Thoughts on attending my first HPBA Event…
Thoughts on attending HPBA Pacific Dealer Round Up Event, July 17-20, 2010…
Dave Fraser and I attended our first HPBA event a couple of weeks ago. Even though the Pacific Dealer Round Up does not attract many folks from Western Canada, we thought it would be useful to spend some time on the BOSCA stand so we could participate in conversations with dealers along with the factory folks from BOSCA. Gerardo Besoain, Todd Falco and Shelley Decar are all very knowledgeable folks and we knew we could learn a lot by just being there. I also wanted to have the opportunity to meet other manufacturers and distributors just to compare notes and find out what is going on in the Hearth Industry from their perspective. The second part of the mission was a great success but unfortunately the first part was a total bust.
In my 35 years of attending or participating in trade shows of various types, I have never experienced a show where so few customers actually showed up. In speaking with other vendors, a couple of folks were quite happy with their results but in most cases people were really wondering why they were there. It’s a real shame when this happens because the manufacturers and service providers who spend the money and time to be at the event will seriously question if they want to do this again.
While I am brand new to the Hearth Industry, I am a fan of regional type shows in helping to build community in any industry.
My only hope is the lack of attendance at this particular event doesn’t kill it for future years. With respect to the second part of my mission, meeting other manufacturers and distributors, I had success. What a great bunch of people. I found them really willing to share thoughts about the market place and their products which they were obviously very proud of. One thing I have learned in my short time around this industry is if you ask someone about their product you had better have some time on your hands because it will not be a short conversation. As a Western Canadian distributor of hearth products I came away with several opportunities to explore that could really help build our business. On the pellet stove market side of things my sense is dealers are still sitting on inventory from last season and there is a real reluctance to take on any more inventory until the current stuff moves out. This is no surprise given last seasons’ sales performance. With wood appliances there seems to be mixed results depending on who you talked to and where there market focus was. Ditto for the BBQ grill business.
All in all, I am glad I attended the event. While I didn’t get everything I was looking for I got enough to justify the trip cost and time spent.
Ben Hume, President
Alco Ventures Inc.
