Not long to go until 2016 is here and things are hotting up here at Truly Exquisite. We recently just got back from Abu Dhabi, UAE where we exhibited at the annual Luxury Exhibition, Big Boys Toys.
It was our first exhibition we've ever exhibited at let alone one in another country. Nervous, excited, scared, optimistic where some of the emotions we went through.
So what was our take on the Big Boys Toys, UAE show? To be honest i didn't really know what to expect, I've seen previous shows on YouTube but being there exhibiting is a whole new scenario. Overall i was slightly disappointed with the show, definitely think it would have done better in Dubai, as was the opinion of the majority of exhibitors we spoke to. I also think Artaaj, the organisers of the show could have done a better job too. The footfall was not the best which was disappointing, so much so that the last day was cut short by 3 or so hours.
One of the best parts about exhibiting and taking part in the show were the contacts we made and meeting some of the other exhibitors from all over the world.
Leading up to the show was very stressful, I'm sure that's one of the reasons why I've got more grey hairs now. Our shipment which had 85% of our exhibition display products in there got delayed, it never got picked up from the UK when it should have been as well the shipment was stuck in Istanbul for 2 days just sitting there waiting to be transported to the UAE. So it was all touch and go whether it made it on time or not.
The first day of the show was for the VIPs and HNWI's so you could imagine just how anxious and stressed out i was to get my goods before the show. Unfortunately they never arrived for the first day so it was disaster. The exhibition stand looked like a market stall, not the impression you want to make for the VIPs.
Luckily for us we had some items displayed which were bought on the in the suitcase, smaller items such as 24K Gold Plated iPhones, iPads, Swarovski Apple Watch & Swarovski Beats By Dre Headphones, as well as our 24k Gold & 18K Rose Gold Diecast Supercar models. I Was extremely disappointed we couldn't showcase our main attraction, the Swarovski Ferrari F12 Berlinetta Electric Ride On Car.
Well once we did receive our shipment it transformed our display and this is when our exhibition started, all be it a day late. Now we had our showpiece all that was left was to bring in the crowd, but in all honesty the car did that it self, just a shame it wasn't there from the first day. The amount of selfies people took of the car was ridiculous, i should have charged for photo's, definitely would have made my money back :)
So final thoughts on The Big Boys Toys show!
Did i enjoy the show? Yes, most definitely. If for nothing else just meeting fellow exhibitors and getting an insight into the UAE market.
Did i learn anything from it? Errrrrrm ship your exhibition goods at least 2-3 weeks before your show.
Would i go back and exhibit there? Most probably not, could be a different answer if the show is held in Dubai.
Last but not least i would just like to thank all the visitors that came to see us, the exhibitors that took the time to speak to us and most importantly my cousin, Nish, who helped with the exhibiting.