MJSA Expo draws buyers "in a spending mood"

"Attendance was excellent, and people were in a spending mood" is how Dave Siminski, vice president of sales and marketing at United Precious Metal Refining in Alden, New York, described the atmosphere of the 2019 MJSA Expo, which ran March 10-12.

Siminski——was among the many exhibitors at this year's show,. Over the course of those three days, more than 3,000 buyers crowded the aisles at New York City's Javits Center searching for not just the latest equipment, supplies, and services for jewelry making and design, but also business solutions.

"People were really looking for solutions and buying, and they wanted to talk about how to improve their businesses," said Andrea Hill, MJSA's designer advocate and president of the Hill Management Group, which provides strategic consulting and marketing services to small and mid-size companies.

As it's done for the past four years, Expo ran simultaneously with the JA New York retail show. In fact, the two shows were closer than ever, in a new space separated by only a short walkway. And that proximity seemed to make a difference.

"Being connected to the JA show—truly connected—was a big help," said Shawn Albert, the trade show/product manager at Stuller Inc. in Lafayette, Louisiana. "We got a good mix of both customers.... We probably wrote 20 percent more business than we did last year."

Not only did the JA attendees head onto the Expo floor, but so did the manufacturers and designers exhibiting at the retail show. For all of them, the lure was simple, as Siminski aptly summarized: Expo, he said, "is the toy store, offering everything from software and services to tools and gemstones. And everyone wants to come see the toys."