Chris Thomas

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday break;  we’re back at work, wrapping up the final details of the 2012 season and preparing for the mad rush of preparing the printed materials, advertising campaigns and other logistics necessary to make our markets seem effortless to our customers.

I always like to look back on the past to see how we’re doing, and wanted to share a recap of the 2011 season with you.

In 2011:

• we organized sixty-eight distinct events, and held sixty seven (Arts in the Park was flooded out!)
• during those events, our vendors reported record sales of $2,085,849
• average vendor sales, across all markets/events, was $354 per vendor per day
• the worst market day was $78/vendor (a rainy River Market day); the strongest was $935 (Head of the Hooch)

The Top 5 Events, as measured by total vendor sales:

• Oktoberfest
• Mother’s Day
• Strawberry Festival
• Peach Festival
• Opening Day

Vendor sales by major category:

• farms & local food: $797,840
• artisans: $848,996
• concessions: $401,822

Due largely to the River Market and extended Holiday Market season, our artisans took the lead for the first time ever in total sales!   Local food sales continue to improve, and all indicators suggest that the upward trends should continue well into 2012.

With the final weekend of the season behind us, it’s time to relax and enjoy the calmer weekends…  it’s been a fun year, and 2012 looks to be even better.

Our Holiday Markets were solid this season, with combined three-weekend sales of over $254 thousand dollars!

• Holiday Market: $120,920
• Holiday Market Too!: $133,853

We’re still waiting on one or two missing sales reports from this last weekend, but Friday sales were about $25k and Saturday’s results doubled to over $51k.  There are a few tweaks we’ll be making in 2012, but I think the general consensus is that the indoor extension is clearly worth the effort.

I’ll have a more detailed report later, probably late January or so, but our 2011 Chattanooga Market Season reported vendor sales of (at least) $2,083,493! That’s up 10% over last season, and in particular we’ve seen stronger arts & crafts sales than we have in recent history.

We’ve worked hard, now it’s time to rest.  Enjoy the holidays, and I look forward to seeing everyone again in the early spring.  River Market opens on March 24, and the Sunday Market will open on April 22!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

After the final weekend of the Holiday Market Too!, we plan on taking some time off.  Our offices will be closed from Wednesday, December 21 until Monday, January 9.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

I know that many of our vendors are using Facebook, twitter, Google+, etc. to communicate and promote their businesses/activities with the world.  I first joined twitter during SxSW several years ago (when it first launched), and it’s taken me several years to figure out what it’s really good for.

Actually, I’m still working on that.

But I’m making headway. One new application which I’ve fallen in love with is Flipboard for the iPad (and, more recently, the iPhone). If you are not already familiar with it, Flipboard allows for you to build a custom daily newspaper/magazine filled with sources, topics and information which interests you — and while it gathers those articles using a variety of electronic feeds, twitter is the primary tool for aggregating curated topics.

To feed my info habit, I’ve started building “columns” of information based on the things I like to read about: tech, business, public markets and local chattanooga news & events. The interesting aspect of this process is that I can share my lists with you, and the rest of the world, which promotes my lists to the role of a micro-publisher of sorts.

As such, I’m also building a few Chattanooga Market lists to “publish” the feeds from our vendors, sponsors, and other markets from around the world.  If you want to take a peek, or even subscribe, visit twitter.com/chattamarket/lists for more details.

Here’s where I need your help:  if you are a market vendor and use twitter, tweet “I’m a @chattamarket vendor!” and I’ll add you to our vendors list.  Tracking the “mentions” is the simplest way to to get you added, plus I’m never above a bit of self-promotion!

Our first season at the Chattanooga Convention Center with our indoor Holiday Market is off to a reasonable start.  It’s nice being warm and dry, and after some initial setup goofs (I’ve always been measurement challenged), things settled into a good vibe.

Friday wasn’t as well-attended as we would have liked, which discounts the demand for downtown business workers’ need to shop.  Several people commented that the relocation of Blue Cross and TVA offices probably have negatively impacted the downtown day/lunch traffic, which seems to be a sound argument. 

• Friday vendor sales: $15,700
• Saturday vendor sales: $41,500

With the total weekend vendor sales of slightly over $57k, I feel fairly good about the outcome but plan on making a few changes in 2012.  Last year, at Warehouse Row, we sold $20k during the opening weekend and $25k the second - so we’re seeing growth in our expanded approach, but there is always room for improvement.

After surveying quite a few Too! vendors last week, the group consensus was that a Saturday/Sunday market seems preferred over a Friday/Saturday approach, although several suggested that a three-day Fri/Sat/Sun might be a good idea, too.

I’m inclined to agree that a Sat/Sun schedule seems to be more appropriate, given our sales levels and vendor/customer feedback.  I’m also looking at adding a third week next year, per vendor feedback, as consumer sales typically increase as Christmas nears.

As our role as market organizers is to provide the maximum opportunity to our vendor members, your feedback into our Holiday Market Too! development has been great.  I personally am looking forward to some “downtime”, but completely respect the fact that this season traditionally makes-or-breaks most businesses — so we can wait another week before our winter holiday begins if needed.

One last weekend to go!  Make it a good one, and I look forward to seeing everyone at the convention center!

