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A Groovy First Year Retrospective

July 9th, 2013 Mel White COMMENTS
First Year Retrospective

Lessons Learned by Jen LaBruzza

Lesson #56 – Problems Can be Opportunities in (a really bad) Disguise

Some might say “astounding.” Others may choose “astonishing.” I choose “G-R-O-O-V-Y”!

The past year has been, well, groovy. I’m imagining a few LOL moments from those who have spent time with me. This month marks my one-year anniversary with Classic Exhibits as the Western Regional Manager.

As a former teacher, I would be remiss if I didn’t pause for a little self-reflection on my first year. To those who have allowed me into your businesses and into your lives — “Thank You!” I am grateful for every conversation and every meeting. I realize that it’s not always easy meeting with a newbie.

Which brings me to the sometimes challenging part of my job:  problem solving and wheel greasing. You may recall Reid Sherwood’s timely blog post last year, What You Should Expect From a Manufacturer’s Rep. It was published just as I was heading out on my first trip and hearing a lot of, “Now what is your role with Classic Exhibits?” It was a great insight into the expectations for Regional Managers at Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL.

Did you lose my manuscripts?

It also brought to light a part of our job that we sometimes dread — Problem Solver. Having worn many hats over the years in this industry, this is still the one hat that drives me the most crazy. It eats up everyone’s margin on that “oh so easy” job. But without something breaking, without trouble that shakes up the normal course of things, there is no opportunity to introduce new and better solutions.

Ernest and Ezra

In the 1920’s, when Ernest Hemingway was working hard to perfect his craft, he lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts. The devastated Hemingway couldn’t conceive of redoing his work. He could only think of the months he’d devoted to his arduous writing . . . all for nothing, he was now convinced.  But when he lamented his loss to his friend and poet, Ezra Pound, Pound called it a stroke of luck. Pound assured Hemingway that when he rewrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts and only the best material would reappear. Instead of framing the event in disappointment, Pound cast it in the light of opportunity. Hemingway did rewrite those stories, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Last year, there have been problems, ranging from “I need an extra length of cord cover for our customer’s extrusion” to the generic “This job has problems and I need you to fix them.” Recently, one of the latter took me to the show site.

The “opportunity” involved Classic stepping up to the plate and correcting some mistakes. They weren’t huge, but measuring mistakes depends on who has the ruler. The distributor requested that we send someone to the show site to assist their client. All was well until the final phase, when things were being plugged in and tested. The last SEG graphic was not going to work, not because of size but because the client was unhappy with the standard rear projection fabric. Did I mention this was on a Sunday?

I was able to call in the cavalry, a.k.a. Dave Brown from Optima Graphics who suggested an alternative fabric. He rallied his troops and got the new graphic printed and on a flight. Did I mention that the show opened on Monday at 9:30 am? For me, it meant waking up at 4:15 am to arrive at the airport at 4:30 to ensure that the graphic was installed by 7:30. This was clearly an opportunity waiting to happen and thanks to Optima, the new rear projection fabric worked perfectly.

A sure sign of a successful person or a company is how they tackle problems. Are they creative and innovative? Do they turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones. It’s often those hidden opportunities that can cement your relationship with your client and serve to make it stronger because you have weathered it together. As the saying goes, “Problems happen. It’s how you handle them that is important.”

Now go out there and focus on turning challenges into opportunities rather than into disappointments and problems. And most importantly, let me know how I can help.

Jen LaBruzza, Western Regional Manager
Classic Exhibits/ClassicMODUL
jen@classicexhibits.com

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Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions and engineered aluminum extrusions (ClassicMODUL). Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100.

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As Transparent as EVER: Word on the Street — April 29th thru May 3rd

May 5th, 2013 Mel White COMMENTS
As Transparent as EVER: Word on the Street -- April 29th thru May 3rd

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

As I write this, I’m completing final preparations for Shared Knowledge University (SKU). Thirty Distributors, three Vendor Partners, and a host of Classic Exhibits, Exhibits Northwest, Eco-Systems Sustainable Exhibits, Classic Rentals, and ClassicMODUL employees will participate in the two-day training program at Classic Exhibits. To say that I am excited does not convey my true feelings.

Shared Knowledge University is exactly what its name implies. It’s an opportunity for Classic to learn from distributors, for distributors to learn from one another, and for Classic to showcase our people and our products. To those attending, prepare to learn about the products, the process, and the people, but it will not be all work. Each evening we’ll show you a slice Portlandia.

