Behind the 8-Ball

Addition by Addition

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 13:56:49 -0600

The Billiard Congress of America has long been the industry whipping boy. I don’t think the BCA, which is expected to be all things to all people, has ever fully measured up to the expectations of the flock it is supposed to watch over. Either the players are miffed with the association, or the league operators, or the room owners, or the retailers, or the manufacturers, etc.
The common complaint is, “What does the BCA do for me?” It’s a legitimate question.
But here is where I’d like to turn that question around.
“What do you want the BCA to do for you?”
Seriously. I’d like to challenge the retailers and poolroom proprietors to answer that question.
You probably thought this was going to be one of those columns that challenges the BCA to save the industry.
It’s not. This column is a challenge to the retailers and to the room owners. And the challenge is this: Come together as associations within the BCA, and bring forth a wish list that is fully representative of your business category.
This is not a new idea. I’ve challenged the retailers and room owners to form their own associations before. Neither group has ever taken on that challenge, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop bringing it up.
Here’s why.
The billiard industry is fighting for its very existence. The BCA is fighting for its life, as well. The window to correct the industry’s problems is getting smaller and smaller.
For that reason, every decision, every dime, every idea has to be well thought out, on point and with the big picture in mind. And I think the chances of success would be improved if the entire industry put forth a more organized effort, instead of simply sitting back and waiting for 17 men and women in a boardroom to make all the right decisions for us.
The current BCA board of directors includes two seats for retailers and two for room owners. All four representatives are excellent businesspeople, and respected individuals in the industry.
But I've always felt that these directors (and all of the retail and room directors before them), elected by their respective peers, have never really represented their constituencies. And that, to me, has always prevented the board from having a better idea as to how it can best serve those groups.
The answer?
The retailers should have an organized Billiard & Home Recreation Retailers Association, and the room owners should have an organized Billiard Room Proprietors of America group. And those groups should have two representatives seated on the BCA board. Retailers could meet (privately!) en masse every year at the BCA Expo to discuss issues relevant to their own needs and issues. The room owners could do the same.
Then, when the representative directors sit in on BCA board meetings, they could bring with them agendas formulated by their constituencies. That would help create a much clearer path for the BCA to follow. The association could be more responsive, more nimble.
This isn’t rocket science.
Obviously, the barrier to entry is steep. It would require that several retailers and room owners devote serious time to getting these groups organized. I understand that. But every group that was ever formed required that kind of commitment and selflessness at the start.
And you don’t have to go full-tilt right out of the gate. Start small. Are there two or three retailers and two or three room owners willing to call fellow retailers and room owners and simply organize a meeting at the BCA Expo in July? I’m sure the BCA would give you a time slot and a room. Come together for an hour or 90 minutes. I’d be willing to bet that the ball will start rolling faster than you ever thought it would.
I’ll go one step further. Email me at mikep@lubypublishing.com and I’ll do whatever I can to help you put that first meeting together.
I’m not trying to go all Norma Rae on you, but it’s time. And it’s important.
Organize.

