to not proceed with a hard goods show that was originally planned for November.

“We haven’t completely ruled out the possibility of running something in November, even something for the local reps, but at this point, there will be no full-on show,” said interim executive director Donald Miyazaki.

“A lot of the feedback that we received from both suppliers and our members is the difficulty to travel twice. Particularly in November, the roads out here, especially coming from the interior and the Kootenays, they’re not exactly the safest at all times,” he added. Read more

Show’s A Go In B.C.

After some speculation to the contrary, the PGA of British Columbia will go ahead with a buying show Aug. 30-31 and members of the Canadian Golf Industry Association will be in attendance at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond.

“We reached an agreement between the CGIA and B.C.,” said CGIA executive director Keith Keindel. “B.C. may have been going ahead with the show anyway. I don’t know about that, but I know that now, the show is going ahead with the CGIA members attending.”

The key to the CGIA decision to attend, according to Keindel, was a commitment by the zone to ensure participation in the show from its members, a sticking point with exhibitors looking for a return on investment for taking part in buying shows across the country. Read more

Ontario PGA Cancels 2011 Show

The Ontario PGA board of directors has voted unanimously to cancel its 2011 buying show.

The association had moved the show from its traditional October date to August and had taken a new venue at the Toronto Congress Centre. However, the Canadian Golf Industry Association chose not to participate, citing the traditional problem of attendance by buyers.

Ontario PGA president Dustin Kerr-Taylor said in a release the move to August was a test to see if it better-served exhibitors and the buying cycle.

“Since taking over the buying show this winter, we have been in a long process of review to determine the best options for our members and our retail suppliers,” said Kerr-Taylor. 

“It was obvious that the previous format and date was not adding value, so we attempted to find a date earlier that would align better with the retail cycle.  This was a significant change for our membership, but we were encouraged by their support of the changes,” he added. 

Kerr-Taylor added the association will continue to look at different options for the show.

“It remains the opinion of the Ontario PGA Board that there is a version of a buying show that can be productive for the Ontario golf industry.  We recognize that not every supply partner will see value through booking orders at a formal show,” he said.

“That being said, we were obviously disappointed that the CGIA formally voted to not participate with the Ontario PGA after much discussion over the past eight months.  In the end, we were not able to secure enough supply partners to deem the buying show a success.”

For more on the Ontario show and challenges facing British Columbia, click here and here.

Shows Must Go On, Even Without CGIA

Buying shows to take place in August in British Columbia and Ontario will go ahead without the support of the Canadian Golf Industry Association.

The Ontario PGA show was moved from its traditional October dates to Aug. 25-26 at a new venue, the Toronto Congress Centre, while the PGA of British Columbia elected to go with two shows, one Aug. 30-31 and another Nov. 15-16 to allow for better timing for apparel and equipment companies, respectively.

B.C. also moved locations from Penticton to the Vancouver area, where the shows were to be held at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, but according to executive director Keith Keindel, the decision by the CGIA was based on the belief that the shows in B.C. and Ontario still faced a traditional challenge. Read more

August Show Is Worth A Try

Anybody who regularly reads this blog will know that initially, I had my concerns with the August date, but changed that opinion once I thought about it.

I still don’t know if August will be any better or any worse than October, but I think we need to at least give it a try.

If it wasn’t working in October, then you need to try to shake it up a little and that’s what the Ontario PGA has done by moving the dates. I think you have to keep changing, even when things seem to be working well just to keep a product or an event fresh.

The Ontario PGA has done its due diligence. It’s not like they’re suggesting they run the show between Christmas and New Year. They’ve checked out if people can get their samples or whether most golf professionals can make it.

As I’ve said in the past, I’m going to make every effort to be there and I know Dennis Firth and his team here at Coppinwood will go, so it’s not like they’ve announced the new dates and everyone has said they’re not going.

We know the new dates. We’ve planned for it. We might not be able to stay as long at the show, but maybe some can stay longer. Everyone has different circumstances, but I hope we can give the new dates at least a shot and I hope it works out for everybody in the industry because we want everybody to prosper.

New Look Shows Could Face Same Old Problem

Through all of the discussions and arguments that have surrounded the Canadian buying shows, and there have been plenty of them over the years, several changes have been made as a result.

Many of them have downsized from big booth to smaller pipe-and-drape rep shows.

This year, the Ontario PGA show was moved from October to August and to a new venue at the Toronto Congress Centre. B.C. would like to do two shows in 2011, one in August and the other in November and in Vancouver, instead of Penticton.

Despite all of these changes, the main problem that has haunted the shows over the years still exists in the eyes of member companies within the Canadian Golf Industry Association and it won’t be cured by date and/or venue changes, according to that association’s executive director Keith Keindel. Read more

CGIA Voices Concerns About Buying Shows

The Ontario PGA hopes a meeting with executives of the Canadian Golf Industry Association in early June will lead to CGIA member companies participating in its 2011 buying show, which has moved to new dates in August. You can read the original announcement on those new Ontario dates and venue by clicking here.

