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In Reply to: RE: RMAF is the largest US show. posted by A.Wayne on October 19, 2015 at 13:02:58
The number of rooms and exhibitors.
Foot traffic was down at nearly every show so far this year.
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Foot traffic was down at nearly every show so far this year.
Speaking as a consumer, this is not a bad thing. Most US shows I've attended are too crowded throughout most of the weekend, making it harder to really hear the systems.
It would not surprise me if exhibitors are also ok with somewhat lower traffic. Other than a completely empty room, there's nothing worse than having to cater to a bunch of tire-kickers. I used to exhibit software at conventions in another industry, and I got really tired of talking to people who I knew weren't going to buy. I think, from the tens of thousands of dollars I spent on airfare, hotels, car rentals, exhibit fees, electricity fees, meals, etc., I sold maybe three software packages as a direct result of being at shows. Print advertising and answering the phone sold the rest. Consequently, I haven't exhibited in about ten years.
I "get" that audio is a much more sensory experience, and that people will almost certainly want to see, hear and touch a product before buying it, and audio shows provide that opportunity.
But I haven't been to an audio "show" (AES doesn't count) in decades, mostly because I'm not in the market for anything other than a pair of 15" woofers and a Parasound amp.
Having said that, I just might go to AXPONA in April, especially if it coincides with jazz trumpet virtuoso Eric Miyashiro's performance dates in Chicago.
:)
Except Axpona , there's were up ..........
Yes- I think now that they got some of the kinks out the show is doing better.
I'm wondering what a shakeout is going to look like with all these shows.
"CES has been in eclipse for some years."
That's good to know. Maybe, the next time I want to go, I'll be able to find a decent hotel room and airfare for a reasonable price. :)
Using your astronomy analogy, would you say that attendance at CES has been waning? I don't keep up on such stats.
In any case, CES isn't an "audio show", it's an electronics show.
:)
Its so hard for foreign nationals to get into the US now that the Munich show has taken over for high end 'industry' shows. It is now the biggest audio show in the world.
Because they are using the Airports ... :)
Munich is the premiere Hi-end show, maybe not so much next year with their current issues.
A couple years ago at CES, while working up in the Venetian's attic, a few other exhibitors and I did our best to track the traffic.
Our conclusion was that while there may have been over 160,000 attending the show in general, we saw less than 2,000 of them in the hallways of the audio exhibits --
and roughly half of those folks were exhibitors from the zoo, coming over to gawk during their breaks.
Other than meetings with dealers/distributors, CES can no longer break out a high-end audio brand unless they already have a strong history (think the launch of Golden Ear) or have spent megabucks in marketing (Sonos--and they were never in the audio exhibits, and aren't high-end anyway).
Add in the aggravation to the extortionate costs...bang-for-buck is not good.
I certainly agree on this. It's becoming superfluous. If a dealer or distributor wants to meet with a manufacturer, they can do so at RMAF or Newport. And they still get to pitch their wares directly to consumers, all at a much lower cost. And then there's Munich, which allows them to more easily reach international customers. CES was an important event when it was basically the only game in town. Those days are over. I have no idea what the participation rate is like of late, but I have to believe it's gotten smaller over the past few years. At some point it won't be worthwhile for CEA to support the Venetian as a venue, and it will all be over.
Edits: 10/23/15 10/23/15
"CES was an important event when it was basically the only game in town. Those days are over."
Bada bing!
But they got the name right: "Consumer Electronics Show". Wow, in 1976, who'da ever thunk that consumer electronics would be so pervasive in the average modern household.
:)
CES is done , where Hi-Fi business is concerned.
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