Portland, Ore. – Following a four-year downturn in overall industry sales, exhibitors expressed a sense of optimism at the 2012 Farwest Show, held August 23 – 25 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
“The Farwest Show experience this year surprised me,” said Grace Dinsdale of Blooming Nursery. “The show has changed character along with the industry changes we’re experiencing, though it appears that it’s for the better!”
Organizers point to a number of changes that gave exhibitors more opportunity for visibility, such as a re-vamped floor plan that opened up more corners and end-caps. This eliminated the long columns attendees had to traverse in order to make their way through the show and upped the “eye candy” factor dramatically.
“Farwest is one of the most beautiful nursery trade shows in the country,” said Sid Miles of Miles Nursery Inc. “The material growers put in their displays this year was probably the best I’ve ever seen.”
Studies show that trade shows are still the number one way that buyers find products and make decisions about what to buy. A number of exhibitors commented that attendees seemed to be targeted to the right demographic for a wholesale trade show.
“Although traffic appeared a little lighter than in previous years, the quality of the attendee had improved,” said John Coulter of Fisher Farms. “There were serious buyers spending more time at our booth this year, asking good questions and placing orders. We felt it was a show that gave us great value.”
Show organizers also heard many accounts that tours in nurseries of exhibitors were way up, with a typical scenario of being busy in the morning giving nursery tours, then writing orders in the afternoon. This could indicate stronger optimism about growth of the industry in the coming year.
“We’ve been exhibiting at this show for 30 years,” said Dinsdale. “We make a lot of contacts and see many of our best customers here but we don’t generally write orders in the booth. That changed dramatically this year; we wrote NUMEROUS orders in our booth. Though we aren’t experiencing the crowds in the aisles of former years, the quality of the attendees seems to have improved markedly! It’s a whole new show.”
During the exhibitor breakfast on Friday, show organizers solicited feedback in order to continue making improvements that most benefit exhibitors. “Farwest is your show,” said Jeff Stone, Oregon Association of Nurseries’ executive director. “Our industry has not only experienced the roughest economic time in its history and that has required all of us to adapt and change. We still have a lot of work to do, reaching more market segments and helping you bring your customers here to fill these aisles. You’re the central focus of this event, and it will only get better with your help and new ideas.”
The Farwest Show is produced by the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN), a trade organization that represents and serves the interests of the ornamental horticulture industry. Any revenue realized by the OAN is reinvested into the industry through education, research, marketing support and government relations. For more information about the 2012 Farwest Show, visit www.farwestshow.com or call 503-682-5089.
The Oregon Association of Nurseries, based in Wilsonville, represents more than 1,100 wholesale growers, retailers, landscapers and suppliers. Oregon's ornamental horticulture industry is among the state's largest agricultural commodities, with annual sales of $676 million. Oregon’s nursery industry is a traded sector; nearly 75 percent of the nursery plants grown in Oregon are shipped out of state. For information, visit http://www.oan.org or call (503) 682-5089.
Source: The Oregon Association of Nurseries
