463 | How NY NOW’s New Ownership is Reimagining the Experience For Brands and Buyers with Dorothy Belshaw

Dorothy Belshaw has spent more than three decades in the gift, home, and trade show industries. She's led some of North America's biggest markets—from NY NOW to Atlanta Mart, and Las Vegas Market.Earlier this year, Dorothy partnered with industry veterans William Lacey and Karen Olson to acquire NY NOW through Rockview Management Group and bring the iconic 100+ year-old show into its next chapter.In this episode, you'll learn:What changes when a trade show is owned by a small, industry-embedded team instead of a large company What she and her partners changed in their first few months, and how the summer show performed How they're rebuilding category depth, including Home returning as a primary category and Handmade coming back under external jury How multi-line agency partnerships re-engage the reps who are already in stores year-round What NY NOW is doing to bring buyers back from the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, northern Midwest, and eastern Canada Why Dorothy believes buyers can't build a full assortment digitally, and what that means for your booth What support is being built for newer and smaller exhibitors, and how to make an impact in a smaller footprint What the strongest brands at the show have in common: evolving product, early commitment, and follow-up Why Shoppe Object and NY NOW are on different weekends for Winter 2027, and the plan to get back to the same datesToday's episode is brought to you by our Retailer Roundtable interview series. To make a strong first impression with wholesale buyers, we need to do a few things well. We need to make it easy for stores to purchase from usWe need clear pricing and terms and conditionsWe need to build strong relationships with our customersAll of that gets easier when we listen to our customers. This on-demand interview series gives you a window into what buyers want and need from you, and it's only $27. You can get access to it at prooftoproduct.com/roundtable.You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/463 Quick Links:Free Wholesale Audio SeriesFree Resources LibraryFree Email Marketing for Product MakersPTP LABSPaper CampMentioned in this episode:Take the free quiz!Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz