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NEWS BRIEF
(January 5, 2012)
M&M Gift Shows would like to give a BIG THANKS to everyone who attended this year's Show!! YOU make the show the success it is!
OUR BUYERS COME FIRST! YOU SPOKE – WE LISTENED!
Everyone here at IGES/SSS strives to pay close attention to comments and suggestions from our buyers and vendors …our “Advisory Board”! We recently finished our twelfth annual resort and souvenir gift show in Sevierville, Tennessee and this was the first time EVER that many of our buyers reported not having the necessary days available to complete their shopping! When the show in Gatlinburg shortened their show from 5 days to 4 this past November, we had no idea what effect that change would have on our buyers and on our show! With only a 4-day show in Gatlinburg and both shows ending on the same date, many buyers (mostly larger buyers) simply did not have enough time to complete their shopping and see all the new things! Many buyers need 3 days in Gatlinburg and 3 days at IGES/SSS. With the shows growing and more new products to see every year, this will be even more important in the future. All buyers love the fact that the two shows overlap!
Recently, the show in Gatlinburg changed their 2012 dates to Thursday, November 8th through Sunday, November 11. To help solve this problem for our buyers and give them the six consecutive shopping days they requested, we will start our 2012 show on Tuesday, November 6th and end on Saturday, November 10th. Some advantages of holding the show on week days are: much less traffic, lower hotel rates and shorter lines in restaurants.
We are looking forward to an even bigger and better show in 2012 with cash giveaways, gift bags on opening day, our 2nd annual Buyers Happy Hour opening night and much more! We would love to hear from you …our loyal buyers. Let us know what you think about starting the IGES/SSS show on Tuesday in 2012. This is your show and we value your opinion!
Please email your comments to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and thank you in advance!
HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THIS YEAR'S HIGHLIGHTS...
Opening day of IGES was the busiest in all of our history! Thousands of buyers showed up to take advantage of the early morning giveaway bags, hourly cash drawing giveaways, complimentary Happy Hour reception and a full day of shopping!
CONGRATS to our $1000 prize winners...
Janise Bernier with Country Trains of Ellerslie, MD
Kim Swartz with Indian Echo Caverns of Hummelstown, PA
Diane Piliszko with No Buffalo Joe's of Jackson, MI
2011 CAZAM Bags! These were loaded with goodies from participating IGES exhibitors and available to the first 200 Cave, Zoo, Aquarium and Museum buyers to attend the show!
"The ZAG Buyers Lounge continues to be outstanding and the show's management and staff are receptive and easy to work with!"
--Tammy Ward, Buyer, National Aquarium, Washington, DC
The show festivities don't end at 5...they continue well into the evening with various events from our popular cocktail parties to educational and fun meetings and mixers.
Did you know that we host Networking Dinners for buying groups in the resort/souvenir industry? (ZAG, NCA, and new this year, Museum Buyers Networking Dinner!) These dinners are made possible by the generous sponsorships of exhibiting companies in the IGES show.
Are you part of a buying group that would benefit from an informational, educational seminar or event like this? Contact us for more details! This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The attendees of the Museum Buyers Networking Dinner gathered at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, TN. for cocktails, dinner, roundtable discussions and a guided tour of the museum.
Seen here gathered on the Grand Staircase on the Titanic.
UPCOMING NEWS:
IGES/SSS has a lot to be excited about and we hope you will be too!! The show is looking forward to a large expansion beginning in 2013. Our exhibitors will soon call two locations "home":our current and popular Sevierville Events Center plus our brand new facility, the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge!
The Photo below depicts an artists rendition of the new LeConte Center being built in Pigeon Forge. IGES® has been awarded the contract for this beautiful new center and will be adding it to our current Sevierville location to expand the size of the show beginning November of 2013! MORE companies, MORE product lines and MORE reasons to shop in the Smokies!
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2011 TRADE SHOW NEWS (Updated 11/30/11)
THANK YOU to all of our 2011 buyers and exhibitors for making this the best IGES® show in history! We appreciate the trust you instill upon us to represent the best of the resort/gift industry. We look forward to the opportunity to host you again at the 2012 show!!
From all of your friends at the International Gift Exposition in the Smokies®/Souvenir Super Show
Here's what our 2011 attendees have to say....
"Thank you for another successful IGES Tradeshow. I was able to meet with over 40 vendors during the show. The IGES show is such an easy show to work as the layout is so simple to navigate. I was able to accomplish so much and was thrilled to find new and exciting items. The show sponsored festivities added to the fun and excitement of the event. This show continues to exceed my expectations each year!"
-- Kerry Hand, Buyer, Great Wolf Resorts, Lorain, OH
"I was very pleased with the organization of the shows both in Gatlinburg and Sevierville. I especially liked that the Sevierville show and hotel are connected. It made everything very convenient."
-- Jennifer Echols, Buyer, Six Flags Entertainment Corp., Grand Prairie, TX
"IGES is a great show to meet with current vendors as well as source new vendors in our industry. We appreciate the hospitality that IGES extended to all of our buyers. We plan to come back again next year!"
-- Kim Black, Buyer, Service Systems Associates/KM Concessions, Denver, CO
"The IGES show is the friendliest. You are always greeted with a smile and the most positive and upbeat staff that I think I have ever come across. You go out of your way to make it nice for all that attend your show. Thanks again for a great experience!"
-- Suzanne Fisher, Buyer, Indian Echo Caverns Manager, Hummelstown, PA
"I just wanted to again THANK YOU so much for your time and hospitality during our recent meeting. I can't wait to see what we can come up with for next year. I spoke with our President who told me he bought " a bunch of stuff" from the show! Fantastic!"
-- Rob Halcrow, Buyer, TN ARVC, TN
"I wanted to thank you for the party at the Titanic Museum dinner. It was a great to have this opportunity to network, catch up with other buyers and meet new ones. The meal and everything was wonderful and of course I loved the museum!"
-- Tim Murray, Buyer, Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN
"....I spent 3 1/2 days walking and talking at the show and wrote orders with 16 exhibitors totaling about $50K. It was a great show for me! All that the IGES crew does is great for the buyers and exhibitors!....I hope M&M had a successful and profitable show. You helped make one for me. Thanks!!"
-- John Greve, Buyer, Smith & Chandler, West Yellowstone, MT
"The IGES show is fantastic! It's easy to navigate through this beautiful facility and has many vendors including Fair Trade as well as USA made products. Also, October is a beautiful time to visit the area with all the autumn colors!"
-- Nancy Hagerman, Buyer, The Schiele Museum, Gastonia, NC
"I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to attend the IGES show last week. The show was put together really well, and I met a lot of great people. This was a great opportunity to purchase the merchandise needed for our retail location. I know the managers of the other Palace Entertainment parks also found the show to be incredibly beneficial. Thank you again for the opportunity."
-- Christine Lippert, Buyer, Dutch Wonderland Family Entertainment Complex, Lancaster, PA
"What a surprisingly productive show this was for us (the Gift Shop at UCSF Medical Center). I found vendors that I had not run into at other Gift Shows. I also shopped vendors that do business with us already, but they had introduced new items that our customers want. I initially thought the timing of IGES would not work for our merchandise assortments, but I was so wrong. I placed orders for both immediate (and Spring 2012) that we are already retailing in the Gift Shop. This show really opened my eyes in the beautiful Smokey Mountains of Tennessee."
-- Lilly Stamets, Buyer, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
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