An Epic Tale of Adventure from the Enchanted Markets of Chattanooga
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!
