We wanted to note an interesting addition to the PMA menu as they have added what we think will be a fun and informative session to the 2009 schedule. The session will take place on Thursday, March 5 on the PMA show floor at booth L161 (adjacent to Lowepro) from 1-2 p.m. and will be tentatively called "Hot Picks of The Show". The idea here is to feature representatives of the major buying groups from around the world showing their best finds from the PMA show floor.
“Most attendees don’t have the time to look into the nooks and crannies of every booth – so this one hour session will provide the insights of retail thought leaders from around the world,” explained Bill McCurry of McCurry Associates. “Imagine 25 retailers out combing the show for profit ideas and they’ll report back what each of them found as their ‘hot pick’ of the show. Attendees will then have time to investigate what they found. Should be most enlightening.”
Toss in the fact there will also be $2,000 given away at this session, a pretty nice reward for showing up to see the hidden gems others have found, and this should be one lively and worthwhile session.
McCurry will also be moderating another session we think should be a pretty good one – on Wednesday, March 4 from 2-3 p.m. titled “A Tale Of Two Companies”. McCurry called this one, “probably the most long-term significant session I’ve ever done for PMA”
Backing that claim up, McCurry added that the number of companies that successfully transition from one owner (generation) to another is “frightfully small.” The session will cover some of the things that go well, some of the things that go bad and expose the mistakes others made so they don’t trip up those making this transition in the future. Should be mandatory for every owner over 45 years of age or anyone with kids and/or parents in the business. Click here for more information and a complete look at the PMA 2009 session schedule.