Ontario PGA president Dustin Kerr-Taylor met with CGIA executive director Keith Keindel last Thursday to discuss the CGIA’s concerns about the August show and it was agreed to bring his association’s and the CGIA’s boards of directors together at a date yet to be determined.

The main concern on the part of the CGIA is whether Ontario golf professionals will attend the August show in significant numbers, but there are others, according to Keindel.

“One of the problems with the date is when you move it back into August, you’ve got all the hard goods suppliers who don’t have samples and I guess one of the questions is do you believe that you’re going to get more pros out in August than what you get out in October?” said Keindel.

Many of those concerns have also been voiced by the CGIA to the PGA of British Columbia, which has been planning a couple of shows, one in August and one in November, according to Keindel.

“We sent them a letter telling them what our concerns were and we haven’t heard back,” said Keindel, adding that attendance is a concern in both provinces.

“(B.C.) switched venues. They’ve moved from being out in Penticton to moving into Vancouver. Their claim there is that that will improve the attendance, but we have some of the same issues, which is do you believe you’re going to get more pros to show up in August when they wouldn’t come in October,” he added.

Kerr-Taylor believes Ontario pros will respond to the new dates and he hopes to get that message across.

“The Ontario PGA is right now working forward to find the best possible solution that best fits our partners and our association,” he said.

“For us, we firmly believe that our professionals will support the show. The reality is that the PGA show in October, the numbers were decreasing every year,” said Kerr-Taylor, pointing out that was the reason for changing to summer dates.

“It needed a change. Our reasoning for doing the show was listening to the apparel manufacturers wanting to get their orders in at such an early date,” he said, adding that the hard goods selling cycle is ongoing throughout the year.

“In August, most (golf facilities) have more staff. At the end of October, you’re on a skeleton staff – some people have a hard time going. This way, there’s more staff around and the reality is there’s time to take a day (to attend the buying show),” said Kerr-Taylor.

Keep an eye on GNN for more developments on this story.

Show Challenges Aren’t Exclusive To Ontario

Keith Keindel, executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association, is hoping to get a jingle from the Ontario PGA sometime soon to discuss the future of its beleaguered fall buying show, which continued to evolve yesterday.

Reed Exhibitions, which has owned the show since 2001, announced that it was handing it back to the association and walking away, citing the need to focus on its PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando and its Fall Expo in Las Vegas.

However, Reed isn’t likely to just hand back a property that’s a big money maker and it’s no secret that attendees and exhibitors have been dropping over the past decade for a variety of reasons. Read more

Industry Focuses On “Early Adopters”

Keith Keindel emphasizes that the term “early adopters” doesn’t apply to a new marketing trend in the golf industry, but rather, a new emphasis on consumers who are quick to jump on the latest products.

“If you’re going to introduce a new product, you’ve got a certain segment of people who, everything that’s new, they buy,” explained the executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association. “They’re the people who are willing to buy the newest every year.”

Based on his discussions with various companies, many of those discussions with reps in the United States, this segment will be targeted more than ever in the near future. Read more

CGIA Executive Director Is Optimistic, But Sees Potential Challenges

Keith Keindel detects the same economic optimism that GNN has been discussing since the calendar flipped to 2010.

Take a look at the current GNN poll and you will see that the majority of respondents have indicated a positive outlook for this year and the executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association goes along with that.

“I think it would be fair to say it’s optimistic about it being a better year than the previous year,” said Keindel.

“The dollar has stabilized to a certain extent, at least to within a range that’s much more manageable than what it was a year ago at this time where you had some pretty nasty surprises,” he said.

“The other thing that I think fits in with that is commodity prices have stabilized to a certain extent, at least the commodities that we use in the golf area. In fact, in many cases, they’ve come down from what they were a year, a year-and-a-half ago and that’s helped too,” he added.

While the Great Depression that some were predicting never materialized in 2009, it was indeed a challenging year for companies and while sales may have been affected for many, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, particularly in credit departments. Read more

CGIA, Zones Are Settling Their Issues In Tough Times

Keith Keindel admits he was a little surprised when he heard Reed Exhibitions, which operates the Ontario PGA Show, was for all intents and purposes shutting down its Canadian operation and running the Ontario show out of its headquarters in Norwalk, Ct.

However, the executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association understands that there are likely concerns for Reed outside of the golf industry, something show manager John McGeary, admitted on Tuesday when he said a jewellery show run by Reed in Canada will be run the same way as the Ontario PGA show.

“Keith was an executive within the golf industry and he understands that you have to make the tough decisions when it comes to overhead,” said McGeary, who has been instrumental in helping solve some of the serious issues in Ontario between exhibitors and the show.

“Keith and I have worked really well together in the last year,” said McGeary. “We took some cost-saving measures for the exhibitors, so we went to pipe-and-drape and I worked very collaboratively with Keith in that regard. Read more

Scaled-Back Fall Buying Shows Are Part of An Evolution

There have been a number of potential solutions over the years to the ongoing saga of the fall Canadian buying shows, but they were always dismissed for various reasons.

