Rain puts damper on day two of showcase but exhibitors welcome new location

Torrential rains may have put a damper on day two of the rebranded annual Trade and Innovation Expo (formerly BMEX).

This was the view of some of the exhibitors who showcased their products and services at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium on Saturday.

When a Barbados TODAY team visited the Wildey, St Michael location, some of the exhibitors said they were happy for the opportunity to showcase their products and services, but said the attendance by the general public was less than ideal, and they attributed this to mainly to the weather.

Some of them also suggested that the name change may have confused some people.

Following a two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the date for the expo was changed to October in 2021, and this year, the name was changed to the Trade and Innovation Expo (TIE), with the expo shifting from the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre to the more spacious Garfield Sobers Gymnasium.

“It has been slow today,” declared owner of Azure Gourmet Skin Care Natalie Burnett.

“I want to say it is because of the rain and we are under a flood watch. People may want to try and come out but bussing it, people will not come out in this weather,” she said.

“A lot of people are not familiar with the new name. We had BMEX a pretty long time. I am not sure if they did enough marketing due to the fact that the name has changed. A lot of people, you ask them and they didn’t hear about the name change,” said Burnett, who is showcasing at the expo for the third year.

Sharing similar sentiments was Aliaija Evelyn, Process Engineer at Asphalt Processors Inc, who said “they could have done a better transition with the name change”.

“It has been a little slow today. I think people still have to get used to the name change and the new location,” she said.

However, Evelyn, a first-time exhibitor, said the highlight was day one with the children being very enthusiastic about the asphalt products.

Owner of Lieshua’s Beauty Studio Liena Adamson has been in business for the past six years, but this is her first time taking part in the exhibition.

“Yesterday we had a lot of interaction with the kids and I was able to explain to the children how I make the products. Today, we have a lot of rain so the crowd is not as heavy as we would have liked,” said Adamson, who said she had to pivot during the covid period from doing hair and nails with her products to selling the products full-time.

“The name change, most people are still not yet familiar with it,” added Gwendolyn Bostic, her business partner.

“I like the location although the other location would have been a lot better,” she said, though adding that the weather condition was “a major factor” in the low turnout of patrons on day two.

One of the most popular stops was the sprawling Foursquare Rum Distillery booth, where patrons had the opportunity to sample and purchase the variety of rum and rum-based products on display.

One of the fascinating exhibits was that of the Barbados Association for the Blind where workers were weaving the rush seat chairs on the spot. Also on offer were three varieties of mops hand-made by members of the association.

Marketing and Sales Officer of the association Cheryl Griffith told Barbados TODAY the highlight of the expo this year was seeing some new businesses and the networking opportunities.

“The business is now starting to pick up. Yesterday was a little bit slow but we expected that because the first day is always about schools and school children don’t come to buy mops,” she quipped.

Griffith said she especially liked the location, but said if she had her way, the expo would be held four days, like it used to be in the past.

“I like this one, but I liked BMEX before because it was in June and we had the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, which was Whit Monday. But now it is just three days … we had more days in June to give more exposure,” said Griffith.

Food vendors also reported slow sales on day two. Caterer and owner of Yardie’s Catering Services Cathy-ann Yarde said she always looked forward to the expo, adding that while day one saw good sales, the same could not be said for day two.

“We didn’t have a lot of people passing through but you still had the staff coming out and getting food. Today will not be as busy as we expected it to be, but we give thanks,” said the food caterer of about 28 years.

The first-time TIE exhibitor said she would like to see more exhibitors at the annual event.

The exposition, which was attended by primary and secondary school students on Friday, has attracted just under half of the expected 200 plus exhibitors. It will come to an end on Sunday.

(MM)