Why are trade show exhibits and retail interiors considered distinct product groups in the wood and wood products industry? They have so much in common.

I began my career detailing high-end fixtures and displays for a retail interiors company in Cincinnati, OH, and then for a company in Dayton, OH, back in the mid-‘90s. When the latter company closed its doors in 1997, I was approached by several recruiters looking for talent to transition over into the trade show and events industry. The transition was natural and I have been working in that industry since beginning as a project manager, then general manager and most recently as director of operations.

Since being laid off in May, due to economic conditions within the company I was working for, I have been pleased to find that despite the changes in the industry over the years I have had some amount of success with obtaining interviews for positions in the retail interiors industry. My experience has been well received as relevant despite the changes over the years in manufacturing and production techniques. But I still ask myself, why are both industries held separately when essentially they are the same or even the best marriage of both worlds.

Here are a few key points from my observations of working in both industries.

1. Both supply high-end sales environments but in different ways.

2. Retail is permanently installed cabinetry whereas trade show exhibits are built to be reused: assembled and disassembled multiple times.

3. Both types of products are designed for a branded environment. Trade shows are designed to be a free-standing sales and marketing environment to convey a client’s brand or product to the customer in the same way that allows a customer at a Starbucks or McDonald’s to know that he or she is in a Starbucks or McDonald’s.

4. Both use the same methods of construction for cabinetry and the detailing and cabinet assembly is roughly the same with one major difference: WEIGHT. Because exhibits are portable, reusable, flexible, modular and reconfigurable, they are built with lighter wood products, such as plywood vs. MDF or luan vs. Masonite. For durability, laminate is the preferred material vs. veneers, but regardless of the panel type, the methods of construction are typically the same.

5. Both industries draw talent from the local carpentry unions. But in the trade show industry, the labor rates charged tend to be higher because of the reuse. Exhibits are more about the design and engineering for reuse vs. permanent installations in multiple locations and mass production.

6. Both industries use the same skill sets but in different ways. Both industries use designers, detailers, CNC operators, graphic designers, project managers, sales or account executives, transportation managers, carpenters and finishers. The major difference is that in trade shows you continue to manage and reuse the fixtures and displays over several years in different locations vs. permanent installs for retail.

I close on this note: Both industries overlap in the best possible way. The busy months for retail interiors tend to be the slow months for trade shows and the same goes for ups and downs in the industry. When business is slow on the retail side then the exhibit side seems to be on the upswing.

Editor's note: Since submitting his Guest Blog, Todd Flick has secured new employment and is excited to test his theory by helping to head up a new division for Southwest Displays and Events as the company's Director of Custom Interiors. The Dallas-based company will add custom interiors, corporate environments and retail displays to its existing tradeshow and events line of business. Todd can be reached through the company's website: southwestdisplays.com.


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