A new, state-of-the-art venue, more brands and
major buying power built to a lively crescendo as the music product industry
converged in Nashville for the largest Summer NAMM in five years. NAMM members
celebrated the move to Nashville’s Music City Center conducting brisk business,
but also taking in the many opportunities to learn from peers and industry
icons, while networking with the leaders of the global music product world.
“This year’s Summer NAMM reminded me of some of the
past Nashville shows a decade ago when companies were really excited about
growth and opportunity,” said NAMM president and CEO Joe Lamond. “We’re
grateful to our members who came to exhibit, stock up for the fall and holiday
selling season and attend the increased educational and networking sessions
that NAMM produced.”
Held July 11 – 13, 2013 NAMM’s Nashville-based
event took advantage of the new venue’s room to grow by increasing in exhibit
square footage by 25-percent over 2012. In total there were 422 exhibiting
companies, representing more than 1150 brands, which represented a 12% increase
over the previous year. Part of the new growth can be attributed to the 157
first-time exhibiting companies and many returning brands, some after many
years off.
Big buying power met the increase in brands with
the number of retail businesses rising more than 26% from the previous year. In
total 11,498 people registered for the show, not including Music Industry Day,
a slight increase over 2012. Retailers in the exhibit hall were focused on
finding the right products and accessories to fuel the all-important 4th
quarter and holiday season.
\”We\’re here shopping fun, colorful, unique and
price point items that will make great holiday gifts, while also thinking about
promotions to sell what we are buying, which I wasn\’t doing last year. I\’m much
more focused this year, in part thanks to the opening morning Retail Summit,
which zeroed in on a very specific topic, holiday, and opened my mind to
opportunities that I may have missed in past seasons,” said Gayle
Beacock, co-owner of Beacock Music Company, Inc. in Vancouver, WA, who was
named the 2013 Dealer of the Year during Summer NAMM.
In addition to holiday planning, retailers tapped into
school band and orchestra brands that returned after a hiatus including
Cannonball and BG FranckBichon to stock up for back-to-school. “We\’re
about to open a new store making this the perfect time to build inventory for
it, while also buying for back-to-school,” said Scott Summerhays, president of
Summerhays Music Center in Utah.
Both the quality of buyers and the number of
retailers that exhibitors hadn’t met before surpassed many exhibitors’
expectations. “The bonus for us was that we got to meet dealers who don’t go to
the NAMM Show in Anaheim,” said Sheryl Laukat, CEO of Cannonball Musical
Instruments. “They are very important to us, and it was great to sit down, see
their faces and really connect. And we may have picked up some new dealers;
it’s looking really good.”
Music City Center Jams?Summer NAMM’s
new digs, the Music City Center, proved a natural fit. The refrain repeated by
retailers and brands alike played clearly – Music City Center might have been
tailor-made for Summer NAMM. Carolina Bridges of Deering Banjos noted MCC’s
delightful sound qualities. “The acoustics in here are perfect for people to
hear our instruments,” she said. While Scott Thompson, vice president of sales
for The Music Link noted the aesthetics, “The best thing about the new Center
is the natural light, which makes people happy and makes our guitars and
mandolins look just beautiful.”
Educational Opportunities Abound?Professional
development focused in on very specific, easily applicable ideas across the
spectrum of educational events such as Retail Boot Camp, the Retail Summit and
the Idea Center sessions. \”The sessions featured useful, practical
knowledge that you can put right to work,” said Whitney Brown-Grisaffi,
president of Ted Brown Music Company in Washington. “The education
sessions were fantastic. Learning from peers is always the best way to learn,”
agreed Scott Summerhays.
NAMM at Night?NAMM didn’t
end at show close each day. A new series of first-class evening events brought
the industry together for inspiration, networking and good times. They kicked
off with a tribute to Jimi Hendrix’ Nashville years to warm-up the crowd on
Wednesday night. “The gatherings that NAMM hosts are a nice touch,” said Ron
Partain of Ron’s World of Music in Alabama. “It’s good, as a member, to feel
appreciated.”
‘Insight,’ hosted by Vince Gill and Tom Bedell on
the first night of the show, brought together the music products industry’s
most-iconic names for a truly unique free-wheeling evening covering everything
from lessons learned from the guests’ fathers to what the leaders would do if
they were king for a day and their first concert. \”It was really
interesting to hear their insights, background stories from the icons of the
industry,” said Amy Braswell, co-owner of Capo’s Music Store in Virginia. “The
points that they were making about being different, innovating and being unique
were inspiring.”
“The new convention center is incredible and with
all the amazing events and sessions, it was truly a can\’t miss event that
people will be talking about for years. So many \”You had to see it\”
moments, like seeing the industry icons on stage together sharing stories at
Insight,” said Ron Manus, CEO of Alfred Music. “The show had a great campus
feel making the show buzz with energy. We had great meetings with our old
friends, made some new friends and opened new accounts. Summer NAMM is
BACK!\”
Honoring NAMM’s Top 100 Retailers has become one of
the most-anticipated facets of NAMM’s summer show. Beacock Music Company was
honored as the Dealer of the Year at a filled-to-capacity awards event
July 12.
With the positive buzz coming from dealers as well
as exhibitors, NAMM members are anticipating a viable second half of 2013 and
looking toward 2014 with heightened expectations of an industry showing
encouraging vibrancy. Many are laying plans for future NAMM shows already.
“This is my first show. It’s crazy!” said Ronald Irizarry of ARJ Percussion.
“My only regret? I wish I had gotten a bigger booth.”
