Dear Colleagues
I hope that you are enjoying a successful Summer Olympia 2011.
Given that a number of dealers and visitors have raised constructive points about the Show, concerning, for example, the layout, the atmosphere, and Clarion events, I thought that this might be an appropriate opportunity to send you all an e-mail.In the opinion of many of the Exhibitors, to whom I have spoken, Clarion events have done their best, this year, to please the dealers at Olympia, Simon Kimble and his team having bent over backwards to accommodate us. It is perhaps significant to note that, in March, there were only 58 dealers booked, which must have been stressful for Simon, Chris, Mary Claire, Kate ,Rupert , Dan , Wing and Shelley, all hard-working colleagues, many of whom we have known for a considerable time. Three months later, the Clarion team has succeeded in ensuring the presence of nearly 160 dealers – a considerable achievement.
I trust you will agree that it is now down to us further to encourage the market, and to assist Clarion Events in moving our national Fair forward. We have an established brand, Olympia, the oldest established Art, Fine Art and Antiques Show in the UK, we have a new foundation on which to build, and I believe that we are now witnessing a new era of trust between the market and Clarion Events, on which to build future successes. As part of this new era, I believe that we must continue to contribute to the Show, by adopting at least the following 3 excellent proposals by fellow dealers:-
a) Encouraging colleagues / Association members to return to Olympia and to exhibit again;
b) Starting an Olympia Dealers’ Association / blog so as creative idea’s can be shared.
c) Signing up at the end of this Show for next year’s Summer Fair.
For now, let us hope that the remainder of the Show continues to be a great success.
Thank you for taking the time to peruse the above.
With best wishes,
Elliot
Posted in: Fairs
Jeremy
June 17, 2011
Dear Elliot, I am not really in to blogging but I would like to float my views given to you yesterday in that I believe something must be done to improve the footfall in the middle of the Fair. I had a superb start for the first two days but since then, particularly Monday through Thursday the Fair has seemed empty. The advertising and PR campaigns seem to run out of steam once the Fair has opened. Has any other Exhibitor experienced this or is it just me?
Regards,
Jeremy Taylor
Stand B24
David
June 18, 2011
I thought the numbers of well healed customers seemed to be up on last year..! though I would agree with Jeremy that sales during this period have been a little sparse…but either way I think the show feels much happier and better looking than in the last few years. Clarion and all the exhibiters have done a great job in getting this years Olympia back on track and I can only hope for a good weekend for us all.
David
David Brooker B12
BB
June 19, 2011
just finished and thought it was a major improvement on last year. Lets hope things continue to get better.
Anthea A.G. Antiques
June 20, 2011
enjoyed the show and thought the atmosphere was great, could have done with a bit more biz,also liked the fact that closing time was 7pm rather than 8pm, think the blog is a great idea Elliot , keep it up! Anthea Gesua stand B26
Theo Hare
June 21, 2011
As usual the fair looked wonderful, it really is an excellent venue for this sort of show. The quality of the stock is always magnificent with a good cross section from many genres to keep the public interested.
The one thing that I have noticed for several years is that every time Olympia approaches I call my friends from London and they never know that the fair is on.
I realise that there are advertisements taken out with specialist press and so on, but the general public simply do not seem to know that the show is on. It seems an impossible situation that my friends who live on Brook Green (two streets away) and travel past Olympia on foot and by bus every day did not know the show was on.
This year I drove past just four days before the fair opened and could see no banners or advertising on the outside of the building.
I understand that the council has been reluctant to put up banners from the lamp posts like they used to. If they could be persuaded that any show at Olympia draws people to the area then they may be more receptive. People come to shows, then eat or drink or shop nearby afterwards.
Failing that, there are two very large posters adverting ECO itself at the front of the building which could be used to advertise whichever fair is on.
At the fair we do in Chicago there are flags for the antique show hanging from all the lamp posts for blocks around, and a great big banner out the front, for each of the three shows that operate from the same building while our fair is on.
As a result when we are outside the fair it is immediately apparent that everyone in central Chicago knows that the fair is on.
Attendance figures for Olympia may well be up on last year, but the figures are not enough on their own because so many of those who attend have been coming round for years and already have full houses. The organisers must address this issue in order to get fresh customers through the door.