Pool’s Support System

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 10:06:24 -0600

As we patiently wait for the economy to recover, it might be a good time to take a refresher course in the things that made you successful before the economy tanked!
The billiard industry has sustained over the years because it is a specialty business. A pool table is a specialty item. Cues are specialty items. Balls and cloth, as they relate to billiards, are specialty items.
And it takes people who were specialized in billiard products to sell and service those goods. Dealers who know the difference between a plywood table bed and a slate table bed. Dealers who know the difference between billiard fabric and denim. Dealers who know how to install tables and service cues.
There is value in that knowledge. And value in the products the traditional billiard dealer carries.
That’s why it is so important that dealers of billiard and home gameroom products don’t lose sight of that fact. The temptation during difficult times is to make everything about price. And it’s hard to argue with that logic. Few of us can afford to lose even a single sale because the buyer can “get the same thing for less money elsewhere.”
But, of course, the product the buyer is using as leverage is very rarely “the same thing.”
That’s when the dealer’s vast product knowledge and superior service should take over, because what the serious billiard and home gameroom dealer can do that the Internet or quick-buck “trunk salesman” can’t do is educate the consumer and remain helpful and relevant to that consumer long after the sale has been completed.
Billiard retailers can’t lose sight of that. It’s what separates you from the rest. It’s what puts the “specialty” in “specialty retailer.”
The point here is that the survival of the traditional billiard retailer … and of the billiard industry as we know it … will depend in large part on the billiard retailer’s ability to retain his or her “specialty” status.
This is not a new argument, but it’s an important one to bring up every once in a while. If the billiard retailer is reduced to selling based purely on price, he or she will cease to exist in a very short time. The brick-and-mortar retailer simply can’t compete against the prices offered by E-tailers and retail monoliths like Costco or Walmart or Sam’s Club.
And a good retailer should be able to prove his/her value to a prospective customer fairly easily. Let’s face it, a pool table … or even a gameroom set, or a bar … is not something the average consumer purchases with much frequency. And because of that, the consumer is often relatively naive when it comes to the difference in the construction of a table, or the nuances of a cue, or the importance of lighting.
And, again, the importance of a retailer’s role in retaining relevance extends well beyond his or her own store. The industry depends on it as well. How? Because if billiards and home gameroom products wind up being manufactured and sold at the low end, support of billiards as an industry will quickly disappear. (Trade shows, tournaments, marketing, etc. will be a thing of the past.)
I will repeat that I am empathetic of the retailer’s plight in today’s economy. Simply staying alive is a victory. But I urge you to maintain your specialty retailer dignity. All of our futures depend on it.

Dream Dates?

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 15:01:29 -0500

The dates are changing! The dates are changing!
It’s got a nice Paul Revere sorta ring to it, doesn’t it?
Since the turn of the century (makes things sound more historically significant when you use that phrase, even though it’s been only nine years), nothing has served as a lightening rod for the billiard industry more than the annual billiard industry trade show. Discussion about the expo has caused veritable wars in the BCA boardroom, clashes on the trade show floor and has proven to be invaluable fodder for this column!
Bring up the topic of the show’s dates and stand back. In fact, try completing the following survey:
The expo should be in a) April, b) May, c) June, d) July, e) any month that ends in –er.
The expo should be in a) Las Vegas, b) Las Vegas, c) Las Vegas, d) Las Vegas, e) any other city that has been used in a CSI television series.
The expo should be a) Thursday-Saturday, b) Wednesday-Friday, c) Tuesday-Thursday, d) Monday-Wednesday, e) Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so that exhibitors have a day off in between to re-stock their booths with free lanyards.
The expo should be a) 10 a.m.-6 p.m., b) 11 a.m.-5 p.m., c) 11 a.m.-6 p.m., d) 10 a.m.-5 p.m., e) open 24 hours a day to help ease the congestion in the aisles.
The expo should be a) open to retailers only, b) open to room owners only, c) open to both retailers and room owners, d) open to the public, e) open only to Las Vegas lounge singers and casino valets.
See? There are no wrong answers!
Which brings me back to the latest Billiard-Congress-of-America-International-Billiard & Home-Recreation-Expo-as-lightening-rod-moment: Yup, the 2010 expo has been changed. And in a slight breach of trade-show-change etiquette, the BCA board of directors pulled off a heretofore never attempted double change! The 2010 show has been moved from its original June 24-26 dates to July 14-16. The astute calendar-savvy reader will detect that not only did the dates change, but the days of the show changed as well. The 2010 BCA Expo will run Wednesday-Friday.
Quite the coup for the current BCA board!
Now this change is certain to lead to much concern, consternation and debate among exhibitors and attendees, but this is where I officially get off the Great Trade Show Debate bandwagon.
And I mean for good.
The point is this: Regardless of what changes are made, the billiard industry trade show will never again be a significant revenue producer for the BCA. Ever.
This bears repeating.
The BCA Expo will never again be the cash cow that it has been for the association and the industry.
Why do I say this? The pie that is the billiard business has shrunk to the size of one of those mini pie tins that was used in the Easy Bake Oven. The days of 1,400 booths and 3,000 attendees are gone. And with them went the days of $1 million profit. The 2009 Expo netted $60,000 profit for the BCA. Let’s assume the association institutes incredibly successful changes to the expo. How much will the profit increase? Two fold? Five fold? Even 10 fold would only generate $600,000. Sorry, but that’s not enough to impact the industry.
Which leads me to Point II: Let’s please stop spending so much time discussing the whens and wheres of the trade show and start focusing on programs, affiliations, partnerships and ideas that WILL generate the monies needed to keep the billiard industry from becoming as extinct as that Easy Bake Oven.
There are revenue-generating programs on the board’s docket that can set the association back in the right direction. Look at them closely. If those don’t pan out, fine. Keep looking for new programs. They’re out there. Other industry associations find them, and they build their businesses on them.
And I’m willing to bet that those associations launch those programs and cultivate those partnerships because they don’t allow themselves to be bogged down by issues that, in the end, are not going to significantly move their financial needle.

