You need a scorecard...

I haven't posted in a while, but since my last rambling there's been much to chat about:

• The New York Incentive, Reward, Recognition, Bar Mitzvah and Smoker went off in late May. "Quality" was the operative word, which is Business-speak for "traffic wasn't all that great". But I believe it was a good first effort--2008 will tell us if there's a need for a show in New York and/or whether we can get a meaningful percentage of the highest concentration of end users on Earth out of their offices for a couple of hours.


• Promotions East was the next week, in Atlantic City. Attendance was up, revenues were up, exhibitors were up, Brands were more present. Hmmm...


• Musical Chairs is still the name of the game--Jody Wallin is moving to the watch business, and Bob Mazzone is moving out of the watch business (gone from Bulova). Matt Kentner moves from bags (High Sierra) to multitools (Leatherman). Joe Pancza goes from out of the market to back in (Lesance) to somewhere else (Godiva).


• No word yet from Paul Spitzberg, recently exiled King of the Universe @ Coach. I miss him.


• PPAI and IMA are "talking". This is a good thing, because both organizations need each other. PPAI wants and needs Brands to enter their market, and IMA needs the credibility that PPAI offers to the Promotional Products segment. Everybody wins something when these two groups are "talking".


• PPAI Expo will just about be "sold out" this coming January in Vegas. Of all the "major" trade shows in our market, only Expo can boast rising attendance and interest. As much as it pains me to say it, Chicago is showing some of the same signs New York showed years ago. Their Travel side remains vibrant, but the Merchandise side is in decline, fueled in part by a precipitous decline in the number of Promotional Products suppliers and distributors in attendance.


• And finally, one of my old employers has had a change at the top. Sue Rechner is no longer President of Swiss Army Brands. I finally get a chance to use one of my favorite words--schadenfreude. Look it up...

Pete