For the first time in several years, I wasn’t frozen to the core by the time we broke down Sunday evening after our two-day Holiday Market event.  This weekend offered favorable weather, sunshine and nice crowds — and I really didn’t miss the subfreezing temperatures we’ve come to expect.  

Sales were good, too:

• Saturday: $50,067 (average vendor sales $365)
• Sunday: $66,757 (average vendor sales $473)

A comparison between 2010 and 2011 is somewhat mixed:

• 2010: $120,053 total sales
• 2011: $116,824 total sales

Sunday 2011 was up 10% over last year, but Saturday was down — our concessions/food sales were the primary area of weakness on Saturday.  MAINx24 just around the corner may have had something to do with that; it’s hard to say for certain.

Overall, it was a strong event with several vendors (arts & craftsmen primarily) reporting their strongest sales of the season.  While not entirely unexpected, it’s always nice to hear!

For those of you who will be joining us for the indoor phase of our Holiday Market, I look forward to seeing you on Friday.  If you are hanging up your tent for the winter, I hope you have a terrific holiday season and wish you the warmest thoughts towards a happy and prosperous 2012!

Well, it was sure nice to see everyone this weekend. 

That’s the happy commentary to an otherwise wet & dreary event — our first real rainout this season.  Vendor sales were the low-point of the season, with average sales of $171/vendor.  It wasn’t our strong-point.

But frankly, this particular weekend has always been weak — even our strongest and most loyal supporters are away visiting family, shopping at the big box retailers or simply enjoying an afternoon eating leftovers… who knows?  But as far back as I have sales history, the Black Sunday has never been a very strong day for us.

As such, I am officially proclaiming that we will be taking this weekend off in 2012 — November 18, 2012 will mark the final “normal market” at the pavilion, and we will jump into Holiday Market after a week off with family.  

Holiday Market 2012 will begin at the First Tennessee Pavilion over the weekend of December 1-2, 2012 — same as our historical practice — and we are planning on an extended Holiday Market season again at the trade center.  I’m going to wait until we see the reports from this season before we firm up the extended scheduled, but several vendors have asked for a Sat/Sun indoor market and also to go as long as possible up until Christmas.  I’ll take all of that into account - but I also want to see how this year’s response is.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend at Holiday Market — don’t forget that we have the vendor pot-luck dinner on Friday night!

Sales this weekend were better than expected, as shoppers have started to prepare towards the holidays a bit early this year.  Average vendor sales were $287/vendor, which is not bad considering most of our farms have wrapped up their seasons.

I received a lot of good emails from people regarding the open discussion on 2012’s end-of-season schedule; in short, most everyone expressed a strong desire to continue the season as-is and have a strong presence during “Black Friday” weekend. They also liked the chilly end-of-year Holiday Market, and worried that a move might harm one of our best sales days of the year.

I agree.  It took me a few conversations to settle back into the idea, but ultimately the vendor comments were well-considered and persuasive.  Next season will continue at the First Tennessee Pavilion through the first weekend in December (as has been the historical tradition), and we will most likely continue to extend the season indoors afterwards at the Trade Center or similar facility.

Thanksgiving

We’ve had a terrific season, and to celebrate we are going to waive all vendor setup fees this weekend (11/27) to show our appreciation and gratefulness for our vendor community.  You’ll still need to cover your taxes, and we will collect the sales commissions at the end of the day.  So if you are an approved vendor, come out and help us celebrate Shop Local Sunday at the Market this weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello? Is this thing on?  Test, test…

Hello!  My name is Chris, and I’m happy to be here today to share with you the past weekend, the upcoming weekend and even 2012.  Thanks for reading my article.

With November comes a seasonal decline in sales, which fortunately has started much later over the last few years (the trend began in September just a few years ago).  But the distractions of school, holidays and weather can’t be ignored forever, and as our fresh produce availability declines so goes our sales.

This weekend posted a sales average of $263/vendor, which is officially the low-mark of the 2011 Sunday Market season.  Gross market sales also were a season low, which is not unexpected.

That’s the bad news; the good news is that when compared to 2010, the sales were actually up 26% — a healthy bump by any measure.  And just around the corner are our Holiday Market(s), which I expect may generate sales of nearly 20% of our overall vendor sales — massive events by any measure.

Which brings me to a potential 2012 change I’ve been pondering for several months, and I would like to hear your feedback on.  Specifically, I’m considering:

• ending the First Tennessee Pavilion season with a two-day Thanksgiving Market finale on November 17-18, 2012
• taking a one-week break over Thanksgiving so that our vendors & staff can spend quality time with family and friends
• launching into our indoor Holiday Markets the following week (beginning in December) to capture as much holiday Local is Better shopping

The shift away from an outdoor Holiday Market is a bit unsettling to me, but after hearing for the last three years how chilly it is I’m starting to consider alternatives.

Along those same lines, I’m also debating the times we’re open during Holiday Market 2012 — Fri/Sat, Sat/Sun or Fri/Sat/Sun?  And what weekends? Traditionally, sales increase the closer we get to Christmas…  and there are four weekends in December where we can attract shoppers.

Lot’s of ideas, no certainty in anything — just open brainstorming.  As only a portion of our vendors read these emails every week (the smarter, better-looking portion!), I would like to hear from you your thoughts on these proposed changes.  Email me at chris.thomas at chattanoogamarket dot org and let me know your thoughts.

Have a great week!

Chris