Dealer groups report a successful first time at SOS
This year’s Spicers SOS show includes dealer group exhibitors for the first time, with Integra, Office Club, Officepoint, Office Star and Superstat exhibiting at the 2002 event. Following the first SOS at Sandown this week, feedback from the groups has been positive.
David Langdown, managing director of Officepoint, told channelinfo: “I'm pretty encouraged by the response that we got at Sandown. Obviously, only time will tell whether exhibiting has been a success, but we certainly saw many of our existing group members during the day, and have arranged follow-up meetings with several new prospects. We kept our message for the show fairly simple, that Officepoint leads the way with its marketing and e-commerce solutions, and the dealers who saw us were able to take that on board very easily.
“SOS is a great networking opportunity. Many of the manufacturers who were there were at our National Conference five weeks ago, but with the pressure of the event, I didn't get much chance to talk to many of them. Yesterday was a chance to catch up with some of them, and I look forward to seeing the rest at the NEC.”
Superstat’s director of group marketing Karly Beesley was equally as enthusiastic. She said: “I thought it was a really good day and it was better than I expected. We got quality leads rather than quantity and it will be two or three months down the line when we’ll see the real results. Leads-wise we were very happy with the day and there was a lot of interest in our loyalty scheme. The dealers who attended thought it was a good day too.”
Office Club, which was the first dealer group to sign up to SOS, believes it is a good event for the industry, saying: “SOS provides a good shop window in a concentrated format for dealers to find out what's new in our industry and, of course, why they should be in Office Club!”
To register for the SOS Birmingham exhibition on 4 & 5 December, go to www.sos02.net.
28-Nov-2002
