Manchester, New Hampshire

by David Hewett

We’d really like to tell you that this year’s edition of the long-running Riverside Antiques Show in Manchester on August 9-11 was a roaring success. We’d really like to, but too many of the participating dealers just don’t seem to feel that way.

Some exhibitors did have good sales, especially on preview evening, but others said if anything sold, it was only on preview evening. A few did either no business at all or none worth mentioning. Those exhibitors won’t be back.

The show, managed by Forbes & Turner, has been at the Executive Court Banquet Facility on Manchester’s South Willow Street for three years now, with pretty much the same results most years. It’s a two- to three-hour show held over a space of three days.

It hasn’t always been like that.

Even in the years it was blasted by terrible heat and humidity when it was held in the downtown brick armory, shoppers would pack the floors the first day, go to the other openings, and then come back. Linda Turner, however, had to find a new location following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, when the armory became unavailable.

Now, claim some exhibitors, people come to the opening (those of them who can find the place), run through the aisles down in the tent, look into the booths up in the air-conditioned exhibition rooms, and leave.

That’s what some of the exhibitors are planning to do too. "I’m sick of putting the time and money into setting up here and having it all over after two hours. Twelve years here, but no more," said one veteran exhibitor who requested his name not be used because he had yet to inform manager Turner of his decision.

Linda Turner seems to have accepted the show’s position (number three among the top three) among the Antiques Week standings. "We had record attendance on opening night," she said, "and there were a lot of ‘be backers.’ I know that not everyone had their best show ever, but I heard a lot of positive comments."

There was a large crowd waiting at the 5 p.m. opening on Tuesday, at least as many as in previous years, it appeared. And there were a number of opening night sales. At least 12 pieces of furniture sold down in the tent, and smalls seemed to be doing the same up in the main building.

We followed up on the furniture sales and questioned the sellers. All 12 said they’d sold to new buyers, not repeat customers, and most said they’d sold to California buyers. That pattern was repeated elsewhere later in the week. A Los Angeles buyer was also very active at the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association show.

Those sales gave the show an initial burst of energy. It wasn’t until we followed up with exhibitors in the next few days that the overall malaise felt by many became evident. Even Art Green of Newton Centre, Massachusetts, an experienced glass and ceramics dealer with a loyal following, took note of the lethargy.

"I had an OK show, probably up to past years’ levels, with one very good sale and a few others," he said. "But what we really need is some way to pull buyers back after opening night. Maybe lectures by our exhibitors, maybe something else, but it has to start being more than just a three-hour show held over three days."

That selling pattern was also noted by Cincinnati, Ohio, dealer David Evans, who said, "I had just one sale, on opening night, and no others. But," he added, "it was a very good one and covered my expenses, so I’ll be back next year."

When asked if he saw any way to improve sales, he said, "Funny you should ask. I just got off the phone with Linda Turner and told her I thought we should extend the hours on opening night to attract more of the exhibitors from both Mid-Week and the dealers’ show [NHADA] who are in town setting up.

"The other dealers are perfect customers for us. We should make it easier for them to shop us, I said."

Several exhibitors commented about the location, too far out of central Manchester and away from the other shows, they said. One told of receiving anxious phone calls from a would-be customer, lost in the large shopping mall area just off the interstate. That area is a confusing warren of directions. Signs tell that the two left lanes lead to the mall, and then the driver immediately encounters right-turn-only lanes painted for mall entrances (or vice versa). There are directional signs posted at most intersections, but maybe in the crush of traffic drivers miss them.

The exhibitor who was dropping the show had a philosophical comment when we met him at a Skinner preview on the following Saturday afternoon. "Look, maybe Riverside has had its time in the sun, and its time has run out. Maybe the business has changed; maybe traditional antiques don’t sell anymore. Whatever, I’ve had it. I’m out of here after this year."

Windle’s Antiques, Wilmington, Delaware, probably won’t be back next year either. Their booth has been stuck away from the main flow of traffic in an alcove off the lunchroom in the main building since the move to the Executive Court.

"We didn’t do well," Herb Windle said. "Not well at all. We just didn’t have people coming in to see us. It’s a terrible location, but I think I’d rather be back in the armory than out there. I don’t think many others did very well either. I hate to say it, but at this point I don’t think we’ll be doing the show again."

One exhibitor offering a contrary report was Barrett Menson of Ashby, Massachusetts.

"We had a very strong show," Menson said, "a fabulous show, really. We sold right across the board, furniture, framed pieces, smalls, all manner of things, even on Wednesday. It was so busy after noon opening that day that I didn’t get to eat my lunch until midafternoon. There were people in the booths around me staring and wondering what the attraction was."

The reason for his success? "I really try to keep my prices affordable and take a small profit. Having affordable merchandise really pays off. That, and I’ve built up a very strong, and loyal, client base. We have lots of repeat customers. I’ve had good shows at Riverside year after year with that formula."

Menson felt favorably about Art Green’s suggestion about adding attractions, whether they be lectures or something else, to entice customers back to the show after opening night. "It’s true, there are times you can roll a bowling ball down the aisles and never touch a soul. Yes indeed, Linda should do something to pick up those days."

Maybe the problem is a mixture of many elements: location, timing, changing preferences, worry about the economy, maybe even the phase of the moon.

"The crowds have changed," the owner of Rathbun Gallery, Wakefield, Rhode Island, said. "They used to handle the merchandise, dicker with you anyway. Now, if they come, they don’t even stop to come into your booth anymore. What are they doing here, anyway?" he asked.

"The show lost its energy when it moved away from the city proper," he said.