Transparency

One topic we always talk about — at shows, in meetings, at large group trainings like SKU, and to pretty much anyone who will listen — is transparency. It’s a key part of our culture and how we do business. Yet, even after nineteen years at Classic, I am still amazed when our transparency comes into question. And while it doesn’t happen very often, when it does, I am both stunned and offended.

Shared Knowledge University

Shared Knowledge University

In the early years I got it. You didn’t know us very well. To you, we were five guys in a garage in Oregon building folding panel displays. But over the years, through growth and higher visibility, those five guys became 70 employees. Yet as we grew and even during the struggles of the recession, we remained true to our business model. We are a designer and manufacturer that sells through distribution and distribution alone. We never sell direct. NEVER.

Now granted, some of our competitors have muddied the waters over the past three to four years. They’ve created visible and not so visible direct sales avenues. Most have been unapologetic about it. In their words, “We sell direct, but we still want you to represent our products anyway. Don’t like it. Tough!”

This past week our integrity came into question, which is why I’m venting. And it happened in such a surprising way and at such a surprising location that it honestly hurt my feelings. But within a day, I went from hurt to angry as the accusation marinated.

Our Lifeblood

Our distributors are our lifeblood. Our motivation is to create an atmosphere where they can be as successful as possible. Their success is our success. YOUR success puts food on our table every night. And my six year old twins like to eat — A LOT!  So I and everyone at Classic has no interest in putting that at risk — EVER.

We come from Portland, and if you have ever seen the IFC show “Portlandia,” you know the motto of the city is “Keep Portland Weird.” And if it is weird that we don’t go direct and never will, then I’m happy to embrace our weirdness. 🙂 And I am honored that you trust us weirdos.

So, to end this rant, I would like to say once again, Classic Exhibits does not sell direct . . . and has no plans to sell direct. Not to the biggest shoe company. Not to the biggest software company. Not to the smallest mom-and-pop business. To us, that would mean the end of relationship sales. And we like to do business with as many friends as possible. Call it a flaw in our personalities.

I don’t know how we can be any more transparent than that.

Be well and have a wonderful weekend with your families. To those flying or driving to Portland, I look forward to spending two days together immersed in Shared Knowledge University, Home of the Fighting Hybrids.

Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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To Move or NOT to Move: Word on the Street — April 22nd thru April 26th

April 28th, 2013 Mel White 1 COMMENT
To Move or NOT to Move: Word on the Street -- April 22nd thru April 26th

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Or Should I Say, WHEN to Move?

Since last fall, we have been wrestling with this question at Classic Exhibits, Exhibits NW, and ClassicMODUL.

It’s no secret, we have been growing. And our growth has been at a consistent pace. But with growth comes the conversation of when to move into a larger building.

Over the years, we have learned to operate in less than ideal office conditions. Those who have visited us know what I mean. My office, Design, Accounting, and Production are at one end of the building. Customer Service is at the other end. Purchasing and Shipping are in another corner. The Rental Department is literally perched above Customer Service in an area without real walls.

Now, I’m not talking football fields distance (and we’ve made it work and mostly thrive), but one of the factors in deciding when to move is to consolidate everyone into one office complex. Communication, especially collaborative communication, is the key to any business. And because we’re collaborative by nature, it would be better if we were within shouting distance. And on some days, kicking distance.

That’s one factor. Another is Exhibits NW Portland. We’d like to have ENW and Classic in the same facility. That’s not possible now. Our building is very production-centric, very utilitarian. When you visit us, there’s no showroom. Our main door opens into the shop, and our Set-up Area serves as the impromptu showroom, which can be interesting and surprising, but not predictable. It also doesn’t benefit ENW Portland as much as it could. If they were co-located with Classic, they would have instant access to Production, Customer Service, and Design and a visual story to show their Oregon clients. And Classic Exhibits would have a real showroom.

The final factor is more obvious. With growth, comes the need for more space. Currently, our manufacturing facility is 63k sq. feet (plus another 10k for storage and offices). And while we are very efficient within that space, our growth and the change in the types of work we’ve been doing tells us we’ll need more room sooner than later.

Now the big IF is the economy. While I do not want to get into a political commentary, suffice to say, we don’t have a clear picture of the future. Yes, our sales trend tells us to look for a larger facility, but that may not sync with the overall economic outlook. If the recession has taught us anything, regardless of past business success and a solid product mix, you can’t build your business wearing rose-colored glasses.