BCA Expo Seemed Like Old Times

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 12:58:11 -0500

I’ve got some good news, and some bad news.
The good news is that the recent Billiard Congress of America International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo featured a better-than-expected turnout of buyers.
The bad news is that I have enough room in this column to list every buyer who attended!
Truthfully, the 26th edition of the BCA Expo was about as good as the industry could hope for, given the still depressed state of billiards and home recreation. If you went strictly by appearances, the 2009 expo looked like Turn-Back-The-Clock Days. The footprint (a mere 412 booth spaces) was reminiscent of the show’s early days at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. And, for the most part, the exhibits themselves were scaled back and bare-boned. Exhibiting companies who in the past had gobbled up multiple 16-booth islands, fielded an army of on-floor salespersons and built elaborate displays settled in large part for skeleton staffs and modest booth appointments.
Then again, if you were there you don’t need me to tell you all this.
And if you were there, you can also testify to the fact that, despite the smaller scale, the 2009 BCA expo had to be considered a success — albeit modest — in virtually every way.
For starters, the BCA did an admirable job of trimming expenses without devaluing the product. There was, perhaps, a little less signage than usual, and the BCA booth was a tad Spartan, but the exhibit hall still looked good.
The BCA also shortened the exhibit floor hours in an effort to expand the educational focus of the expo, a move that was met with a fair amount of skepticism but which now appears to have been a shrewd move. BCA CEO Rob Johnson insists that additional and meaningful education will be a key ingredient in the expo’s future, and at long last attendees appear to be buying in. The multiple sessions each morning drew triple-digit crowds. In the meantime, few exhibitors could complain that more hours were needed for product sales. In fact, the reduced hours tended to keep the floor busy throughout the day.
Certainly, the BCA will have to continue to tweak the expo if it is to succeed in the long run. The BCA derives almost all of its revenue from the expo, and $60,000 (BCA’s projected profit from the 2009 expo) isn’t going to sustain the association for very long.
What can the BCA do? They’re not going to like hearing this, but they can revisit non-Vegas sites. The show may be anchored in Las Vegas for the next two years, but let’s face it — 412 booth spaces and fewer than 1,000 buyers opens the BCA show up to a lot of appealing but inexpensive options. Sites that are easier on the exhibitors when it comes to freight and labor unions would have direct impact on the industry’s manufacturers and distributors. They need the help every bit as much as the dealers do.
And while we’re at it, let’s consider a mid-week show. Back when the BCA expo started, weekend dates were secured because most airline’s lowest rates required Saturday night stay-overs. That requirement no longer exists. In fact, when it comes to Vegas hotels, weekend nights draw premium rates. Additionally, allowing dealers and room owners to get back to their stores for the weekend might actually lead to increased attendance.
But the show’s success still comes down to buyers. And those buyers who showed up in Las Vegas will very likely be around in the years to come. They were the beneficiaries of some great deals and quality education that will help them run their businesses better. It’s what smart dealers do.
What else can the BCA do better? It can look for even more ways to convince the dealers who felt that their attendance at the recent expo was a luxury they couldn’t afford that what they REALLY can’t afford is to miss the 2010 expo.

