Should the PGA Merchandise Show Open its Door to more People?

In a few weeks the golf industry will hold its annual gathering of merchants displaying their goods and services. Every possible item from tees to range rovers will be on display. Golf pros, retailers and service providers with proper credentials are admitted to show floor to view the extravaganza. The folks manning the booths greet their buyers and troll for new customers in hopes of increasing their market share and growing their particular business. I have been attending for about ten years and not much has changed. To be honest it has gotten a bit stale. The main reason I go is because I run into many friends I have made over the years. I’m sure a lot of attendees feel the same way. That in my opinion does not sound like a recipe for longevity.   Companies spend a lot of money trying to convince shop owners to stock certain products. It is kind of a top down approach. Basically you try to get one person to buy a lot of stuff and hope he can sell that stuff to a lot of customers. Some companies allocate additional money in advertising to show the buyer of their stuff that people will be breaking down doors to get a hold of that stuff they just ordered. On and on it goes, year after year. Yet I keep reading that sales are down.   Maybe it is time for a new approach. If I were the boss of the show, I would shake things up a bit. The event is three days. On the first two it would be business as usual. On the third day however, I would allow the general public to attend. The companies can put away all their wholesale pricing catalogs and just show their goods. I believe when those people go back home they would go to their retailer and say, can I get one of those new drivers I tried out at the PGA Show. Imagine thousands of people doing that all over. That will create demand and like it or not that is how capitalism works best – when there is demand for goods and services. How one creates that demand is the questioned that will need to be answered as we go forward.