Perry Pugh previews upcoming Know?Show in Vancouver

We are checking in with trade show operators as trade show season gets underway.

Today we hear from Perry Pugh, general manager of Know?Show in Vancouver, Canada.

Know?Show is Aug. 17-19.

What is new for this show? Anything you are really excited about? 

This season we are working with a new show service provider and are excited to improve our offered booth spaces and the overall show experience to our exhibitors.

Also the team working on the KNOW?MAG once again have put together some great editorial and imagery and its always great to see everyone’s reaction to the final pressings.

Are the number of exhibitors up and is the total space of show up?

We are looking at pretty much the same number of exhibitors from last summer, though that should be a little bit up by the opening of the show. The spring/summer show is the smaller of our two, but we are happy with the number of great brands we have returning again.

Any new brands coming that you are excited about? 

It’s tough to single out any specific brands as everyone seems to be stepping up their lines each year. It’s always great to see how our friends that run Canadian-based brands are getting on a world stage.

The folks at Native, Herschel, Lifetime and Sitka are all doing big things, and there are some great up-and-coming lines that have basically launched at KNOW?SHOW.

Now that the recession is behind us, are you seeing brands increasing their trade show budgets? 

We were lucky in that our show was able to continue to grow throughout the recession so we haven’t seen any major spike in exhibitor spending. It seems that now that it has passed, people are able to invest more into their booth spaces, whether it be locking in more space or bringing their own booth to customize the show experience.

How are you ensuring retailer attendance at your show? 

The biggest way we ensure our attendance is maintained is by continuing to have the brands that people need and are looking for available on the floor. So long as our show dates work with these brands’ needs (which always seems to be changing) I think retailers will make it here.

We also have a growing list of events happening including a golf tournament on the 15th, a soccer match on the 17th and a couple parties to be announced. Not only can the retailers see all the brands they need to work with, they can get out and enjoy the fresh air and great venues around our city.