Last week’s EXPO attendance increased by more than 12% over 2007, with 10% more exhibitors and 11% more booth spaces producing about a 10% increase in net booth sales. These positive numbers reflected the atmosphere evident throughout the conference and the trade show as distributor after distributor said they learned a great deal from key presentations and that they conducted plenty of business on the trade show floor.

“This is the best looking show we’ve ever had,” commented AWMA Chairman Dick Dunham, Stephenson Wholesale Grocery Company Inc., Durant, Oklahoma, as he paused at AWMA’s Resource Central.  “All of the manufacturers brought their best booths, and they’ve told me that they have had a great show.”

Dunham said his company brought 12 people to the EXPO. “They’ve had a fantastic time and got a great deal out of our meetings,” he said.

“I’m buying today,” Dunham added. “I think all of the other distributors are doing the same thing. They come to this show because it is a buying show. Hopefully, all of these manufacturers are offering show deals, and if they’re not, they should be.”

“I thought the program yesterday discussing the Canadian tobacco situation was the best I’ve ever attended,” said Rob Hackett, Burklund Distributors, Inc., East Peoria, Illinois. “I enjoyed the panel discussion and the information about what’s going on in Canada and what they have gone through. And the fact that they thought enough of our organization to come here and speak to us, speaks very well about AWMA.”

Hackett was referring to the Thursday morning presentation by industry consultant Kit Dietz and a panel of distributors, association executives and a tobacco company executive who discussed the devastating impact of skyrocketing tobacco taxes and onerous regulations on Canadian tobacco sales, combined with the impact of the leading tobacco manufacturer switching to DSD and bypassing distributors.

On the business side, Hackett added, “We have put more orders through this year than in past years. We got some really good deals.”

Tim Touchet, Director of Purchasing at Franklin Supply, attended Wednesday’s special program for buyers that focused on category management. “That session was terrific,” he said. “I’m going to take information back to my company and we are going to make some changes. The report on Canada was really eye opening.”

“It could happen here,” said Jack Courtney, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Manchester Wholesale Distributors Inc., Manchester, New Hampshire, referring to the dramatically reduced tobacco sales for distributors in Canada caused by high taxes, government controls, and illegal tobacco sales. “It is very, very concerning.”

His boss, Raymond R. Tetu, CEO at Manchester Wholesale, said he found it to be very beneficial to spend time with vendors individually and gain in-depth knowledge about their products and services. “This has been a very worthwhile experience,” he said.

For more information on attending the AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO, contact customer service at either 800-564-4220 or 703-449-6418 or awmaregistration@jspargo.com