From the exhibitors’ perspective, there were too many shows requiring too much expense, especially when the attendance by buyers was mediocre at best at some shows and many who did attend used them as viewing opportunities and social events instead of actually conducting business.

The return on investment concerns by the exhibitors were offset by the fact that the regional zones within the Canadian PGA relied on the annual events for revenue, so forget about them giving up their individual shows.

This standoff went on for years despite several ideas that were floated as possible solutions, the most popular being one big Canadian supershow that would allow exhibitors to set up at just one location for several days for buyers from across Canada.

There were other variations that would cut down on the number of shows, including one show each for Eastern and Western Canada and the combining of two or three existing shows into one. The idea was that each zone would receive money based on the number of its members it sent to these bigger shows.

None of these options turned into reality and it seemed the grumbling would go on forever with the occasional threat of a boycott at shows that just weren’t producing the desired results for exhibitors. Read more

Credit, Fluctuating Dollar, Weather Among Issues Facing Golf Industry

Continuing with GNN’s discussions with Canadian golf industry leaders, Keith Keindel says his association’s members are moving forward despite the obvious potential roadblocks ahead in 2009.

“The economy and the weather always tend to be the most significant things,” said the executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association.

“Although it’s interesting how a lot of times when people are out of work, they pass the time by playing golf whole they’re looking for a job, so from that point of view, certainly the rounds can be helped by that,” added Keindel.

Of course, if the number of rounds are up, or at least steady to last year’s, in this economic climate, it would be good news for equipment manufacturers and apparel companies, but Keindel emphasizes that nobody is taking anything for granted in these uncertain times.

“I think, generally speaking, all the manufacturers are concerned about the economy. They’re continuing to introduce new products. They’re hoping that innovation will drive a lot of people to make purchases,” he said, adding that the potential hazards go beyond just making the sale. Read more

Attendance is CGIA Focus for 2009 Shows

Attendance is the main concern of the Canadian Golf Industry Association going forward into next fall’s zone buying shows.

“When I say attendance, I guess it’s the quality of the people that are coming. It’s the buyers that we want to make sure get there,” said CGIA executive director Keith Keindel.

“The way we’re judging the quality of the shows is not just the quantity of people showing up, but are our members busy, either writing orders or showing product all the hours the show’s open?”

According to Keindel, a potentially explosive situation in Ontario that could have led to a boycott has been defused after discussions with the Ontario PGA and Reed Exhibitions, which operates that show at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

At this year’s Ontario show, CGIA members were shocked to see that the 2009 edition would be scaled back from three days to two, but that rates were going up.

Other concerns were that CGIA members had not been grouped together on the show floor and that other events such as seminars and beer gardens were distracting buyers. For more on this issue, see the Nov. 12 version of Hutch’s Blog, entitled “Buying Shows Still Have Issues,” in the archive section of GolfNewsNow.

“Everything went well,” said Keindel, adding that the Ontario show will remain a two-day show, but rates would stay the same as they were in 2008 and that CGIA member companies would be placed together on the show floor.

“There was some concern because the initial rate sheets that came out didn’t list odd sizes (booths), like 10×30 and 10×50,” said Keindel, who adds those sizes will be available in 2009. “There are a lot of members who take 10×50 booths and a lot of them take 10x30s, so that was significant to a lot of people.

“One of the big issues was ensuring that there weren’t any other competing events going on, whether that be education or beer bashes or whatever else during show hours,” he said, adding that such events will now be held before or after the show.

Keindel says he will meet with Reed and the Ontario PGA in January to discuss attendance and will bring up some of the methods used in Quebec to draw qualified buyers.

The Quebec show, just a few years ago, was a flash point for the CGIA threatening to boycott the show, but Keindel says the relationship is now productive and amicable.

“The Quebec zone has worked with us very well in terms of getting more of their members out. They’ve done a variety of things, so we’ll talk about some of the things they’ve done that maybe we can use in Ontario,” said Keindel.

Buying Shows Still Have Issues

T’is the season to be grumpy.

At least, that’s traditionally the case in the wake of the Canadian buying shows each year as November is usually reserved for grumbling from exhibitors about expenses, time spent at the shows, not enough buyers … etc., etc.

Despite a commonly-held belief that things haven’t changed much even with all that bellyaching over the years, the evolution of the shows continues next year when British Columbia and Manitoba go pipe-and-drape, leaving only Ontario and the successful Alberta event as full booth shows.

The definition of a pipe and drape goes beyond small booths and the overall look of the show. It is also defined by the absence of head office personnel, who have the local sales reps looking after show business in their absence.

“We’re happy with those changes and I think, generally speaking, we’re happy with the turnout from the pros and their ability to buy,” said Keith Keindel, executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association.

“Looking at the general economic conditions, I think people are pretty pleased with what’s happened.”

There are exceptions to every rule and this year that is Ontario, where exhibitors were informed that the show would be trimmed back from three days to two next year, but they would be paying more for it. Read more