FMI Marketechnics Show Produces Food for Thought

T hey were everywhere. Round ones, square ones, some shaped like globes, others like oranges and lemons. Some resembled dice. A couple were even molded after POS screens and credit cards. What were they? They were stress balls. Trade-show toys that were prominently displayed at almost every booth at the 2002 Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Marketechnics Show. It's hard to ignore this message.

Is the retail food industry so stressful? Or was it just this show and the fact that for many it was less than a grand slam event? The original promotions said more than 5,000 were expected to attend. But only 650-700 attendees actually showed up in San Diego, where a few thousand vendors, exhibitors and staff were eager to welcome them.

What happened? Everyone had an opinion. Some say it was the fact that the opening day was scheduled - unfortunately - on the same day as the Super Bowl. (The game originally was scheduled for the previous Sunday, but it was pushed back when the regular season was delayed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.)

"We were thrown a curve this year with Super Bowl Sunday," says Todd Hultquist, Senior Manager, Media Relations for FMI.

Hoping to capitalize on the game, FMI event planners threw a Super Bowl party/opening reception. It looked good on paper. But these were just some of the comments heard on the convention floor the day after the Patriots took the trophy.

- "It was a madhouse." - "They ran out of beer during the third quarter." - "There was nowhere to sit, and we'd been standing for hours at our booth." - "I got half a weenie on a little bun because they ran out of food and had to cut the hot dogs in half." - "Poor planning." - "We walked in and walked out."

But then, no one came to the show for a Super Bowl party. They came for more professional reasons. These statements were repeated again and again by the participants:

- "We're here to generate mind share." - "We're here to build awareness." - "We came to sell our product." - "We came because this is a great place to meet retailers at one time in one space." - "We came because we're serious about the industry." - "We came to support the industry."

FMI is respected in the industry, and as many said, "If you want to be a player in this business, you've got to be at this show."

POS Plus came because, as its rep said, "We follow the big players since we sell their machines." A reseller of refurnished equipment, POS Plus saw FMI Marketechnics 2002 as a great place to see people it can't travel to meet. "We're also aware of the economy, and we want to do our part," said Tim Okerman, the company's Marketing Representative.

Another reason for the lackluster attendance is the economic climate, which is cutting trade-show participation across the country. Corporate travel budgets have been crunched, and companies are sending one person instead of a team. They just can't afford the expense of attending trade shows halfway across the country.

But neither stress nor smaller numbers seemed to affect some of the show attendees. Their enthusiasm for the show and the positive results they reported were encouraging.

"On a scale from one to 10, it was a 10 for us," said O.B. Rawls, President of Hypercom North America. "It was a fantastic show. There was lots of interest. Our booth got lots of attention. It was amazing."

Hypercom came to showcase its product line and leverage the strength of VAR relationships. For the first time, Hypercom shared its booth space with resellers, providing them with a great opportunity to showcase custom software and products.

The lucky VARs at the Hypercom booth were Kincaid, a POS software provider; Praxel, a stored-value software provider; Indivos, a biometrics specialist; OPT, a POS software developer specializing in the "OptiCard" gift card; and Shazam, an EFT switch provider.

The lack of attendance didn't affect Hypercom at all. "We worked the attendance in advance and focused our efforts prior to the show on who would be there," said Rawls. "We knew who was coming. Because of that, we were busy the whole time and had really great visits with customers and prospects. We had lots of time to discuss products."

Rawls was quick to point out that Hypercom knows what works at trade shows. His staff demonstrated effective selling techniques. It translated into a great show for Hypercom.

Another vendor that praised the FMI Marketechnics 2002 show was Catalina Marketing Corp. Holding court at the main entrance with a booth whose sheer size and stature towered over most, this company utilized the show to launch new product lines, reconnect with existing clients and make new contacts.

"We achieved our goals at this show," said Sue Klug, President of CM Services, Retail and Direct Mail. "We did our homework and scheduled meetings at the show with key clients in advance. We will definitely be back next year."

While many vendors were disappointed with the attendance, they were delighted with the attendees. These sentiments rang out time and again:

- "While we lacked quantity, we made up for it in the quality of visitors to our booth." - "We had great meetings with the few who did stop by."

As for the retailers walking the floor, they reveled in the fact that they didn't have to fight crowds to demo products or learn about the latest technology. Many were impressed with the level of sophistication with imbedded technology that was highlighted at the show. Others were impressed with the quality of the vendors and happy they got all of their questions answered. The hot topics were biometrics, wireless and the advanced technology of self-checkout.

FMI officials said they also were very pleased with the show.

"It was a great show highlighting cutting-edge technology," said Hultquist. "We had a rousing, exciting opening session, and that feeling carried through the entire show. It was also a great opportunity for IT and retail operators to come together. We hosted a broad range of exhibitors, with more independents this year than ever before. Companies may not be sending teams anymore, but the decision-makers are the ones who are coming and they came here."

Accompanying Hypercom and Catalina to the FMI party were such major players as NCR, NPC, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, IBM, American Express, MasterCard, Fujitsu, VeriFone, Epson, Casio, Concord EFS, Retex, Ingenico, Chase Merchant Services, Certegy, TeleCheck, ICS, Western Union, UCC and, of course, NACHA.

The event officially opened on Sunday, Feb. 3 at the San Diego Convention Center with an exhilarating general session led by Boston Philharmonic's acclaimed conductor, Benjamin Zander, aptly titled "Orchestrating the Executive Team."

It officially closed with a less than exhilarating luncheon/closing session on Tuesday, Feb. 5 that was attended by a smattering of vendors and retailers.

The originally scheduled speakers were no-shows, and the last-minute stand-ins from two participating retailers were earnest but less than exciting. The majority of show attendees already had left anyway.

In between, attendees were treated to demos, workshops and seminars conducted by CEOs, presidents and senior managers of vendors and retailers across the board. Topics ranged from leadership to CRM to data mining to revenue management to best of breed to the hottest technology.

But by far the most popular event - as is the case in most trade shows - was the exhibit hall. Nearly 300 vendors pulled out all the stops in showcasing their flagship products.

According to the show directory, there were 45 categories of exhibits, including 249 exhibitors listed under loss prevention; 74 POS systems/equipment providers; 17 consultants; 35 under loyalty management; 39 e-business/B2B providers; 13 under EBT; 36 under EPS; 31 under in-store applications, and many, many more. It was lots of high-tech color and lights and neon.

Quite an evolution from FMI's humble beginnings in 1977. Back then, FMI was created as a result of a merger between the SuperMarket Institute and the National Association of Food Chains.

Building upon SMI's annual supermarket industry convention, FMI transformed that event into the premier convention in the industry through education, researching consumer trends, training, broadening government relations, strengthening lobbying efforts and enhancing the industry's image.

The membership of FMI, which has 2,300 companies listed in its directory, is composed of everything from large multistore chains to regional firms and small independent shops. On behalf of those organizations, FMI conducts programs in research, education, industry relations and public affairs in the U.S. and internationally.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2002, FMI plans to present commemorative recognitions and historical retrospectives throughout 2002 with a culmination at the May 2003 FMI show in Chicago. The 2003 FMI Marketechnics show is scheduled for February in Dallas.