Now let’s complicate the issue even more. Our broker showed us the “perfect” building. PERFECT! It’s been empty for two and a half years so you would think that’s good news. The property owner MUST be interested in making a long-term deal. It’s time to deal. Sadly, the current owner is a “new” owner of the property with visions of MEGA CORP and a fat wallet. He hasn’t felt the pain of an empty building for two plus years. Even with no prospects in sight, he wasn’t willing to negotiate so we had to move on.

So, you ask, “Why not build new offices at our current building?” We thought the same thing, but sadly, the economic climate is not our friend. Our landlord is not interested in investing in building improvements until the economy shows better signs of recovery. And to be frank, by then, we will need more space in Production.

So here we sit. In a building we love. One that we were able to layout exactly how we wanted when we moved in. Built perfectly to meet our needs for the foreseeable future. But that was in 2002. The foreseeable future has come and gone.

So why do I tell you all this. Simple . . . it’s cathartic. I am using your monitor and time as my therapist. And I appreciate it! Truly I do.

So when to move? When to stay? Any advice?

Finally, to the 30 distributors traveling to Portland next weekend for Shared Knowledge University (SKU), see you soon! We have good things planned, and the beer is on tap and cold.

Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

BTW — Do you have time available next week for another session? I need to talk about my awkward transition from childhood to adolescence. Just between us.

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Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: Word on the Street — April 15th thru April 19th

April 21st, 2013 Mel White COMMENTS
Credit Where Credit is Due: Word on the Street -- April 15th thru April 19th

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

After nearly 19 years in this industry, I have had my fair share of gripes with how General Service Contractors and Show Management manage trade shows. And I have certainly voiced those gripes, hopefully, in a respectful manner.

Well, this past week I was in Chicago for GlobalShop 2013 at McCormick Place as both an exhibitor and an attendee. Freeman was the General Service Contractor for the event. And all I can say is — KUDOS from start to finish. It’s not like everything went without a hitch, but where there were bumps in the road, there was someone right there to help you.

I must say, honestly, I was not expecting that, even with the “kinder, gentler, exhibitor friendly” rules at McCormick. For example, we had an inline, and the new rules state that you can set your entire booth by yourself as long as you have all your own tools. I was expecting some resentful union folk roaming the floor. Not the case at all!

I don’t mean this to be sarcastic, but it was a little weird not looking over my shoulder every five seconds to see if a foreman was making my size 13 concrete shoes.

Then there was Janet Ruddy, an Exhibitor Service Clerk from Freeman’s Chicago office. I was fortunate to get her on the phone a week before the show to handle some changes. Let’s just say that there is a place for you in the Customer Service Hall of Fame Janet. Thanks!

Neilson was the producer (show management) of the show. They did an OK job as well. But, sad to say, the number of “suitcasers” allowed on the show floor day one and two was horrendous. Thankfully, the show was so freaking great that it outweighed that one very big negative.

Classic Exhibits was at GlobalShop as both an exhibitor and an attendee. As an exhibitor in a 10 x 20 space, we showcased many of the retail solutions we’ve designed and built over the past two years. That was fun, and the response was great! The ClassicMODUL aluminum profiles really shined as a retail solution! Our capabilities were highlighted in a series of backwall light boxes and an adjustable merchandising grid we’ve perfected (and sold multiple times).

I would be remiss if I did not give credit to our innovative iPad Kiosks. It’s as if they were covered in $100 bills. They drew attendee after attendee into the booth, who then stayed to hear about Classic Exhibits (which was similar to our experience at EXHIBITOR).

A special thanks to Chuck Michel and Tom Beard who joined me. Both have rich histories with the GlobalShop community and really helped me (as a rookie) understand the market and the show better. Not to mention they were great friends to hang with for three days. Thanks for everything gents.

Here are a couple of takeaways, although there were many from the week. Just like the Tradeshow World, the Retail World is alive with technology, especially interactive solutions. There is clearly a push for captivating technology in the retail experience. And large, very large, fabric graphics with engineered extrusions as the structure. That’s music to our ears and re-enforces what we have been seeing in the Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL divisions.

Here are some pics of the week’s events. Hope you enjoy. If you were at GlobalShop, please share your impressions in the comment section. I’d love to hear what you thought (and so would other Classic Distributors).

Hope you all have a great week ahead. Give me a call if you would like to talk more about GlobalShop.

Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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2012 “State of the Company” Letter from Kevin Carty

January 19th, 2013 Mel White 6 COMMENTS

State of the Company

Kevin Carty, Classic Exhibits Inc.

2012 is in the books! The Oregon Ducks are the Fiesta Bowl Champs, and the Mayans left for the golf course rather than finishing their calendar.

