The doors of the McCormick Center in Chicago opened to distributors this morning for the first day of exhibits at ASI Chicago, running through tomorrow. Education sessions began at 8 a.m., with the show floor opening at 9:30 a.m.
The morning began with a presentation, “Supplier Secrets Keynote: Drive Sales with New Products,” moderate by ASI’s Matthew Cohn. Suppliers such as Admints & Zagabor (booth #1233), Prime Line (#1010) and more previewed some of their products to distributors in advance of the show opening.
“The presentation went fantastic. There was a great group of people, everyone was really energized,” said Brett Hersh, president of Admints & Zagabor, who spoke at the keynote this morning. “Everyone was excited about learning about new products, and we’re excited to be talking about new products. Overall, the energy here is great, and we’re expecting a great show.”
Eco-friendly and made-in-the-USA products continue their increased presence at the show this year, with many more companies proudly advertising union-made and recycled items. Also popular, and virtually nonexistent last year, are iPad cases and accessories, available from suppliers such as Built (#428) and Numo Manufacturing (#1535) among many others.
While many suppliers indicated that they were not launching new products mid-year, some were excited to showcase new items. “Today, we’re showing for the very first time 30 new products,” said Damian Want, chief operating officer for 99CentPromos.com (#805). “Chicago provides an ideal platform for us to launch all of our hot new products for the busy season.”
Reactions to the show for the first day have been mostly positive. “We’re really excited to get in front of the Chicago audience, it’s one of our top markets,” said Joe Hoffman, vice president of business development for Jetline (#1416).
“People are coming out in droves and supporting the show,” Want added. “It makes me very optimistic going into the fourth quarter that the promotional products industry will continue to rebound and grow.”
In addition to today’s keynote, suppliers and distributors were in attendance yesterday and today for a series of education sessions. Education sessions continue tomorrow morning with keynote speaker Mike Ditka’s presentation, “ACE: Attitude, Character, Enthusiasm” at 8 a.m.
Check back at PromoMarketing.com for further trade show coverage, or visit us directly at the show at booth #344.
