Dick Gleason, mayor of Auburn and leader of the Gleason Media group of radio stations, said of the Business to Business Trade Show, “For anyone anxious to network and talk business, this show is a real utopia! It provides unbelievable access to real decision-makers.”

Gleason has been an active participant, exhibitor and sponsor of the Show just about from its inception. “I don’t think we were at the first show, the one held at Bates Mill,” he said, “but we’ve been there ever since.”

Enthusiasm for the show and recognition of its continuing productivity is a sentiment shared by other long-term exhibitors, regardless of the prevailing economy. “This is always a great show, well attended. This area is always supportive of business, even in a down year,” said Jason Agren, president of Agren Appliance and TV and a prime sponsor of the 2011 event.

Agren participates in numerous shows all around the state, many of them home shows directed specifically toward homeowners self-selected to be in the market for the kind of merchandise that Agren sells, but Agren recognizes the special productivity of the local “B2B”: “Staffing our booth is a major commitment,” he explained. “We lose up to eight delivery slots (by using Agren trucks and crews to deliver, set-up and break-down their exhibit). We divert sales people from the stores. But the return on our investment in this show is always great.”

Agren believes that there are signs of economic recovery which point to a banner year for the 2011 B2B. “Things have started to break open,” he said, crediting “pent-up demand” for a 30 percent improvement in his year-to-year sales so far this year.

“The growth of the show has been good for everybody,” Agren added. “It provides us with a unique high-visibility format to demonstrate the variety and depth of merchandise we offer, including living room furniture, bedding, televisions, as well as appliances; to show that we really are a one-stop option for everything for the home.”

Agren acknowledges that people don’t necessarily attend the B2B prepared to buy a mattress or refrigerator, unlike home shows, but, he said, “It’s easy to measure the impact of the show. We have some special offers only presented at the show, but which can be redeemed in the stores later on. We know how productive this show has always been for us.”

Jason LeBlanc, a director with the Portland-based accounting firm of Albin, Randall and Bennett, said, “The Androscoggin B2B is a gathering of the most dynamic businesses in Lewiston-Auburn and Androscoggin County. It gives us the chance to expand our relationships with the movers and shakers in this community.”

The firm began in Auburn in 1923, as Shapiro and Co., and it maintains Lewiston-Auburn area employees to this day. But most of the work they do in this area is performed in clients’ offices, LeBlanc explained, “so this show represents our highest profile in the community.”

ABR staffers sit on the boards of directors of numerous area non-profit organizations and take part in a wide variety of Chamber events, too, “but there’s always something going on here,” LeBlanc said, “This is a growing business community and there are lots of opportunities for us.”

ABR has a professional staff of 35, “six or eight” of whom will participate directly in the show, according to LeBlanc. The firm has the depth of knowledge and expertise to help start-up for profit and nonprofit organizations; mid-sized enterprises; and family-owned or corporate structures with a full range of business strategy planning and implementation.

Gleason’s media empire is ubiquitous. WEZR-1240, WOXO, L-A Alerts, and Gleason himself, are prominent elements of most of the most visible and dynamic events of all kinds in these communities: business, civic, consumer, family, and festivals. Yet, there is something special about the B2B, even from Gleason’s unique perspective.

“This is just a fun day,” Dick explained. “Food, give-aways, games; a big party [the Chamber After Hours celebration right on site] at the end of the day. It’s upbeat and positive. I’m happy just to be able to talk to the other exhibitors, let alone the several thousand people who attend,” he said.

And the show has remained a bulwark against the challenging economic times, too, Gleason said. “What drives business people is ‘hope,’ and this atmosphere just fuels hopefulness.” The key to the show’s success, Dick believes, is that it has always been so well promoted and executed. “We should be so lucky as to be as productive [as we are at the show] 365-days a year,” he concluded.

Copy the Story Link