SEMA News
SEMA News Essentials
SEMA News Advertisers
Cover Section
SEMA News Articles for Purchase
Claim Your Space for the Future
About this product:
We’ve just come from the first SEMA Show Exhibitor Summit, held May 25–27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the feedback we’ve gathered has been tremendous. The goal of the Summit was to inform attendees about how to maximize each exhibitor’s presence, save money on Show expenses, demonstrate how social media can extend any exhibitor’s marketing reach and increase traffic—and sales—at every booth. The SEMA Board of Directors, the SEMA Show committee and the association staff committed themselves to innovation and improvement for each aspect of the SEMA Show, ensuring that every exhibitor’s investment delivers the greatest possible value. If you weren’t able to attend, here are just a couple of the programs we highlighted to help exhibitors get ready for the 2010 SEMA Show.
Restyling on a Comeback
About this product:
One of the most profound effects of the recession was the decline in U.S. vehicle sales, which plummeted from nearly 17 million in 2006 to about 10.6 million in 2009, according to Ward’s AutoWorld. And while the downturn hobbled nearly every facet of the automotive aftermarket, some of the greatest damage occurred in the restyling category, whose very existence is predicated on available vehicle inventory. Conversely, the recession and market forces also caused the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to change the way they develop and market their products. Gone are the days when each automaker produced a multitude of variants, each of which was dappled with seemingly unending options lists. In order to save costs, the OEMs have condensed their offerings to restricted trim levels in the most popular models of the strongest brands. That contraction in variety will prove to be a boon for restylers, industry leaders say. As the OEMs reduce the range of packages they offer, restylers can fill the gaps.
The Buffer Zone
in
About this product:
Barry Meguiar’s family has been in the car-care business for 109 years, and he’s personally headed up the company that carries the family name for more than four decades. As the president of Meguiar’s Inc., he’s seen the economic roller coaster trundle up and down many times before, but he’s never seen anything like the last couple of years. Despite the fact that his company not only weathered the storm but actually prospered, posting a double-digit gain in 2009 alone, he said that this recession battered the car-care industry like none other in his lifetime.
We recently had the good fortune to speak with Bob Corwin, first vice president of Alliant Insurance Services, to discuss his company’s role and service offerings within ProPledge.
The SEMA Show is the premier destination for buyers in the specialty-equipment industry looking to find new products and services for their customers. In 2009, 25,086 buyers went to Las Vegas specifically to bring the newest restyling and car care offerings from the Show floor into their own retail shops.
