Sharon Enright
Business Journals
What She Plans: Enright oversees operations, retail development, marketing, public relations, and design for Business Journals Inc.’s fashion-related trade shows, including FAME, Moda Manhattan, and Accessories the Show. Enright joined Business Journals in 1997, the year it purchased Accessories, then known as the Fashion Accessories Expo, which had 15,000 net square feet of exhibit space and 2,500 attendees. Since then Enright has expanded the show to more than 60,000 square feet and more than 11,000 attendees (at the August 2005 show), and added the FAME and Moda shows. And this year Accessories added a Las Vegas version to its regular schedule of three shows in New York, drawing 3,000 attendees to 14,000 square feet of exhibit space. Next year will bring a second Las Vegas event, for a total of 11 shows in 2006.
Staff: Four full-time employees in operations and marketing, plus 12 salespeople.
Budget: “Accessories the Show New York and Las Vegas is approximately a $10 million business.”
Career Path: Enright, 41, studied photography at Atlanta College of Art. Next, she went to work at the Conference Management Company in 1987 as a secretary. She eventually produced 36 events a year there, and left as vice president of operations before joining Business Journals in 1997.
Biggest Job Challenge: “To continually improve and look for new opportunities while you run the day-to-day business.”What was the biggest challenge of expanding to Las Vegas?
Finding the right venue. We wanted an elegant environment. We wanted to find a facility that would have the same amenity-driven philosophy, and where we knew we could stay for future dates. There’s a lot of competition for space in Las Vegas. Staying in the same location is really important for both your exhibitors and your retailers. You want them to know where your home is.
What kind of adjustments are you making with this expansion?
We added another person to the show team, and we are looking at expanding the sales team. In terms of integrating the promotions, we are capitalizing on all the crosspromotion that we can. When we plan the schedule for our Las Vegas show, we are not just cookie-cutting what we do in New York. We are still looking at it for its unique needs. It’s as if we’re beginning a new show entirely. Our space is completely different. At the Javits [Center], you have vast halls; here it’s in ballrooms. While we wanted to bring the same brand to the Venetian, we just knew during our planning stages that there might be some things that would be different. At Javits we had the space to do a buffet. At the Venetian, we didn’t, so we did boxed lunches—still well received, still a high level of catering, but we had to execute it differently. You can put a banner on the outside of the building at Javits. It’s really cost-prohibitive to put a banner on the front of the Venetian, so we had to look for other ways to advertise. We rented taxis, and we did moving and fixed billboards. We really had to know what our objectives were, and figure out how to accomplish them in a different setting.
How is Las Vegas different from New York?
Las Vegas is totally different. You are working within a property that houses restaurants, amenities, and a casino, so there are a lot of other activities taking place alongside you. It can be both [an advantage and a disadvantage]. You can build those amenities into your promotion as a destination. It’s a way to entice your exhibitors and retailers to come. It can also be a distraction. For instance, we usually open our show at 9 AM in New York, but in Las Vegas we opened at 10. We knew people would be out, enjoying the restaurants and the casinos.
What about changes in terms of cost?
It can be more expensive than New York. It can be a very affordable place to go, but with the surge of new resorts and amenities, you can spend a lot of money there. The Venetian is a high-end resort, and the room rates can be high. Costs are seasonal, like New York, so there’s the same challenge with budgeting.
What have you learned about expanding to Las Vegas?
You still have to treat it like it’s a launch. Even though it’s a strong brand, we had to treat it like it wasn’t. We started marketing very early and we continued hitting it hard. We also made the investment in the show, which is very important. When you are launching, people get nervous and they don’t want to invest.
What will you do differently for the Las Vegas show?
We learned a lot. We knew that was going to happen, and that we would walk away with a lot of postshow notes. Next time, we will have different hours for the catering service, a little different layout for the booths. Across the board we have some tweaking.
—Erin Parker
Business Journals
What She Plans: Enright oversees operations, retail development, marketing, public relations, and design for Business Journals Inc.’s fashion-related trade shows, including FAME, Moda Manhattan, and Accessories the Show. Enright joined Business Journals in 1997, the year it purchased Accessories, then known as the Fashion Accessories Expo, which had 15,000 net square feet of exhibit space and 2,500 attendees. Since then Enright has expanded the show to more than 60,000 square feet and more than 11,000 attendees (at the August 2005 show), and added the FAME and Moda shows. And this year Accessories added a Las Vegas version to its regular schedule of three shows in New York, drawing 3,000 attendees to 14,000 square feet of exhibit space. Next year will bring a second Las Vegas event, for a total of 11 shows in 2006.
Staff: Four full-time employees in operations and marketing, plus 12 salespeople.
Budget: “Accessories the Show New York and Las Vegas is approximately a $10 million business.”
Career Path: Enright, 41, studied photography at Atlanta College of Art. Next, she went to work at the Conference Management Company in 1987 as a secretary. She eventually produced 36 events a year there, and left as vice president of operations before joining Business Journals in 1997.
Biggest Job Challenge: “To continually improve and look for new opportunities while you run the day-to-day business.”What was the biggest challenge of expanding to Las Vegas?
Finding the right venue. We wanted an elegant environment. We wanted to find a facility that would have the same amenity-driven philosophy, and where we knew we could stay for future dates. There’s a lot of competition for space in Las Vegas. Staying in the same location is really important for both your exhibitors and your retailers. You want them to know where your home is.
What kind of adjustments are you making with this expansion?
We added another person to the show team, and we are looking at expanding the sales team. In terms of integrating the promotions, we are capitalizing on all the crosspromotion that we can. When we plan the schedule for our Las Vegas show, we are not just cookie-cutting what we do in New York. We are still looking at it for its unique needs. It’s as if we’re beginning a new show entirely. Our space is completely different. At the Javits [Center], you have vast halls; here it’s in ballrooms. While we wanted to bring the same brand to the Venetian, we just knew during our planning stages that there might be some things that would be different. At Javits we had the space to do a buffet. At the Venetian, we didn’t, so we did boxed lunches—still well received, still a high level of catering, but we had to execute it differently. You can put a banner on the outside of the building at Javits. It’s really cost-prohibitive to put a banner on the front of the Venetian, so we had to look for other ways to advertise. We rented taxis, and we did moving and fixed billboards. We really had to know what our objectives were, and figure out how to accomplish them in a different setting.
How is Las Vegas different from New York?
Las Vegas is totally different. You are working within a property that houses restaurants, amenities, and a casino, so there are a lot of other activities taking place alongside you. It can be both [an advantage and a disadvantage]. You can build those amenities into your promotion as a destination. It’s a way to entice your exhibitors and retailers to come. It can also be a distraction. For instance, we usually open our show at 9 AM in New York, but in Las Vegas we opened at 10. We knew people would be out, enjoying the restaurants and the casinos.
What about changes in terms of cost?
It can be more expensive than New York. It can be a very affordable place to go, but with the surge of new resorts and amenities, you can spend a lot of money there. The Venetian is a high-end resort, and the room rates can be high. Costs are seasonal, like New York, so there’s the same challenge with budgeting.
What have you learned about expanding to Las Vegas?
You still have to treat it like it’s a launch. Even though it’s a strong brand, we had to treat it like it wasn’t. We started marketing very early and we continued hitting it hard. We also made the investment in the show, which is very important. When you are launching, people get nervous and they don’t want to invest.
What will you do differently for the Las Vegas show?
We learned a lot. We knew that was going to happen, and that we would walk away with a lot of postshow notes. Next time, we will have different hours for the catering service, a little different layout for the booths. Across the board we have some tweaking.
—Erin Parker
