Day Three of the 2010 NAMM Show Offers Retail Advice, Learning Sessions, Networking, Entertainment and Celebrity Sightings

 The third day of the NAMM Show featured a breakfast session offering retailers insight on strategies for a changing retail world, a kickoff to the show opening with the Los Angeles Unified School District All City Marching Band, and the first-ever SchoolJam USA teen battle of the bands finals competition.

Attendees at the Breakfast Session heard a performance from Jen Lowe and the Sensitive Dudes, listened to some inspiring quotes from children who have visited the Museum of Making Music at the NAMM headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., and heard valuable retail advice from George Whalin, retail expert and author of Retail Management Consultants.  

According to Whalin, today’s new strategies for retail operations are all about change, and that the lack of desire and inability to change is ultimately the downfall of many retailers today.

“If you don’t change, your business is going to go away,” Whalin said. ”The retail industry is stuck in the past in many instances.”

Whalin said that some ways to incorporate change are to examine your store’s:

• Sales strategy
• Performance improvement methods
• Number of daily transactions
• Average sale amount
• The management of your inventory

The most important question to ask yourself in the retail business everyday, according to Whalin, is “what are we going to do today to increase sales, maximize profits, and better serve our customers?”

The show opened at 10 a.m. and drew the largest number of attendees since opening on Thursday.

NAMM Chairman Tom Schmitt presided over this morning's Annual Meeting of Members, where Members voted in the new slate of the NAMM Board of Directors and recognized the outgoing Board Members (http://www.namm.org/news/press-releases/eight-new-board-members-elected-...).

The first-ever SchoolJam USA teen battle of the bands held its finals competition at the Wanna Play? stage outside of the convention center. The national teen ‘battle of the bands’ rewards both aspiring music makers and their respective school music programs, and features the best amateur bands of teen musicians between the ages of 13 and 18.

The 10 finalists that played today included:

• Adrenaline, Burlington, Conn.
• Aftermath, Austin, Texas
• Almost Chaos, Santa Cruz, Calif.
•  Chasing the Skyline, Carol Stream, Ill.
• Crimson Fire, Ridgefield, N.J.
• Dance Over Anaheim, Colorado Springs, Colo.
• High Tide, Sharon, Mass.
• Jaci and Those Guys, Rowlett, Texas
• Power Pirate, Washington D.C.
•   The Switchfits, St. Louis, Mo.

The event wrapped up with a special performance by The Dares. The winners will be officially announced on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, exhibitors and buyers continued their business at the show.

“It’s been a really strong show for us,” said exhibitor Dave Avenius of Aguilar Smplication LLC. “We’ve had a lot of great meetings and there’s been constant traffic of both artists and stores. It’s been a very upbeat show. It’s been very positive.”

“We’re very pleased with the number of the people coming to our stand and the quality of the people who come to our booth, so we’ll definitely be here next year,” said exhibitor Melvyn French of Cliff Electronic Components in the U.K.

Dow Ferguson, owner of a brand new online music store www.thelutherie.net, said the last time he came to the NAMM Show was in 1973 when it was in San Francisco. Now he is looking for companies who will ship product directly to his new online customers.  

“I wanted to tie down some string companies that will drop ship them to save costs and make it easier for me and for the customer,” Ferguson said.

“My business has been good so far at the show,” said Kevin Kuptz of Ingnited Light and Sound. “We’ve been able to pick up a couple of new lines of pro audio equipment and we’ve had more business and less extra people around.”

Later, the Crane Institute for Music Business at SUNY Potsdam presented an interactive roundtable forum, called “Enhancing the Music Education & Music Business Partnership.” The session explored how to jointly benefit from the synergistic relationship between the music education and music products sectors. The forum was dedicated to SUNY Potsdam alumnus and long-time music industry icon Sandy Feldstein.

The NAMM Foundation also kicked off the third annual “Music Education Days” event at the NAMM Show. Although the NAMM Show is closed to the public, The NAMM Foundation has arranged a two-day program from Jan. 16 to Jan. 17, 2010, especially for educators to learn about the instruments and accessories that can best help them teach their students how to play music.

Celebrity sightings included Gene Simmons, Gary Sinise, Julianne Hough, Frank Stallone, Chad Smith, Joe Satriani, Slash, Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass, Ted Nugent, and many more.

The day wrapped up with a performance by Orianthi, presented by PRS Guitars. An Australian singer and guitarist, Orianthi is best known for being Michael Jackson's guitarist for his comeback concert series, This Is It.

The 2009 NAMM Show runs through tomorrow, Sunday, Jan.17, at the Anaheim Convention Center. For more information and news updates, interested parties may visit www.namm.org/thenammshow/2010.