{"id":3166,"date":"2010-12-24T14:55:23","date_gmt":"2010-12-24T20:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.billiardcoach.com\/home\/?p=3166"},"modified":"2010-12-24T14:55:23","modified_gmt":"2010-12-24T20:55:23","slug":"the-bca-trade-show-27-years-old-and-nearly-extinct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.billiardcoach.com\/home\/2010\/12\/24\/the-bca-trade-show-27-years-old-and-nearly-extinct","title":{"rendered":"The BCA Trade Show: 27 Years Old and Nearly Extinct"},"content":{"rendered":"

A comparison of my first BCA Trade Show in 1990 and the 2010 BCA Trade Show.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Mike Fieldhammer, Billiard Coach, LLC. Player, Instructor and Retailer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

I really got the billiard bug in college.\u00c2\u00a0 What a stroke of good fortune that the small private college I attended had four regulation 9-foot pool tables – two Brunswick Gold Crowns and two AMFs covered in thick green Mali cloth.\u00c2\u00a0 The pockets were large and the game room was voluminous.\u00c2\u00a0 Even with those four tables, there was still room for two classic pinball machines – High-Speed and Eight Ball Deluxe.\u00c2\u00a0 When I wasn’t in the game room which had regular hours from 10 am to 11 pm, I was pursuing my dream in my dorm room.\u00c2\u00a0 I poured over the new issue of Pool and Billiard magazine each month and Billiards Digest every two months.\u00c2\u00a0 The latter was still bi-monthly in the early 90s. I even put new Le Pro tips on my cue every six weeks or so using the old “Lap Lathe.”<\/p>\n

One deep desire that this new obsession ignited was the need to attend the 1990 Billiard Congress of America Trade Show.\u00c2\u00a0 The trade show, established in 1983, was flourishing in the billiard boom caused, in part, by the 1986 film “The Color of Money.”\u00c2\u00a0 I got a couple of industry badges for my college playing partner Elliot and me, and off we went to Louisville. We hit the road in my college sweetheart’s Chevy Nova and arrived at the Bel-Air hotel late on the eve of the big show. I can tell you, it was like heaven. All, and I mean all, the heroes I’d been reading about in my dorm room were there.\u00c2\u00a0 I hadn’t even seen many of them play on television, let alone in person.<\/p>\n

Thinking back, I recall that there were only a small number of big names in professionals who WEREN’T there. In attendance were Mosconi, The Miz, \u00c2\u00a0Hall, Sigel, Varner, Strickland, Rempe, Balukas and more Hall of Famers. Carter, Vickery, Ellin, Taylor, Butara, Hopkins, Archer, Davenport, Pierce, Howard, Martin, plus all the big names in women’s pool were there. The industry was thriving. Players (sponsored or not) must have felt that it was a necessity to attend the trade show.<\/p>\n

Exhibiting companies had booth after booth.\u00c2\u00a0 I cruised the aisles of the show with care not to miss a single booth.\u00c2\u00a0 In my few days at the convention center, I knew if I dawdled or missed a booth I wouldn’t have time to track down the companies I missed. There was an occasional non-billiard industry exhibitor that I harrumphed and skipped on by, but booth after booth of interesting products occupied my time. In those days they did a big charity \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Challenge the Pro\u00e2\u20ac\u009d event at the trade show.\u00c2\u00a0 Demand was so high and time was so short, that it was luck of the draw as to whom you would play.\u00c2\u00a0 Elliot played Nick Varner, his hero.\u00c2\u00a0 Side events like this were standard at the trade show. There was also a time when they held the Hall of Fame inductions and a professional pool tournament to coincide with the BCA Trade Show.<\/p>\n

I was hooked. Over the next 20 years, I’ve attended all but a handful of the trade shows.\u00c2\u00a0 I missed Houston and Charlotte of course, but made it to New Orleans, Nashville, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and many times to Las Vegas. These days, even the draw of Vegas doesn’t pack guests into the Las Vegas Convention Center.\u00c2\u00a0 In July, the enormous LVCC facility hosted not only the BCA Trade Show, but also a FISHING convention.\u00c2\u00a0 Staying at the hotel Elvis made famous, the Las Vegas Hilton, our BCA Trade Show host hotel, was the hot spot in sin city.\u00c2\u00a0 Not because of all the billiard industry folks, but because of all the anglers and Elvi. Once a year, the Hilton hosts a contest of Elvis imitators. Strolling around the hotel, I couldn’t have flung a fishing lure without hitting a fisherman or an Elvis. The booming billiard industry was a small fish in that pond. I spied a pool player once in a while, but I could hardly escape the others.
\n

\"\"<\/a>
Las Vegas Hilton Loves Anglers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Las Vegas Hilton Dedicated Channel<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nI stood in a cabstand line with guys from a fishing industry company just down the block from Jimmy Wetch’s pool room in Minneapolis. It was the big industry event in the fishing world and they even had one closed circuit channel in the hotel rooms running fishing shows 24\/7.\u00c2\u00a0 I suppose those early risers had to have something to watch between 5:00-8:00 a.m. when the show floor opened up.<\/p>\n

