ABC Kids Expo Completes First Louisville Show, Looks to 10th ...

For Immediate Release
October 13, 2011
Contact:
Jessica Jimenez
210-691-4848, ext. 105
jessica@theabcshow.com
ABC Kids Expo Completes First Louisville Show,
Looks to 10th Anniversary Celebration in 2012
The world’s largest juvenile products trade show reports on its 9th annual
exposition at its new location at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
San Antonio, TX - All Baby & Child, Inc., the parent company and organizer of ABC Kids
Expo ® , has released a post-show statement regarding their ninth annual trade show,
held for the first time at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY, on September
23 - 26, 2011.
Preliminary stats showed an overall decrease of about 2,200 after last year's recordbreaking
attendance and a venue change for this year's show. Retail buyers, mostly
from the West Coast, were down by about 400. Final numbers are expected in the next
few weeks.
Attendance figures from the Midwest and East Coast, media, government and special
services were up from last year. Although slightly less than last year, the number of
exhibitors was about 7% higher than at the 2009 show, and net square footage for
exhibit space was 4% above the mean for the last three years.
"Most exhibitors we have talked with had good shows. Some indicated that the show
was the best ever in terms of order writing and quality of buyer attendance," according
to Larry Schur, president of All Baby & Child, Inc. "We were very pleased to see that our
international buyer attendance was the second highest in the event's history, with 62
countries represented. Total event attendance was down from last year, but it is
consistent with prior show years and understandable with the current economy and the
number of retailers who have had to close their doors."
He continues: "While we understand that some found it difficult to get to Louisville and
there are always issues to be resolved in moving a show of this magnitude to a new city
and a new venue with all new contract suppliers, the issues are easily remedied. We
are pleased with the results of the show and the amount of orders it generated for our
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exhibitors. Retailers indicated that the layout of the show floor by category, all on a
single level, made the show easily navigable and was the best in the history of the
show."
Virtually every significant manufacturer or distributor of products for infants and small
children exhibits at this private industry event, showcasing their latest products,
networking with established customers, and working to land new accounts from among
the retailer attendees. Here are some of this year's exhibitor comments:
Sari Crevin, BooginHead LLC: "This was my 5 th year attending the ABC Kids Expo and,
although I was initially hesitant about having it in Louisville, the overall experience of
being there this year was so much better than Vegas. Not only was the town of
Louisville so much more pleasant and reasonable to stay in but, in every way, all the
folks involved in working with the vendors for the show, such as the folks that did the
cart service, the parking attendants and the hotel staff, were so welcoming and
hospitable. I also noticed a change in the buyers that walked the floor this year.
Although it felt like there were less buyers in attendance, the quality of the buyers was
much higher. These folks came to make purchase decisions, not just look around and
decide later. That, in turn, made it a much more successful show for us. I am looking
forward to going back next year!"
Karen Casson, Halo Innovations: "Our experience in Louisville was spectacular. From
the flawless, friendly, easy set up and breakdown to the food, lodging and southern
hospitality we found all over the city, we felt less stressed and more rested to meet the
day than we ever have in other cities. And from a business perspective, it was our
busiest and most productive show ever."
Jesse Mills, Lil' Diner: "What a great show! Definitely the best yet for us."
Barry Cik, Naturepedic: "The ABC Kids Expo has consistently been the prime vehicle for
Naturepedic’s success. From the first show that Naturepedic attended five years ago,
where we had one 10’ x 10’ booth, to the 20’ x 40’ booth that we now have, the traffic,
interest, and resulting sales from retail buyers has been nothing short of phenomenal.
The ABC Kids Expo is the easiest and most efficient way to get introduced and to grow
a product line. The ABC Kids Expo is simply a bargain."
Jane Walter, organicKidz: "Thank you for another great show…It's BY FAR, the best
show we do. We love seeing our retailers every year and building on our other industry
relationships as well. At this year's show, we were thrilled to be able to meet our
German, Indonesian and Korean distributors in person! It was great to finally see them
on something other than Skype. Without the show, we wouldn't have had this
opportunity. We picked up a few new distributors at the show and had lots of media
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opportunities as well - so it was a great show for branding purposes…We love ABC
Kids Expo!"
Brianne Polidori, The Baby Jogger Company: "We had a great show! Some of our
retailers were not able to make it, but it did give us the opportunity to really spend a lot
of time with the retailers that were there and help build those relationships."
Scott Krueger, Westwood Design: "First, I've never been to a perfect trade show, but
boy, I had fun at this one; wrote a lot of business, found everything to be convenient,
and found people who would take care of any problem that came up. Upon our arrival,
all freight was sitting neatly arranged on our booth site and nothing was missing or
damaged. This made set up really easy. We continuously had people ask if we needed
anything. We were not overcharged or 'tip harassed.' Freight out was handled
efficiently. We had a hoot of a time at some of the downtown restaurants - authentic and
not plastic. Also, visited some of the Bardstown Road restaurants. Very cool. Industry
party was fun and much better than previous iterations. Hall organization was as good
as could be expected…hey, we have a BIG industry. Liked the 'outside the hall'
arrangements for vendors like testing labs, etc."
Chet Hong, ZoLi Inc.: "If you're considering providing products or services into the
juvenile space then the ABC Kids Show is the trade fair you have to attend. The show
management group is friendly, approachable and knowledgeable and have created a
great environment for vendors and buyers alike to meet and engage."
The 10 th Annual ABC Kids Expo will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in
Louisville on October 14 - 17, 2012. Exhibitor registration is already underway, with
about half the hall already booked. For registration and information, visit
www.theabcshow.com or call the ABC Hotline at (210) 691-4848.
_____________________________________________________________________
ABOUT ABC KIDS EXPO / ALL BABY & CHILD, INC.
All Baby & Child, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in March 2003. It is a
partnership of juvenile products manufacturers and industry retailers whose primary
objective and purpose is to act as a business league that helps organize and produce
trade shows and educational conferences for the benefit of juvenile products
manufacturers, industry retailers, trade media, distributors and manufacturers'
representatives of juvenile products. The ABC Kids Expo ® is a private trade show and is
not open to the general public.
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