Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #14

What Is the Future of the Antiques and Collectibles Show Circuit?

In late September 2015, I received an email from a friend. An announcement from Dan Darby, General Manager of U.S. Antique Shows announcing the cancelation of the March 2016 New York Pier Show was attached. Darby stated: “Dealer participation in the 2014 and 2015 March Pier Shows was less than desired, with 2015 slightly lower than the preceding year. This continues a more than 10-year trend that has seen the Pier Antique Show reduced from a 2-weekend, 3-location event to its current 2-day run at Pier 94.” The announcement suggested the March show concept was postponed, not abandoned. A 2017 March Pier show is possible. The trade is advised not to hold its collective breath.

In its heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the New York Pier Show, under the direction of Irene Stella and Stella Show Management, was one of America’s premier antiques and collectibles shows. At its peak, the Peer Show required three New York passenger terminals to house it. One terminal was devoted to antiques (Classic Pier), a second to collectibles (Twentieth Century Pier), and a third (American Pier) to a mix of the two. The show was an adventure, the atmosphere electric, and the selection of objects an “I have died and gone to heaven” moment.

In May 2013, Irene Stella retired, sold the New York Pier Antique Show and Antiques at the Armory Show to GLM (U.S. Antique Shows), and announced the restructuring of her company. Stella Show Management Company now manages “Country Living Fair” shows in Atlanta, Columbus (OH), Nashville, and Rhinebeck (NY). These shows focus on decorating with rather than collecting antiques and collectibles.

Is the cancelation of the March 2016 New York Pier Show an anomaly or symbolic of a trend marking the decline of the traditional antiques and collectibles show? Forget anomaly. The Pier show cancelation is one of several 2015 bellwethers suggesting the intermediate and long-term future for some antiques and collectibles shows does not bode well.

In January 2015, Richard H. Worley, the chair of the advisory committee for the Philadelphia Antiques Show, informed dealers in an email “there will not be a Philadelphia Antiques Show in 2015.” The show was scheduled for April 11-13. He cited high Convention Center costs and the inability of the show director to expand the dealer roster and achieve other expansion goals as reasons for the cancelation. The email indicated an effort will be made to regroup for an April 2016 show.

EMG (Events Management Group) canceled the 48th Virginia Beach Antiques Show scheduled for August 7 to 9, 2015. The cancelation announcement noted: “Given the cost of facility rental, increased advertising rates, the current state of the economy, and the general decline in the antique business world, we do not have enough participating dealers to be able to present the high-quality show that you [attendees] have come to expect from Events Management Group…we have examined all options and have found no reasonable solution to the current situation and cannot move forward with this show now or in the future.” EMG is not making promises it is not prepared to keep.

Barn Star Productions canceled its August 7, 2015, Pickers Mart Antiques Show scheduled for Concord, New Hampshire. The show was more than 20 years old. It was one of the many activities associated with Antiques Week in New Hampshire.

Specialized antiques and collectibles shows show similar signs of stress. The February 7-8, 2015 Antique Sporting and Collectibles Show at the Sunnyview Exposition Center and Winnebago Fairgrounds in Oshkosh, Wisconsin was canceled. The good news is that Nona Amour acquired the show and has announced a return of the show on February 5 and 6, 2016.

Many antiques and collectibles shows take place in older venue locations. A closure or renovation impacts a show. School construction postponed the 2015 White House Antiques Show held at the Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio. Miami Beach is planning a major renovation of its convention facility, a project that is slated to take more than a year to complete. Dealer angst as to where the show will relocate already has reached fever pitch.

Many antiques and collectibles shows that have not canceled face serious challenges. Although the secondary market price for antiques and collectibles has stabilized following the impact of the 2008-2009 Great Recession, the same cannot be said for the antiques and collectibles show circuit. Many show promoters continue to struggle to match 2013 and 2014 numbers. Stabilization and turn-around is the exception, not the rule.

[Author’s Aside: This is a not a sky is falling, the end is near column. Antiques and collectibles shows will not disappear. They are a viable sales venue in the trade.]

The golden age of the antiques and collectibles show circuit was the 1980s and 1990s. A return to those glorious days is an ardent wish of many old-timers. It is a dream, not a reality. The 2008-2009 Great Recession, the Millennials and Generation Z, and the digital age caused change that cannot be reversed.

The cited cancelations indicate that antiques and collectibles shows at all levels within the marketplace are encountering problems. The cancelations are the visible signs. Concern beneath the surface is quietly, but quickly spreading. Grumbling is becoming prevalent among promoters, dealers, and customers, especially those individuals who have been involved in the trade for more than two decades.

The avoidance of the blame game is critical. Promoters complain about increasing costs involved in building rental, insurance, and advertising. Their show dealer base is aging. Dealers grouse about the increased cost of booth rental, inventory, and overhead expenses. Buyers whine about high prices, lack of merchandise, and the high cost of attending a show.

Although all these issues have merit, the key is for the three groups to accept reality and work together to find solutions. The three groups are dependent on each other. Those who argue that the antiques and collectibles show circuit has a pendulum that swings between market strength resting with the seller and the buyer are mistaken. Selling and buying antiques and collectibles is not a test of will. It is a partnership between the parties involved that, hopefully, results in a win-win-win situation for the three groups.

Who in the trade is in a position to create the dialogue that will bring these three groups together? My first choice would be a consortium of antiques and collectibles trade papers. If there is no interest there, then I look to the show promoters to take the lead. Show promoters are the only group among the three that is organized.

Nature abhors a vacuum. The same is true for the antiques and collectibles show business. When an antiques and collectibles show location vacuum exists, show promoters will step in and fill it.

Norm Schaut, the founder of the fabled Atlantique City, is an example of the “never say die” antiques and collectibles show promoter. After selling Atlantique City to Krause and watching the show deteriorate and fail to the point where Krause could not find a buyer for it, Schaut used his entrepreneurial skills to launch an Atlantique City-style show at the Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. Although unsuccessful, Schaut did not give up. He created the “Antique City Fun Fair,” held in Lehigh University’s Rauch Field House located in Saucon Valley, Pennsylvania. In its fourth year, it is now operated by William Thomas.

In 2010, Allison Kohler of JKM Shows filled the Atlantic City, New Jersey, show void. I had the privilege of appearing at the first March show. Allison remains committed to the Atlantic City venue. Although attempts to establish a spring/fall show pattern were not successful, the March show, now at Harrah’s Waterfront, remains viable. I applaud Allison for her persistence and willingness to experiment. She tried to return to the Atlantic City Convention Center for an April 11-12, 2015 show. Unfortunately, the show was postponed.

To end on a positive note, many of the mid-size and smaller antiques and collectibles shows have or are close to stabilizing. A strong cadre of show promoters is working hard to see that the antiques and collectibles show venue survives. There will be additional show cancelations. However, when reading a story about a show cancelation in a trade periodical, check the advertisements and reports of those shows that do take place as scheduled. Applaud and support show promoters’ efforts to launch new shows. Finally, spread the word that visiting an antiques and collectibles show is a fun adventure.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Selected letters will be answered in this column. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512. You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

You can listen and participate in WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time. If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT? streams live on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.

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