All this activity made me mourn the double-dip recession the billiard industry is stuck in. These days at the trade show, professional players are scarce.\u00c2\u00a0 Those who do attend usually are those who are involved in pool in a business nature.\u00c2\u00a0 Think Charlie Williams, Allen Hopkins, Laura Smith, etc.\u00c2\u00a0 Some are heavily endorsed players like Shane Van Boening. Others are posers like Shanelle Lorraine. In any event, the traffic at the show seemed to me to be the hard core retailers, ones who’ve been in the business so long, they’re not star-struck by pro players or don’t know or care who they are.<\/p>\n

Other than the crew from Peters Billiards, I was the only player\/fan\/business owner from the Twin Cities.\u00c2\u00a0 All of the pool room owners who used to attend the show skip it now.\u00c2\u00a0 Same old, same old they say. I can’t blame them for skipping an expensive vacation to schmooze with their industry contacts on their own dime. I totally understand saving the money and tending to business on the home front.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not like they’re missing out on some enormous three day wholesale sale. I’d wager every company taking orders in Vegas would honor the same summer special price for a phoned in order in the weeks following the event.<\/p>\n

Even industry players are finding a reason not to buy an exhibitor’s booth at the show.\u00c2\u00a0 It is easy enough to get a “Non-Exhibiting Manufacturer” or “Retailer” badge to get into the show.\u00c2\u00a0 A savvy person can do all the networking and business meetings they care to while wandering the aisles and meeting for coffee or a meal during the trade show.\u00c2\u00a0 Hot and fresh companies like Mezz, OB Cues, and Kamui Tips didn’t have a booth at the show, but made their presence felt.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d bet everyone at the show, exhibitors and attendees all had contact with at least one of the people from these three companies.<\/p>\n

There are great things about the BCA Trade Show even with a fraction of the excitement of my first experience 20 years earlier. This year there was the potentially game-changing announcement of the partnership with Bankshot Entertainment, Coco-Cola, and Sysco.\u00c2\u00a0 There were some terrific industry specific round tables.\u00c2\u00a0 (Although scheduling it during expo hours make it tough for exhibitors to sit in. I only made it to one session because I was manning the Samsara Cues booth.) Great information was delivered in some Q&A sessions with some very successful people willing to share their trade secrets. A buyer still gets to handle and try out new products. Face to face meetings are still so much more meaningful that email exchanges and phone calls. Business gets done at the show. It still is a necessity for companies to attend at least every other year.<\/p>\n

I’m not ranting about this just to blow off steam, I want to present several possible solutions. \u00c2\u00a0If the show was opened up to the public, I could see the BCA Trade Show returning to its former glory within a few years.\u00c2\u00a0 The reason exhibitors attend the show is to book business.\u00c2\u00a0 If players, fans, and the general public (AKA potential customers) could stroll the aisles and hob-knob with professionals and industry players, the show would grow.\u00c2\u00a0 Exhibitors would make more sales. More exhibitors would purchase booth space. More customers (wholesale and retail) would come because they could do more shopping.\u00c2\u00a0 It would snowball!<\/p>\n

Being involved in the billiard industry for 20 years now, I can tell you that it is a small industry.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, the trade show has been TRADE ONLY for 27 years.\u00c2\u00a0 I would also bet that EVERY SINGLE EXHIBITOR would be willing and able to hide the dealer price book under a desk and have products marked at retail cost.\u00c2\u00a0 Good manufacturers value their dealer network and would also be able to route on-site sales through an appropriate dealer should a sale to a customer happen.\u00c2\u00a0 Dealers in meetings with exhibitors would honor the secrecy of their discount in pricing and keep the costs hidden from the public.\u00c2\u00a0 General information about margins in the industry isn’t a big secret.\u00c2\u00a0 Internet shoppers beat up or bypass dealers to save on sales tax or shipping anyway. Dealers who attend the trade show will no doubt be better educated to sell and support products they carry.\u00c2\u00a0 I can’t think of a single reason not to have manufacturers, dealers, and consumers all attending the BCA Trade Show.<\/p>\n

Encouraging pool fans to attend the trade show isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that difficult.\u00c2\u00a0 Professionals draw fans and running a small 16 player invitational tournament wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be too tough to orchestrate. Many instructors attend the trade show and could be harnessed to conduct pool school classes for anyone interested in learning to play better.<\/p>\n

Even though the cost of attending and putting on the trade show is more in Las Vegas than other cities, it has proven to be the biggest draw for attendees.\u00c2\u00a0 There would no doubt be a flood of pool players, fans, and consumers who would jump at the chance to look behind the wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s curtain and attend the industry only meeting at the hub of the billiard world, Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

As a BCA Instructor for 15 years, I’ve had good reason to attend the trade show.\u00c2\u00a0 My business Billiard Coach, LLC is a retail member of the Billiard Congress of America organization.\u00c2\u00a0 I fully support the BCA and its present leadership, especially Ivan Lee and Rob Johnson.\u00c2\u00a0 With the economy and the billiard slump, they are doing a good job, but we need to breathe new life into the BCA.\u00c2\u00a0 How about letting customers in?\u00c2\u00a0 What have we got to lose? Host a 16 player pool tournament. Run the most comprehensive instructional camp in the world to teach the game.\u00c2\u00a0 We must do whatever we can to put potential fanatics in a position to get bit by the bug, just as I did 20 years ago at my first BCA Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky.<\/p>\n