The basics. Q1 and Q2 were huge for Classic Exhibits with increases of 19% over 2011. Summer started slower than usual, but finished OK leaving us at a 15% increase through 3 quarters. Then Q4. Oh Q4, how strange you were. October was the second largest month of the year. November was flat. December started out steady, but the last two weeks, with the holidays falling on Tuesday, were mostly silent. In the end, we ended the year with an 11% increase over LY.

The Mix

2012 was a tale of two seasons with one common thread — iPad kiosks! iPad kiosks sold throughout 2012 in unheard of numbers thanks to you. We started with two models in February. That quickly exploded into more than 18 iPad solutions. Aside from Sacagawea, we’ve not seen a product take off and grow so fast.

MOD-1338 iPad Kiosk

But it was the MIX that was interesting. The first half of the year we sold kits. And a lot of them! Be it a 10 x 10 SEGUE, a 10 x 20 Sacagawea, or a 10 x 20 Visionary Designs. You couldn’t walk by the Set-up Area the first six months without seeing a sea of kits.

All the while, we were designing more custom island designs. Some based on older Classic designs that needed updating, but most from scratch by our talented internal team, Mike and Katina, and by two outside contract designers.

The result. In the final six months of the year, Design and Production have been busy building more custom island and inline exhibits. And Design has been especially busy designing new island projects for 2013 Q1 and Q2 shows. Just recently, we were reviewing the builds currently in Production and the ones slotted for late January. Custom Hybrid Inlines and Island Hybrids seem to be the lion share of what we we’re seeing.

Having said that, kits are still our bread and butter. Kits are projected to hold steady in the first six months. All this adds up to a great Q1 for us and for you.

Retail

Like 2011 and 2012, 2013 should be another growth year for our Retail build business. That is in large part due to your design teams reaching out into that segment and bringing these unique projects our direction. It’s been a great fit for our capabilities and a healthy layering to our normal trade show builds. This segment of our business, which gets processed and project managed through a different path than our trade show orders, follows a different cycle from our traditional business. This allows us to add capacity and volume without adding expenses. In other words, it’s a “win-win” for Classic and for our Distributors.

New Employees

Katina Rigall joined the Classic Design team in January of 2012. She has become a great face for the department while bringing exceptional design vision and talent.

Jeff Garrett joined the Classic Project Management staff in 2011 actually, but in 2012 moved from Set-up Instructions to a full-time Project Manager. The addition of Jeff’s personality and his attention to detail has given a great boost to an already exceptional team of PM’s at Classic Exhibits. To replace Jeff, we hired Cynthia Geddis, who has transitioned into that role seamlessly.

Jen LaBruzza joined Classic Exhibits in June 2012. She joined as the Western Regional Sales Manager. Her impact was felt immediately. Not just with in the network of distributors, but also internally at Classic. Her bright outlook and approach to business is refreshing, and her customers love her! But we all knew that would be the case.

Tony Bennett joined Classic Exhibits in 2012. Many of you worked with Tony in the past on Exhibit Design Search, but was on a contract basis. Somehow, Mel talked him into joining our crazy family permanently, and we are very grateful. I get comments from distributors weekly that Classic now has someone on staff to help with web-related needs. And Tony is a pro in that arena, especially when it comes to Exhibit Design Search and working with Classic distributors on their websites. It’s a service were proud to offer to Classic Distributors.

SKU (Shared Knowledge University)

Shared Knowledge University

Thanks to the 60 plus distributors who participated in onsite training at Classic Exhibits. We held two SKU sessions: one in April and a second one in September. SKU attendees were immersed in Classic Exhibits, Exhibits NW, ClassicMODUL and Eco-Systems Sustainable over a two-day period. The SKU program combines hands-on product training as well as classroom training.

We will host two SKU sessions in 2013. Please stay tuned for the dates and make plans to attend. Not only will you leave having a better sense for Classic and its family of companies, but you will also get to understand the true meaning of “Portlandia.” [Keep Portland Weird]

Custom House Partnerships

A big focus for us in 2012 was partnering with more Custom Houses as their inline, small island, rental and extrusion provider for their in-house clients. As in much of business, relationships are the key. Mel, Reid, Jen, and Jim Shelman did a great job forging new and reinforcing existing Custom Partners for Classic Exhibits this past year.

The Classic Town Calls were created in 2012 as a quarterly webinar to talk about the previous quarter and what to expect next quarter.

Kudos to Mel on this. The Town Calls are designed to be an hour long “checking in” from us to you and from you to us. It’s a really helpful way to connect off the show floor and out of the normal course of business and see what’s going on. Our goal is to provide nuggets of content that you will find useful selling Classic products and running your business in general. And, to get “immediate” feedback from you on trends and issues.

