Tip of the Week

Business SMART:	The Death of MemoryTrends
	By: Dennis A. Conforto A-Z Media Group

The death of MemoryTrends was the talk of the show to be sure. Not only was the show smaller in terms of size and scope, but the retailers appeared to stay away in droves when compared to past shows. I heard manufacturing CEO after CEO state it was the last time they would invest time and money into the MemoryTrends show. Some CEOs went as far as to say the word “boycott”. I simply believe the word “no” is sufficient enough and is the best way to end the waste of time and money on a third trade show. In a very real way it is sad because it was the only large scale show dedicated to the scrapbooking industry, however MemoryTrends and its staff worked to insert themselves right smack in the middle of two other trade shows which are now run by CHA, the industry trade association. There is no question that MemoryTrends worked themselves into the middle where another show simply could not fit. The question now is, “Will the leadership of MemoryTrends continue to push for a trade show that does not add one dollar to the industry’s retail sales?” The hope by many is that it will not. At best the MemoryTrends show is now a table top regional show. If trade shows promoted more retail growth, then I suppose with that logic we could have one every month. The fact is, however, that they promote trade not retail sales. The industry would have been better served if all of its effort went into creating more consumers not more expenses and more new products. Retailers are still waiting on delivery of the new products they purchased at CHA Summer. Most of the manufacturers I talked to felt like they had lost money going to the third and final trade show of the year, this at a time when few, if any, can afford to lose any money at all. Overall sales for the industry are down about 15%. This would mean a decline in overall sales of about $300 million at the retail level. Instead of the industry growing, right now we are shrinking; what’s worse is that it is for no good reason. The time has come for us as an industry to say no to bad practices and yes to the good ones. Clearly the industry has said, no to MemoryTrends as the third show within the industry. The question is, “What does the industry need to say yes to?” In my opinion we need to say yes to any practice that promotes more exposure to the consumer from retailers and manufacturers. One thing is for sure: a trade show is designed for the trade not the consumers. So the real question is, “How, as an industry, do we grow the category?” Does anyone really believe that doing what we have been doing for the last few years really works any more? Or have enough retailers failed and has enough market share been lost for everyone to now agree that it is time for a change? It was for that purpose at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce that members and non-members of the SMART Group met to discuss how retailers and manufacturers could and should work more closely together to make retail sales grow and to grow them now, not later. Manufacturers need to change right now in how they interact with retailers and likewise, retailers need to change how they work with manufacturers. The general practices by both groups have been counter-productive to profits, and the failure of the independent stores would in fact be a failure of the industry. The fear now is that if left unchecked, so many independents would fail that it would forever change the face of the industry. So what can be done, and be done within the next six months? Well, the following is a list of five things that will save the industry from more losses and shrinking market share: 1. Manufacturers and retailers need to shift 80% of all marketing dollars from the converted consumers to the newbies so that we can grow what is now a shrinking base of consumers. 2. Manufacturers who commit to controlling and managing their brands within an independent retail store know the industry cannot afford to have independent stores who appear to be brand-less from a manufacturer stand point. 3. Retailers must learn it is better to choose what manufacturers to do business with rather than choose products from multiple manufacturer lines. Only with loyalty between retailers and manufacturers can we expect increased loyalty from the consumers. 4. Manufacturers must take a stand that this is a two trade show industry and will simply say no to a third show that only adds expense to both the retailers and manufacturers who attend the third show. 5. Manufacturers must create real matching co-op funds to influence retailers to spend more on advertising. The shortage of $100 million in consumer advertising has affected the entire industry. These suggestions will help the industry target the right consumer, place more power in branding, and strengthen relationships between retailers and manufacturers. It will kill off one totally unneeded trade show and create more funds for advertising. In the end stores will look better, turn rates will go up and more consumers will see scrapbooking either within a direct mail piece, on TV, on the radio or in a newspaper ad. The industry-wide crisis was clearly seen at MemoryTrends, now the question is simple, “Do we all have the courage to change now, or will we just wait and think it will all get better with us just doing the same thing that hasn’t worked for over two years?” It will be a sad day for all of us to be at CHA winter and see that as an industry we are not changing fast enough. The change we need to make is simple and not painful at all. However, not changing will bring the industry lots of pain that is not needed, warranted or deserved. We have a noble industry that provides unbelievable products that can change the lives of millions of people for the better. It is truly worth our best efforts to see it be successful. Only change is constant, and change based on growth and profits is the key to being business SMART. The fact that what we all do for a living is noble makes it all the better. The best is yet to come only if we are willing to change. That is what being business SMART is all about.