Winter NAMM Follow UP (2014)
Refreshing, upbeat, well attended — but not sure who all these people were and so much better than being in Negative temperature in Cincinnati… 80F in LA. Life is good.
About the Show..
I wish I could tell you more about it, but this was the first time MDRG/MINGDE Musik has officially displayed at the Winter Namm and I seldom had an opportunity to get out and explore the rest of the show. I must admit, I was truly reluctant to have a booth. So many dealers from the East and Midwest do not attend this show anymore. They site expense, lost sales, low margins and just no a solid reason to attend. Much different than in years past. Winter Namm was a Winter get away..dealers went to the show, they took their staff or family and also saw the sites and enjoyed the warmer weather as a reward for working hard the previous year. Namm was also the place to go and write your orders for the next 6 months… somehow it appears that has all changed. I am sure there are still orders written, but the focus has become more of a social experience and a showcase for your new products that you may have in the pipeline.
What we did see and notice at this years NAMM was a very large turn out of people. I’m really not sure who all these people were. Most likely you were not there and we missed you. But there was a very positive upbeat vibe at this show. So I will take that as a positive !
Namm made some very positive attempts to make HALL E productive for all. This Hall has become the “destination” hall to seek out and find new vendors, products and customers. This year NAMM made a positive attempt to divide the hall into “neighborhoods”. We elected to join the Acoustic Guitar neighborhood as our core reason for having a booth was to meet with our customers (domestic and international) and be able to talk without competing with a high noise level. For the most part this worked out great. NAMM still needs to pre-screen some of the folks asking to be in the different neighborhoods but this was really a minor issue and everyone made and effort to be good neighbors.
The number of international customers that visit this show is very high. Due to the great turnout and the quality and quantity of meetings we had Mingde USA/MDRG will be reserving this same location next year. Our wish is that you will also make the decision to participate and attend. It really is fun to connect the voices with faces and to say “Thank You” in person for the past years business. We hope to see you in Nashville for Summer Namm !!!