In addition to the Town Calls, Classic conducted educational webinars throughout the year on Hybrid Displays, New Designs Trends, Rental Trends, Exhibit Design Search Tricks and Tips, and Social Media.

ClassicMODUL

ClassicMODUL expands yet again! The latest ClassicMODUL depot opened in August in St Louis, MO. The new operation provides not just raw metal access to builders in the Midwest and parts of the East, but also provides CNC bending like our NW facility! This is a HUGE addition for Tom Jones and his staff, giving them an even broader reach and capabilities.

ClassicMODUL also modified its Pricebook in 2012. If you have not taken the time to review the new prices, please do. In conjunction with having material in virtually every part of the USA (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, and West Coast), saving you shipping dollars, the prices of many extrusions and accessories dropped a bit as well. Contact Tom if you have any questions or projects you would like to compare against your existing provider of engineered aluminum extrusions.

Classic Rentals

Island Rental Exhibit

Jim Shelman and James Sharpe, along with their great staff, should take a bow for another strong year in the Rental Division. Their success reflects their willingness to take on new challenges and innovative designs that other suppliers reject as “non-rental.” We expect the Rental Division to continue its double-digit growth this year as more and more Classic Distributors turn to hybrid rentals as a viable and cost-effective solution for their clients.

Thanks guys for all your hard work

Eco-Systems Sustainable Exhibits

In 2012, Classic Exhibits acquired an even larger share in this great company. While all Marketing, Sales, General Management, and Accounting are in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Production and Project Management has shifted to our facility in Portland. Tim Hanley is the Project Management Lead onsite at Classic and another project manager has recently been added. We expect Eco-Systems Sustainable sales to continue to grow at a rapid pace.

Much of Eco-Systems prosperity has been the result of their innovative designs. They have a unique vision on hybrid displays, one very different from Classic. They added a new Director of Design, Lisa Koskela, in 2012. Her eye for design and creative sense is continuing to chart a great course for Eco-Systems along with Eric Albery’s focus on relationship sales. We are very excited and proud of our relationship with their group.

Events

Classic participated in three major events in 2012:  EXHIBITOR, the inaugural E2MA Conference, and EDPA ACCESS.

EXHIBITOR Show was nothing short of spectacular. As a company, it was clearly our best presentation in 20 years. We showed off not just our inline creativity, but also our large scale island capability. Thanks to those who attended EXHIBITOR and stopped by to see us on the floor and at our hospitality suite. It was a pleasure seeing you and hearing your thoughts on the industry. Your input makes a big difference in how we plan our future.

The E2MA Conference was in July in Chicago. This was the first event for the new formed association, a marriage of the former TSEA and the EACA. Jim Wurm and his entire group did a terrific job of providing compelling content. But more importantly, they did a great job of listening and then taking what they heard and applying it to the association’s mission moving forward as evidenced in their recent publishing of “The Rising Costs of General Service Contractors Services” study. Very well done!

EDPA ACCESS. My favorite event in so many ways. I once again left ACCESS 2012 inspired by my peers and by the direction of our industry. I truly believe that there continues to be an “out with the old and in with the new” push in our industry which is much needed. And EDPA and all its members seem united in moving forward in a positive direction.

One more event that I would like to reflect on from 2012 . . .

On September 23, 2012 “The Club” rode . . .  Club 815 Powered by the EDPA Foundation. It was a motley crew of exhibit industry folks, and one stepdad (mine), who joined together to raise money for Mike Swartout, our Design Director at Classic Exhibits. And of course we were supported by you through your well wishes, prayers and donations. We raised a very large chunk of much needed money for Mike and his lovely wife Janet to offset their rising medical bills.

And yes, we rode up a several multi-mile hills with a steady 45 mph head wind with gusts up to 75 mph on occasion. While I have thanked all the men and women who rode with me, I want to thank you for making that event an opportunity to help out a family member in our industry. You did amazing work.

Onto 2013 and let’s get excited about it. The simple fact is that we are on a slow recovery from the recession, but we are recovering a bit at a time.

Thank you for your support of Classic Exhibits, ClassicMODUL, ExhibitsNW, Classic Rentals, and Eco-Systems. We could not do what we do or put food on our families plates without your support and trust in us daily. So on behalf of Classic Exhibits Inc., thank you for a great 2012!

Here’s to an exciting and profitable 2013 together!!!!

Kevin Carty
Vice President
Classic Exhibits Inc.

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