Show quiet for exhibitors as visitor figures skyrocket

WINDHOEK Show Society President, Harald Schmidt, says he will remember the 2009 Windhoek Show for its calm atmosphere and better-than-expected visitor numbers.

Schmidt said that 98 506 people flocked to the show this year with around 15 000 people visiting the show on Saturday alone. Last year just under 85 000 people visited the showSchmidt attributes the numbers to the Show Society starting a publicity campaign earlier than expected and says that they also had ‘the other show’, referring to the MTC Design For Life Expo, to thank for the increased numbers. He said people always mentioned the Windhoek Show whenever the MTC Expo came up in conversation as the two were held at the same time.Schmidt was impressed with the ‘professional look’ of the halls, as the Show Society laid new carpets in the halls and paved some of the outdoors areas.Some exhibitors The Namibian spoke to felt the show was ‘really quiet’. But most were quick to say that sales were OK and they were happy with the exposure they got from exhibiting at the Windhoek Show. Uwe Kessler, GWM dealer principal, said he believed that the MTC Design for Life Expo, which place at the Independence Stadium from October 1, had an influence on attendance at the Windhoek show. ‘Bad decision. Some of the biggest exhibitors went to MTC (Expo),’ according to him. Pupkewitz Nissan, which made a killing by selling up to 15 cars last year, was not as fortunate this year and did not record a single sale. General Manager Abbie Blaaw claimed the show attendance estimates in the media were not true. He felt that fewer people attended this year.Ildiko Nagy, Sales Executive of Audi Centre Windhoek, said they were quite happy with the exposure the show offers. Cellular phones were all the rage as MTC’s special offer sold out on Tuesday, prompting the company to publish advertisements in daily papers on Wednesday stating that the Samsung phone was no longer available at the Windhoek Show. The company said it had sold 2 000 of these phones. Showgoers could buy one of the handsets and get one for free. Iltaf Hussain of Hussain Electronics, selling cellular phones and accessories, said his five stalls at the show did brisk business over the nine days. But it wasn’t just cellphones that flew off the shelves. Political parties took their campaigning to another level by exhibiting at the show. The DTA registered ‘hundreds of new members, mostly born-frees’, said Ignatius Semba, who manned the party’s stand. His colleague Tjeripove Hoveka was quick to pull out various registration books with stubs containing contact details of the newly registered members as evidence.While the DTA does not require a registration fee they offered various DVDs of their rallies for sale. You could also make a N$5 donation to the party by sending an SMS to a number or take part in another SMS competition and win yourself N$1 000 at N$5 an SMS.At the Swapo stand supporters could buy hats, shirts and even bangles in the party’s colours. The Ndilimani CD sold like hot cakes, according to SPYL member Junias Erasmus, who was at the stand when The Namibian visited the show. Swapo membership costs N$14,50. On Monday Erasmus said they signed around 600 new members and ran out of T-shirts and dashboard covers. From the RDP’s outdoors stand they promoted their policies and canvassed for members. They also had mobile teams dishing out fliers on the showgrounds. They could not confirm the number of new members signed up.Schmidt was very happy with the local flavour of the entertainment section, saying while the entertainment tent was never full there was a good vibe and local acts received good exposure. For the first time there were 2 000 animals on show, prompting the organisers to erect spotlights at the pens because judges couldn’t finish their task on time and had to continue after sunset.Schmidt claims that only about 14 cases of petty theft were registered. These were dealt with swiftly by members of the Namibian Police who provided security services at the show this year. Most stolen property was returned to the owners, according to Schmidt.The only downside Schmidt could see at this year’s show was the regular power outages in certain areas. He blames outdated overhead power lines for the outages, saying that they would be replaced soon. – Additional reporting by Magreth Nunuhe