Meeting retailers at the Southwest Dance Retail Show
Every year, I get so much joy out of meeting retailers face to face at our annual trade shows.
Recently I attended the Southwest Dance Retail Show ― which took place Jan. 20-21 at the Grapevine Convention Center, about 30 minutes outside of Dallas ― where I had the chance to meet with many of the dancewear retailers who carry both Russian Pointe® shoes and Growing Through Arts® books and toys.
When I first started attending the trade show about 13 years ago, many dancewear retailers would come up to our booth and say that they had never heard of our products. This year, almost everyone at the show was familiar with our shoes and many retailers came up to the Aleksandra Enterprises booth and told us how much they appreciate our quality products, quality training and excellent customer service. I felt so proud!
However, even though many retailers have become familiar with our products, they still were eager to attend our pointe shoe fitting seminar. My 8 a.m. seminar was so full that there was only one seat available, and many retailers attended for the second or third time so they could refresh their knowledge of our products and learn more about choosing the proper Russian Pointe® model for different types of feet.
In addition to our regular line of pointe shoes, we also debuted our new demi-pointe shoes at the show, which are designed to help young dancers transition from ballet slippers to pointe shoes. Much more resistant than a slipper, yet with not enough support for pointe work, the demi-pointe shoes help aspiring dancers build strength while experiencing the sensation of working through a pointe shoe.
Kay Dalziel, owner of the Artful Dancer in Dallas, stopped by our booth to look at our new demi-pointe shoes, as well as our ballet slippers, which she has never carried before, and she says she is considering carrying them in the future.
Some retailers who are already Russian Pointe® authorized retailers were just excited to visit our booth to have the chance to meet us face to face.
“The highlight for me was meeting Aleksandra,” said Trent Bauer, co-owner of 5678 Dancewear in Southlake, TX, and the Dance Shop in Fort Worth, TX, who has been carrying Russian Pointe® shoes since 2011.
Bauer was so excited to meet us, in fact, that he offered to help us clean up our booth at the end of the show and take us to visit his store.
“It was quite an honor to talk to her about business,” he said. “And the fact that she owns a boutique, too, was great because I could talk to her like a peer.”
Look for Aleksandra Enterprises® at two more trade shows in the next two months: The Midwest Regional Dance Show in Skokie, IL, Feb. 10 to 11 and The Atlantic Dance Show in Baltimore Feb. 24 to 25. To make an appointment during the show, please contact Courtney at cmay@aleksandra.com.