Make trade fair more profitable for exhibitors

The purpose of trade fairs is to provide a platform for companies and individuals to expose their products to prospective customers. As you read this, the annual Uganda International Trade Fair has been ongoing from October 2 and ends on 10 at the Uganda Manufacturers Association Grounds, Lugogo.

I was a key player during the first Trade Fair hosted at the present Hockey grounds inside the National Council of Sports compound, also in Lugogo. The present UMA show grounds were just an open area with many trees but very unsafe.By then I lived in Naguru Flats, opposite the present Uganda-Chinese Friendship Hospital. Everyday, regardless of the time, we would hear gunshots and cries from people, who were being molested by the dreaded Obote II para-military outfit, the Special Force personnel. For the residents of Naguru Housing Estate and Naguru ‘go-down’, it was convenient to walk through the football fields to the stage next to the Rugby Grounds to catch a taxi to town. It was, therefore, good to transform that area into showgrounds. Thereafter, I was deeply involved in all the trade fairs from 1987 to 2016. This transforms into experience. 

Every year at the end of the various trade fairs, I used to make reports of how best to improve the subsequent ones. While interacting with the management of the show grounds, I was told that the reason they chose particular dates was to make the Trade Fair part of Uganda's independence festivities.I got into this discussion after realising that the only profitable days of the trade fair were 9th October Independence day and that one weekend of the 10th day of the event. The other days were simply loss making days for the exhibitors because of the low turn up of showgoers. 

I was armed with all the statistics because I was the stall manager of Pepsi-Cola for six years, Vimto for one year, Schweppes for two years and Coca-Cola. The other hindrance to good business for exhibitors, who are members of Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), is the high entrance fees charged by the organisers. It's common knowledge that when the entrance fee is high, it becomes unaffordable and lowers the number of showgoers. This is counter productive because the exhibitors are already charged high fees for rent of space and other rates for those who own permanent stalls. As we participated in the various shows, I would consult my colleagues - mainly in the beverage industry and other areas.

Suffice it to note, that the intended target of the exhibitors were employees who would be at their respective places of work Mondays to Friday, and would therefore only have non working days to go to the show. Armed with these statistics, I would go to the UMA offices to impress upon them to make it more profitable for the exhibitors.My plan used to be two-fold:1. 

Keep entrance fee low to attract numbers for exhibitors 2. Re-adjust the positioning of the 10-day Trade Fair period to increase the days of profitable business. My proposal met a lot of opposition not from the bosses at UMA but the employees, who had to be consulted. What was interesting was that the employees who used to oppose my proposals were always paid extra allowances over and above their normal salaries during the Trade Fair period! The then executive director of UMA, the amiable Hajj Ssebaggala, later gave me an audience and spent little time in showing him the business sense of my proposal. 

He consulted his superiors and was allowed to try out my repositioning of the dates. I also met the rotational chairman of the show at that time, Pepsi-Cola’s Mr Amos Nzeyi. I mobilised the stall managers at the time of Nile Breweries Ltd, Uganda Breweries Ltd, Pepsi-Cola & Vimto and led them to meet Mr Nzeyi. After successfully convincing Mr Nzeyi, he instructed Haji Ssebaggala to re-position the following year's trade fair dates to include Independence day of and 2 weekends. The results for all exhibitors were overwhelming! 

Record sales and more business contacts were made than ever before. Although the entrance fee wasn't adjusted downwards, UMA made the highest revenue from the gates than ever before. However, this caused extra workload for UMA employees , who convinced their bosses to revert to the old system!My proposal would have been that the show starts on 4th October, eve of the weekend and closes on either Saturday 12th October (9 days) or Sunday 13th October (10 days), creating seven days of serious business as opposed to three provided for by the present arrangement.

Mr Kennedy Mutenyo is a former promotions manager and trade fair stall in-charge.