my new scene

Yes! I've graduated from mall shows and have moved on to trade shows. I'm quite the excited newcomer: I jumped at the chance to visit Manila FAME last October so that I could practice for my company's Hong Kong China Sourcing Fair. Not even a week after returning from that trip last weekend and I went back again to our local spring show.

What I like about trade fairs is that I appreciate the different players in the game. In truth, my position now as a member of the press is probably the most difficult one because people view us as a nuisance, asking questions and requesting for photos, factory visits, surveys. I understand why buyers don't necessarily benefit from talking to us except maybe to point them in the right direction as to where to find information about good products. Suppliers, however, fail to see that sometimes we send those buyers to them!

One rung up is to be part of the organizers. While I'm not actually involved in putting the event together, there are advantages to being associated with the sponsor. Even at the bottom of the heap, I never worry about transportation (free shuttles, anyone?), food (hooray for lunch vouchers!), water (free EVERYWHERE), or lugging around my things (staff lounge).

Suppliers are the other key players. This seems the hardest because they have to put their game face on, bring out the best goods and offer the best deals. And then they have to keep it up for four days. And then make the shipments.

But my ultimate dream is to be a buyer. I find it very exciting to shop, not just for myself, but for a whole country, or whatever market a company caters to. It's like being A&R in music, or a program director who shops for TV shows to license. Wouldn't it be great to decide which items become available to the public? It's pretty intense too, because for the most part it's what makes or breaks a retailer's success.

There are actually so many fascinating things I'm very intrigued to learn about, and this is on top of those skills I so desperately need while I'm still the trudging editor. Materials, manufacturing processes, trends, even the seemingly little things that spell savings and profits for traders, such as packaging, ports, lead times!

Was I meant to be a wheeler-dealer? The thought gives me such a rush! Oh, that I might graduate into buyer-dom!