Borrow from the Bowling Handbook

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 08:56:50 -0500

I’ve always found that the most cost-effective way to make improvements in your business is to steal someone else’s well-thought out, researched and documented good idea!
That’s certainly not a new concept. Why spend years of effort and gobs of money developing a strategy when the successes and failures of your predecessors and competitors are right there in front of you waiting to be pilfered?
The Billiard Congress of America — and, in turn, the billiard industry as we know it — is in dire straits. The association’s only source of income is the annual International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo, and the expo is shrinking faster than your 401K.
It’s obvious that the only way the BCA will be able to help its members stave off extinction in the coming years is to develop programs that generate income for both the association and the manufacturers, retailers and poolroom owners that make up the BCA’s membership.
BCA, I give you Strike Ten Entertainment.
Strike Ten Entertainment (STE) is the marketing arm for the bowling industry. Its sole purpose is to develop programs with outside industry partners that bring revenue directly to members of the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA), and indirectly to bowling manufacturers and suppliers.
Now, the BCA has dipped its toe into the “agency of record” arena in the past, paying huge annual retainers to marketing firms and P.R. firms. And bowling’s first foray into this arena also proved to be a financial sinkhole. But this is different. STE is solely about bowling, run by business people who know and live bowling. Initially, it was funded by the BPAA and the United States Bowling Congress, but after just four years STE is self-funding through the contracts it has developed on behalf of bowling.
Billiards needs a Strike Ten Entertainment.
What kind of programs has STE developed for bowling? Soft drink and beer deals that save member bowling centers thousands of dollars annually, and generate huge revenue for both STE and the BPAA. Programs that use bowling centers as points of activation for national companies, which drive participation and bring the game millions of dollars in free advertising. Programs with products like AMP Energy Drink that fund televised professional events, which, in turn, activate bowling centers through contests and giveaways.
The BCA can fund such a marketing arm. And because, at least in the early stages, the key element would be member billiard rooms, the BCA will have a vehicle through which it can recapture a critical part of its membership that it has ignored in the past decade. Offering real value to room owners will help increase the BCA’s membership, strengthen its relevance and ensure the success of billiards’ STE. Increased room membership would also make the annual BCA expo appealing to a host of new vendors.
In truth, the BCA should have funded an autonomous marketing arm like STE three or four years ago, when the industry’s future was beginning to become clouded but the association’s coffers were still full.
But today is today, and the BCA needs this.
The BCA should solicit the help of bowling’s STE. Why? For one, every problem that may come pool’s way in an effort like this has already been faced by STE.
And two, STE's Frank Decosio has already said the group is willing to help.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
I say the BCA should flatter STE to death.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 10:00:12 -0500

