When I did that seminar for Pool in Los Angeles, there was a reporter from Japan who covered the event. Yesterday, I got this paper in the mail. This is the front (?) page.

Below the fold is the feature article. Who knows what she said I said? The reporter (Yoko Fujimoto) was beyond lovely and an amazingly gracious and brilliant woman. With impeccable taste in topic selection :) . Maybe Teijo, Massa or one of our new Japanese guests will translate it for me. And by the way, welcome!

Here’s a larger version of the file.

[amended] Massa provides a translation (thanks!):

US: Pool Trade Show

“More than 70 people participated”

Pool trade show in which a lot of artistic/avant-garde/style-concious brand participate held a pre-seminar for exhibitors and those who are interested in this program.

The instructors were Ms. Melanie Wood, director of corporate sales training for Advanstar Communication, and Ms. Kathleen Fasanella, author of The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing. Ms. Fasanella also runs Fashion-Incubator.com. There were more than 70 participants.

The 5hr Seminar was to:

1. Determine objectives for exhibiting
2. Sales Method, Marketing, How to approach buyers
3. Product development and selling route
4. Consumer trend, taking orders, what to dos and not to dos

Before exhibiting, “Preparation is the key”
Ms. Wood said “The trade show is like a giant shopping mall for buyers. Without preparation, you can’t expect good results.” She pointed out that it is important for participants to clarify what they want to sell and what they want buyers to know about their products. “The big difference between selling at store and exhibition is the time. It’s all up to sales technique to promote the products to buyers,” she said. She also explained methods to approach buyers and to tell prospects, and at exhibitions, products could be sold twice as fast as usual. In addition, she advised to listen to buyers before promoting products is a key.

On the last half of the seminar, Ms. Fasanella talked about production, manufacturing, and sales. She emphasized “In order not to fail, it’s best to not to ship products before receiving payment. You need to investigate if the stores/buyers keep the payment contract”.

One of the participants, Mr. Mat (Due? Duy?) from Vintage Vantage said “The information was useful for start-ups. i wish I could’ve know before my debut.”

Ms. Tricia Tanaka said, “As a designer, it’s valuable to know sales methods”.

After the seminar, Ms. Wood was content and said, “educating exhibition clients is a key for success of the exhibition”. Ms. Fasanella showed some interest in promoting Japanese designers to do business in the US by saying “Japanese manufacturing practices are more solid than US practices; Japanese designers could be very successful in the US”.