IGC East Continues to Build
IGC East’s second annual show at the Baltimore Convention Center drew more than 1,500 verified independent retail buyers, who shopped the latest product offerings from nearly 300 exhibiting vendors across the floor.
“We appreciate the positive response from the buyers who attended IGC East this year. Now, we’re looking to them to spread that enthusiasm to their industry friends and colleagues for an even stronger IGC East next summer,” says Jeff Morey, IGC Show co-founder and co-producer. “Our sights are on establishing IGC East as the go-to source for new products and industry education in the region as our event continues to grow. It is a building process, and we’ll get there with the support of this wonderful industry moving it forward.”
Response from many exhibitors was positive. Master Nursery Garden Centers, which moved its Eastern Regional Member Meeting to IGC East this year, says the relocation was a good one for them. “We are extremely happy, and had the highest turnout in years – way up from the other venues of past years,” says Jeff Lafferty, CEO of Master Nursery Garden Centers. “Our booth was jammed, and we wrote a bunch of orders from members. We will definitely be back for IGC East 2016.”
IGC East’s exhibitors, covering a broad range of categories, intrigued visitors to the show floor – including Tuesday’s spotlight speaker, Martha Stewart. In what can only be described as incredible exposure for the independent garden center industry to consumers worldwide, Stewart blogged about her experience at IGC East (www.themarthablog.com), sharing more than 25 photos and descriptions of some of her favorite finds on the show floor, as well as from her Q&A keynote, which concluded with questions from the audience and a meet-and-greet at the front of the ballroom stage. Stewart went on to greet exhibitors and examine even more product hands-on during a personal walk-through tour of the show with Jeff and Cheryl Morey.
Pre-registration for IGC Chicago 2015 is open now through August 16. The ninth annual event returns to Navy Pier, August 18-20. For more information and to register, visit www.IGCshow.com.
Videos