One of my favorite quotes is from legendary New York Yankees catcher (and master of the malapropism) Yogi Berra, who, when asked about a particular restaurant in his hometown of St. Louis, stated, “No one goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
Berra’s comment has absolutely no relevance with regard to the upcoming International Billiard and Home Recreation Expo in Las Vegas, but it’s a great quote anyway.
The truth is, the “no one goes there anymore” part is right on the money. The it’s too crowded” followup is where the statement losses any correlation with the annual Billiard Congress of America-produced trade show.
No, the current party line from a preponderance of manufacturers and retailers regarding attendance at the 2009 BCA Expo in June is, “No one is going to be there, so why should I?”
I guess, in a backhanded way, both quotes speak to self-fulfilling prophecies. If people really do stay away, it’s not likely to stay very crowded.
The problems facing the 2009 BCA Expo are rather obvious. A look at the exhibitor list posted on the bca-pool.com website (as of March 22) shows fewer than 100 companies committed to booth space. If that number holds, it would mark the first time in 22 years (and the show is only 26 years old!) that the number of exhibiting companies failed to reach triple digits. It would also be less than one third of the show’s high water mark of 299 exhibitors just four years ago in Las Vegas.
And total booth space? It will likely settle in below 500, another 20-year low water mark.
Certainly, some of the drop-off can be attributed to attrition. Another culprit is downsizing. Most exhibitors are reducing the size of their footprint both for economic reasons and with the expectation that there will be precious few buyers on the floor of the Sands Convention Center.
“Why should I have a big booth and bring a ton of salespeople?” has been the common refrain. “There aren’t going to be any buyers.”
Ah, the buyers. Attrition has ravaged the retail sector as well, and attendance, which dropped nearly 50 percent in 2008, is expected to take another plunge in 2009. Why? Talk to retailers and you’ll hear the complaint, “There are a lot of manufacturers who aren’t even going to be in Las Vegas. Why should I?”
And therein lies the self-fulfilling prophecy. If buyers are convinced their vendors aren’t going to be exhibiting, and exhibitors are avoiding the expo because they’re convinced buyers aren’t going to attend…
Get the picture?
Of course, there is no good reason to not attend the 2009 expo. No one is discounting the fact that the size of the retail pie has shrunk considerably in the past 12 months. And no one is blaming exhibitors for reducing space in an effort to reduce costs.
But, really. Can your business possibly be better by not attending the expo? Are on-the-fence retailers expecting a banner July that would prevent them from getting away? Even for a day?
As it turns out, Vegas is feeling the same pressure that every business is feeling. Airfares are pretty favorable, and the host hotels have all dropped their prices.
As a buyer, I would love the opportunity to cherry-pick the best deals the trade show has to offer. And believe me, there will be deals.
And as an exhibitor, I’d relish the chance to exhibit in a more compact show, where it will be almost impossible to be missed.
I made the argument a year ago that any business in this industry, be it manufacturer or buyer, has no good excuse for not attending their industry’s only annual trade show. Not if they hope to remain in business.
I’m not about to change my opinion.

More Help Is on the Way

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 10:32:05 -0600

In times like these, there is simply no such thing as too much help.
Billiard Retailer was launched on the premise of helping billiard and home gameroom dealers run their businesses more efficiently, effectively and profitably. We’ve never strayed from that charter, and now we’re going an extra step to reinforce it.
BilliardRetailer.com
Okay, so we’re not the first magazine in the universe to launch a complementary Web site!
Still, it’s a significant step in the continuing effort to assist retailers.
The single most common use of the Web is to find information. And undoubtedly, people hop on the Web because they want to find that information as easily and quickly as possible.
BilliardRetailer.com promises to quickly become the same invaluable resource to billiard and home gameroom dealers that its print companion currently is.
Now, with the click of a button, retailers can access past articles that have appeared in Billiard Retailer, as well as information that is unique to the Web site.
In its current form, BilliardRetailer.com offers downloadable pdfs of each issue. The site also includes pdfs of the annual Billiard Retailer Survey. This information would certainly be valuable for staff meetings and as a resource when forecasting for coming months or analyzing your business.
Another annual feature that should be of value through the Web site is the Billiard Retailer Store Design issue. Looking for design ideas? View the galleries of each year's winners of the annual BR store design competition and you'll have a bevy of great design concepts to help get you started.
The articles themselves are yet another valuable resource that can help you improve your business. Print out copies of the sales or marketing articles and distribute them to your staff. Or simply forward the link to your staff and allow them to download the pages onto their desktop for easy access and viewing.
As the site evolves, articles will be archived individually and categorized. For instance, you will be able to click on a tab for, say, “store design,” and get a list of all the articles that deal with that particular topic. Then you’ll be able download the pdfs of the articles you’d like to read or pass around. The same goes for our great marketing, sales and management articles!
And, for those of you who just can't get enough of my idle ramblings, a Publisher's Blog allows you to keep up with my stream of consciousness!
All of this is of particular value to retailers who joined the industry after Billiard Retailer began publication.
Our goal is to make BilliardRetailer.com content-rich and reader-friendly. We know retailers crave information, and the easier and more timely we make that information available, the more valuable Billiard Retailer and BilliardRetailer.com will be.

