If there was a tell-tale hint of how Cosmoprof Vegas was going to be after Cosmoprof Italy back in March, the results speak for themselves:
Down, down and down.
Exhibit space down at least 25%. Attendance down at least 30%. New suppliers down at least 50%.
In the end I didn't walk away with a single new item that got me excited. Sure, there were a few items that were unique and will sell here and there but nothing that indicated that this industry is on the verge of turning around.
This suits corporate America and private equity just fine. They just assume book a suite at the Four Seasons and meet in private. This way they don't have to deal with exposing their products to people that couldn't buy them anyway. Plus the cost savings are terrific and the food is better.
In the end, this show has become nothing more than the ability to meet several existing suppliers in a couple days, shake hands, comment on the show (always the same comments), have breakfast-lunch-dinner meetings and wonder why the show exists.
One thing Cosmoprof Vegas does well is intimidate those that attend. Once you are pre-registered and receive your confirmation, you have to walk a mile to get your badge. You must present a business card and photo I.D. If you forget either, you have to walk a couple miles to fetch. Then you have to walk to the badge holder booth and present more I.D. Then to get into the show, you have to present your badge and hope that their "Navy Seals" security force armed with barcode readers correctly reads your badge or else. At least in Italy you have to just insert your card into a machine and your free. I guess they don't have enough attendees to afford that here.
Cost savings were evident virtually everywhere. Gone were the espresso machines, bottled water, sandwiches, snacks and other fun things. I did manage to snag a few M&M's at the OPI booth.
I felt sorry for the suppliers that had to endure three days of torture. Yes, they signed up for it but you have no idea how painful three days can be sitting on a hard chair for 8 hours. When someone finally recognized me, they were so happy to spend a few minutes off their chair they even offered better discounts!
I can't wait for next year. . .
Happy Wednesday!
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