Trade Shows: The Gateway and Exit Point for Business Success
Trade shows serve three vital roles: 1) providing a platform for business negotiations and product sales, 2) offering marketing opportunities to assess product feedback and demand, and 3) facilitating the growth of domestic and international networks. Furthermore, trade shows significantly impact the host region's economy, enhancing its image and brand power.
Each year, February and March are crucial months when Japan’s major trade shows in the food sector take place. In this issue, we feature an interview with the organizers of the "Supermarket Trade Show," one of Japan's most significant business exhibitions focused on food and retail distribution, held from February 12 to 14 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. Additionally, the 50th edition of FOODEX JAPAN, Asia's largest food and beverage trade show, occurred at Tokyo Big Sight from March 11 to 14, attracting 2,930 exhibitors (3,738 booths) from 74 countries and regions worldwide. Among the highlights is our coverage of the Turkish Pavilion, where we interviewed several exhibitors who received significant attention.
Trade Shows: A Major Industry
Trade shows attract a sizable number of exhibitors and visitors (buyers) within a specified timeframe, making them an effective platform for business meetings. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that may lack substantial budgets for advertising and sales activities, trade shows offer an ideal environment for sales initiatives.
In Japan, the average duration of a trade show is 3 to 4 days. Preparations for an exhibition often begin more than a year in advance, and once the event concludes, planning for the next show starts immediately, meaning the entire cycle of involvement spans a considerable period. In this way, trade shows represent a major industry that demands substantial investment in people, resources, and time.
The development of transportation networks and advancements in information transmission technology have diversified the methods of buying and selling products. Apart from trade shows, other methods include: 1) direct visits to buyers (sales activities) or visits by buyers to company sites (such as manufacturing plants or offices), 2) direct sales through the company’s website, 3) mail-order sales through third-party websites or catalogs, and 4) sales through advertising via television, newspapers, and magazines.
With the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, physical trade shows and events were temporarily suspended and shifted to online or virtual formats. Today, the balance between “digital and analog”, “high-tech and high-touch”, and “virtual and real-world” approaches is being recognized as an effective strategy.
Trade Shows: The Gateway to Business
For over two decades, the “delicious Japan” project team has visited and observed trade shows worldwide and actively participated by securing booth spaces for its exhibitions or providing proxy exhibiting services for Japanese companies. Through these experiences, we have developed a deep conviction that the trade show is “The Gateway and Exit Point for Business Success.”
We were once taught that a “trade show” is, by definition, a show intended for trade. However, in Japan, trade shows are often perceived not so much as shows for “trade” but more as “fairs” to showcase products or “exhibitions” to display merchandise and services.
If more Japanese companies could change their mindset and view exhibitions as genuine “trade shows,” fully embracing their essential role as platforms for business exchange, we believe they would achieve significantly greater results on the global stage.
