Chris Thomas

It’s Tuesday already?

After approximately 27 event-hours taking place over the weekend, we’re all a bit sluggish in our weekly processing of the reports and prep for the upcoming weekend.  So I’m going to keep things brief:

• 4/28 River Market & Night Market: $374 avg
• 4/29 Market: $496 avg

The pace of our markets were very enjoyable this weekend, and Sunday felt very normal and comfortable.  If you are a new vendor, Sunday is the balance we typically hope to achieve most weeks — crowded enough to be fun and profitable, but relaxed enough that people can stroll and shop.  We don’t want to have crushing crowds all of the time; those are fun, and great buzz, but would ultimately drive our core customers away.

On a related note, our 2012 Vendor Sales have already reached $227,059 as of this weekend!  Considering our first year of management posted total annual sales of just $1 million (which in itself was a record-breaking season), I’m pretty darn happy with the state of the union.

I’ve had a number of vendors indicate that they are looking forward to joining us at the Ringgold Market, which is really terrific news.  I’m still looking for one or two more full-selection produce farms to round out the product mix, but we’re ahead of schedule on our rollout.

See you on Sunday!

I’ve been somewhat negligent in my tradition of sharing market reports each week, due to a variety of work and home related disruptions.  A lot of good things going, but just not enough time in the day to get everything done as hoped.  And for some reason, I think this entire season is going to be that way!

Opening Day went nearly as expected, although I believe we were all very pleasantly surprised by the sheer size of the crowds.  It not only was the largest opening day ever, but also the largest market day in our history — that was as good as it’s ever been!  Pretty amazing, and hopefully a sign of good things ahead.

2012, so far:

• 3/24 River Market, $7,800 total sales, $269 sales/vendor avg
• 3/31 River Market, $11,500, $311 avg
• 4/14 River Market, $6,150, $256 avg
• 4/21 River Market, $4,056, $290 avg

The River Market is primarily a tourist-centric market, and thus tends to have strongest sales during the tourist season — Memorial Day through Labor Day.  It’s certainly not bad at the moment, and the weather is milder… just different.

Our Sunday Market is traditionally more oriented towards the locals, although we’ve reached the size where it has become a regional tourist attraction as well.  Our product sales typically favor foods & farms during this portion of the year, but arts/crafts still can do quite well — some days better than others.

 Our average sales for this last weekend were exceptional across the board:

• 4/22 Opening Day, $104,100 total vendor sales!, $609 average sales/vendor!

Simply incredible.  For those that enjoy whacky stats, that amount works out to $5.78 per second! Local really is better!

The product categories which did well were very evenly distributed - everything from art, furniture, concessions, farms, flowers, photography, clothing, jewelry and body care products all posted above-average sales.  Overall, there were no product-specific sales spikes common with some events (like Strawberry Day or Oktoberfest); it was a well-rounded event.

The downside of having crowds that large is that it isn’t necessarily great for casual shopping; to this point, some of our vendors outside did much better than similar vendors inside…  outside was more relaxed!   I expect that we won’t see this size of crowd again for a while, so our more relaxed nature will return - and sales should improve for those products/vendors which benefit from closer vendor/customer interactions.  The crowds are exciting a buzzworthy, but not always the most profitable.

Regardless, it’s nice to start the season with a record breaker!  I look forward to seeing you again this weekend, have a great week!

Hi River Market Vendors!

We are going to be partnering with the Tennessee Aquarium and HATCH this upcoming weekend, and have been asked to encourage everyone to try to do some form of interactive arts & crafts this upcoming weekend.  For example, if you paint - perhaps you could demonstrate your art during the river market hours.

Thanks!

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.

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!

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!

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

What a terrific weekend — if you can find any fault in the weather, you must have been out of town; Chattanooga enjoyed an ideal setting to host the Head of the Hooch this weekend!

I’m quick to share that the Hooch is perhaps my favorite event of the season; nothing else makes Chattanooga shine like two thousand boats on the water and thousands of competitors racing along the Tennessee River on a bright, sunny afternoon.  It’s simply an amazing sight.

It’s also good for the local economy; I know of several visitors which had to stay in Cleveland because all of the hotels are booked solid with teams and supporting families. 

As an event partner, the Chattanooga Market organizes all of the non-sporting vendors, and this year’s participants generally went home very happy after posting our largest sales averages ever:

• $935 avg sales/vendor [arts & crafts only: $660 avg sales/vendor]

Sunday also enjoyed a perfect day, and we had nice crowds at the Market — but not collegiate athletes and tourists:  $328 avg sales/vendor

Thanks to everyone who came out, and I’ve never been more proud of our terrific market vendors than this weekend — we’ve become an integral part of the Hooch, and represented Chattanooga with quality, style and professionalism.  

Have a great week!