Leading by Example

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 11:06:19 -0600

As one might imagine, magazine publishers spend a lot of time on the phone. It’s our way of keeping our finger on the pulse of whatever topic we’re covering. In my case, I’m constantly making calls to (and receiving calls from) billiard retailers, manufacturers, distributors, poolroom owners and other persons who have a stake in the health of the billiard and home gameroom business.
I gotta be honest. Listening to all of the tales of woe and predictions of impending doom is exhausting! I prefer the old days, when the industry’s business leaders were too darned busy to talk to me. Now I can barely get them off the phone!
The prevailing theme of these conversations is that the phone lines have gone dormant. (Which is, in fact, why my phone seems to be the only one ringing these days!) Orders aren’t being placed. At the retail level, customers aren’t coming through the doors.
Certainly, the billiard industry isn’t alone in its struggle to survive the current economic crisis. Banks are going down, long-standing chain stores (like Circuit City) are closing outlets, and the Big Three automobile makers are teetering.
But what matters most to virtually everyone who reads Billiard Retailer is the health of our own industry.
That’s understandable. Focus on what you can fix. But there is no easy fix. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find any solution that may alter the landscape even a little.
Regardless, hiding under your desk and waiting for things to get better is the worst possible option.
I still believe that the billiard and home gameroom business can survive. I believe manufacturers and distributors can weather the storm. And I believe retailers can keep their doors open.
What this industry needs to do is find a common goal, small as it might be, to rally around. Something manageable, but something tangible.
Here’s what I would like to see happen.
I’d like to see retailers and room owners take advantage of the Billiard Congress of America’s “Trial Membership” offer. Like it or not, a strong BCA remains the industry’s biggest asset. Why? Because a strong trade association can initiate and run programs that will help the industry as a whole much more effectively than individual companies can. But without a strong membership base and successful trade show, the BCA won’t have the wherewithal to serve its purpose. At the very least, by being a member you open the lines of communication.
Secondly, I’d like to see more of the industry’s biggest companies more actively involved in the process. Sure, the BCA has an image problem, and there has been no shortage of animosity and finger-pointing in the past few years. But now is not the time for the decision-makers at the industry’s leading manufacturers and distributors to sit on the sidelines. It’s time to step up and make a difference. No need to name names. Just look at the industry and follow the money.
If we can accomplish those goals — both simple and very manageable — I think the industry has a fighting chance.
If the industry continues to be splintered and disconnected, however, with every man fighting his own battle, we’re certain to lose the war.
The phone lines are open.

Fasten Your Seat Belts!

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:05:54 -0500

In one of my favorite movies, “All About Eve,” Betty Davis’ character, Margo Channing, utters one of the great lines in cinema. As she’s ascending the stairs during a somewhat volatile cocktail party, martini in hand, she warns her guests, “Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night.”
Unfortunately, on the heels of an already volatile two-year slump, billiard and home gameroom retailers are facing the same advice heading into 2009. It’s virtually impossible to find an analyst predicting a positive retail outlook for the coming year. With the economy flat and prices rising, consumers are hunkering down, spending only on necessities.
Nothing you don’t already know, I’m sure.
But while most retailers have already tightened their belts to the point of not being able to breath, there’s an important fact on which to hang your hopes: The economy will come back. It always does. It may take time.
That’s not to say we may not be able to at least sense the tide shifting. We may get signs as early as January, when a new president is sworn into office in Washington. Presidential elections are often followed by renewed optimism, particularly when we are assured that a new face will emerge regardless of which candidate is elected.
In the meantime, retailers will have to continue trimming costs, carry as little inventory as possible, diversify their product offerings, be creative and efficient in their marketing, and continue to offer the best personal service they can possibly offer.
Easy enough, right?
Truth is a number of retailers, determined to ride out the storm, are doing just that and doing it effectively.
“We’re really taking a close look at our marketing efforts,” Tony Stick of The Billiard Factory, which operates retail outlets in Texas, Nevada and Florida, told me. “If areas aren’t leading to results, we’re trying different things. We’re looking at direct mail and newspaper inserts.”
The Billiard Factory, by name, is a billiard store. Always has been. But Stick is the first to admit that retailers will need to push other, “hotter” products to make it through challenging times. And he’s not afraid to take on new products. Theater seating, for one, has been a strong seller over the past two years, and shuffleboard has also sold well.
It’s no secret that video games and consoles have been one of the consumer products that have flourished in the face of the times, and billiard dealers like Stick have been quick to react.
“We offer a few of the stand-up arcades as well as ‘mutli-cades’,” said Stick. “The margins are really low, but they bring dollars into the store, look nice on the floor and keep kids busy while the parents shop.”
Is business booming at The Billiard Factory? No, but Stick and his crew are focused on being lean and efficient until the market changes.
Likewise multi-store chain Watson’s. Company president Eric Mueller noted that his stores continue to push items like patio furniture and stand-up arcades, positioning the store for the day that pool tables return to vogue.
“My optimistic approach is that there is huge opportunity for us in the future,” said Mueller, not afraid to look ahead. “Most of the people who bought all those homes in the past few years stretched to get in, and now they’re just hanging on. But in the long term, the economy will recover and all those people will have to fill those homes with furniture!”
Indeed, the ride might be bumpy, but as long as billiard retailers stay smart, positive and strapped in, we should all survive.

