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The ASD/AMD Trade Show, Summer 2007 edition, marked a new beginning for the venerable exhibition.

Now under new management and revamped in many ways both tangible and behind the scenes, exhibitors and buyers were hopeful of a renewed sense of energy and relevance at each show venue.

The two most impactful changes for the military surplus and related goods community was the creation of the distinctly marketed Military Tactical Outdoor Show, a show within a show. Accompanying the emphasis on a segment of the show's exhibitor base that represents the show's roots, was a re-arrangement and re-orientation of the trade show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Wider aisles, a new color scheme for carpeting and drapery that reflected a military look, and placement facing an array of open doors facing the glass entrance of the LVCC, letting the sunshine in — but not the withering Las Vegas summer heat.

All of these physical and cosmetic changes were warmly received by exhibitors and buyers, as satisfaction with the new layout was near universal.
"We were certainly very pleased with with the physical changes. The layout was much better for the buyers than the previous floor plan," noted Danny Fox of Fox Outdoor Products, a longtime ASD/AMD show exhibitor.

Fox also expressed appreciation for the efforts of the new show management company, whom he believed brought a new level of professionalism and good intentions to the army/navy component of the show.

"I'm happy that the Nielsen company (show owners Nielsen Business Media) put together a young, energetic and focused management team that are very committed to building a better show for our industry. I believe that they're on the right track with the new approach, especially in creating different pavillions for each market," Fox said.

Still, Fox pointed out that cost is still very much an issue.

"The show is still very expensive, but I'm not sure what management can do about that," he noted.

Fox described his company's show experience as satisfactory for a summer show.

"In our view, attendance was not untypical for a summer show, perhaps a little better than usual. We were really busy, and our numbers were as good as we expected," Fox said.

It should be noted that many exhibitors sensed a lesser amount of floor traffic than what is expected at the summer show. However, that perception may have been influenced by the more open physical structure of the show (wider and longer aisles, a much larger entrance area and a generally larger floor area for the Military Tactical Outdoor section). Official show statistics will be reported in the October issue of ANSOM.