Between a Rock and a Trade Show

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 10:18:11 -0500

Pity the Billiard Congress of America board of directors. When their actions fly in the face of membership wishes, they’re chastised for not listening. And even when they do what the membership demands, the decision can end up being wrong or ill-timed.
Take the annual BCA expo … please!
For years the general membership — manufacturers, distributors, retailers and room operators — has voiced its opinion in attempts to dictate both the time and location of the annual industry trade show. Even then, the BCA struggled with choosing to whom it should listen.
It sided with the vocal minority when it agreed to move the show from July to April several years ago. Bad decision.
Then the BCA disregarded its members’ urges to stay in Las Vegas by taking the show to Houston in 2006, which resulted in 30 percent drops in both buyers and exhibitors. They followed up two years later by moving to Charlotte. That decision spawned the industry’s smallest turnout in 15 years.
Now the BCA has proudly trumpeted the news that the trade show is locked in Las Vegas through 2012!
Great! The association has listened to its members. It’s unwavering in its commitment.
And it couldn’t have come at a worse time!
I completely empathize with the board of directors on this one. They were in a no-win situation. The debacles in Houston and Charlotte probably had as much to do with the industry’s already slumping sales as it did location. But the BCA membership kept blaming it on “non- Vegas” years.
Now we’re going to commit to Las Vegas for four years? Now? With manufacturers struggling to stay in the game and billiard retail stores dropping out of the Yellow Pages like fax machine repair companies?
Timing is everything, and the billiard industry just doesn’t seem to have any.
Truth is, this is the time the BCA should consider staying away from Las Vegas for a few years.
Heresy, I know, but hear me out.
Neither the BCA nor its membership can afford four years in Vegas. At least not right now.
Between the skyrocketing cost of convention center space in Las Vegas, and the burden the “host hotels” will put on both the association (which has to guarantee a large number of room nights) and its members (think the Venetian will offer BCA members sub-$200 a night rates next year?), the Las Vegas shows will be a financial drain. The BCA earns most of its revenue from the sale of booth space. And given the fact that the number of paid booths in Charlotte barely topped 600, the BCA will likely lose money in Las Vegas.
Shouldn’t the BCA at least consider less costly sites until the industry rebounds? Not too many years ago, Kansas City offered free convention space to the BCA. I recall previously trade shows there being pretty good. More recently, Reno, Nev., offered the convention center for $75,000 and sweetened the pot by offering to absorb all of the exhibitors’ “drayage” charges — the fee exhibitors pay to move their booths into and out of the convention center. Ask any exhibitor if zero drayage is a perk they’d appreciate.
I understand the fascination exhibitors and buyers have with Las Vegas. But it’s time to pull in the horns and weather the storm with prudent decision- making.
Ideally, the entire BCA membership would call for this move. It may well save the association.
But in the end, the BCA board of directors may be forced to invoke their own powers.
I don’t envy them if they adopt this stance, but I’d sure support them.