Our stand at the International Jewellery Fair in Sydney was all set for a busy day when the photo was taken yesterday at 8:30am … and a busy day it was too, the first day of a three day event.

On the stand we have our jewellery software being demonstrated live.  Our technology is backed by a team of jeweller experts who talk to our solid market penetration and the latest enhancements in our software.

Our first visitor for the day was a happy client from FIJI.  This got us off to a good start and the first day moved along at an excellent pace.

We have served the jeweller marketplace for eleven years.  Sales are increasing thanks to excellent software developed by our skilled in-house software development team.

We have been busy at the GNS Market Fair in Perth today. The stand has has had a constant stream of sales prospects and existing newsagent customers.  Western  Australia is a good and growing marketplace for us.

We put on a good display with three people staffing the stand - to ensure that the loved Tower Systems customer service can be experienced by everyone stopping by.

Our installation team will be busy based on the business we have seen today - and the fair still has three hours to go.

Congratulations to GNS for putting on a good day … thanks especially for the regular flow of food and drink!

PS. Don’t be put off by the photo, it was taken at 8:45am before the fair opened.

Our specialist bike shop software will be the feature of a public presentation at the AUSBIKE trade show this weekend in Melbourne.  Live on stage, one of our product experts will demonstrate the software live and show how it can help bike retailers increase sales from customers, reduce the cost of underperforming inventory, better manage repairs and service, reduce sales counter mistakes and pursue better quality business decisions.

We appreciate being invited to deliver this presentation as part of the seminar program at the important industry trade event.

Bike retailers have been instrumental in guiding enhancements to our software which are now used and appreciated by other retailers using our software.  Their retail sales management requirements in particular have led to significant enhancements which have broadened the scope of the traditional POS software function.  This makes our software more use for all of our customers.

We have a stand at the GNS Market Fair in Perth next Sunday, August 22.  We will have on display the latest release of our newsagency management software featuring excellent point of sale, stock management, theft reduction and sales building tools.

Trade shows are proving to be excellent marketing tools for us in 2010.  They appear to be attracting the better retailers who want to grow their businesses.  For us, tThe closure rate of new business as a result of trade shows is strong.

The trade shows also present an excellent opportunity for more face to face time with existing customers.

The photo shows how it was for a fair chunk of the first day of the GNS Market Fair in Sydney yesterday.  With more than 700 newsagents using Tower Systems software in NSW/ACT we were plenty busy catching up with existing customers.  We love our costomers, they are a cheerful bunch as anyone spending time on our stand yesterday discovered!

Our new and exclusive customer display, iPads, new software generated terrific interest. We also had time to talk with newsagents keep to switch to our software.  We are happy to help out on this front and have an excellent number of reference sites who have already made the move.

The people of GNS have done an excellent job making good use of the Rosehill venue and creating a vibrant show packed with opportunities.

Our stand at the Melbourne Home & Giving Fair has a very stylish look, in keeping with the fair itself.   As the photo shows, our design people went for a clean white look, quite different to the usual software company pitch.  We are happy to invest money in a fresh look for 2010 for two very important and growing retail markets for us: gift shops and homewares businesses.

The first day at the fair today was a good start for the long trade show.

Our talented and energetic in-house marketing team has been busy developing new marketing collateral for our gift and homewares software in advance of the Gift Fair which starts this weekend in Melbourne.

The artwork they have settled on for the banner which will grace the rear wall of our stand, one of two presences we will have at the fair, is:

Evolving how we represent our business is as important as it is for a retailer to evolve their own retail story.  Those visiting the Gift Fair this year will see considerable advances on our presence last year and 2008 before that.

We are enjoying the opportunity of representing the latest in gift shop and homewares store software offerings in our portfolio of retail management products.

The gift and homewares space is exciting, especially in the second half of the year when businesses are usually firing leading up to and following Christmas.  This is when our software really helps in managing supply, pricing and sales.

Today, we are making the final preparations for our stands at the GNS Market Fair in Sydney and the Home & Giving Fair in Melbourne this coming weekend.

With two major trade shows in simultaneously (and in different cities), we have doubled our equipment, personnel and marketing resources.

If other rshows this year are anything to go by we will write good business and get to catch up face to face with many customers.

We have some nice innovation on display on our stand at the GNS Market fair in Melbourne this weekend. In addition to the latest release of our software, we will also be showing off our exclusive Gordon and Gotch supply adjustment initiative, our Tyro broadband eftpos link – now used by 400 of our customers, the Blackhawk gift cards and a range of other facilities which help Tower Newsagents make more money from their IT investment.

If you find yourself at the Melbourne GNS Market Fair this weekend, stop by and say hello.

The Apple iPad is a feature of our trade shows this year as we show our customers as well as prospects how the iPad can be used with our Point of Sale software. Getting a second iPad for this purpose has made a lot of sense given the use we have been able to make of it already.

We are also planning on producing a demonstration / training video to show off the iPad to those who cannot make one of our trade shows this year.

Our team at the GHA Home & Giving Fair in Sydney has reported good business achieved at the trade show over the weekend.  There are plenty of gift and homewares business owners interested in our Point of Sale software and how we can help improve the performance of their retail businesses.

The show is the first outing for our new trade show collateral for this year.  This fresh collateral includes a new corporate image display unit - at the back of the stand in the photo.

Our retail management software for homewares and gift stores is being promoted at the Home & Giving Fair in Sydney this weekend.  On the GHA (the fair organisers) stand, we have our latest brochure and a coupon letting people know our stand details - HB34.  This coupon promotes a special offer available for people who purchase at the fair.

Tower Systems is proud to be exhibiting at the Sydney Home and Giving Fair in ten days time at two locations within the Sydney Showgrounds venue.

We will have a presence at the GHA partners area of the trade show as well as on our stand on the fair floor.

On show will be the latest version of our Gift Shop software and our homewares software.  We will be showing these products off to retailers as well as suppliers and discussing changes which are adding even more value to the relationships between suppliers and retailers in the gift and homewares channels.

We have been exhibiting at gift related trade shows for several years and have developed a strong new customer base as a result.

If you find yourself at the Home & Giving Fair, be sure to stop by and say hello.

We will have our software on show at the QNF State Conference in Brisbane Tuesday next week.  Luke La our QLD State Manager will be attending and showing off the latest Tower Systems software for newsagents.

In two days, our new point of sale software for gift shops will be on show at the GHA Gift Fair in Sydney. This latest software has new features developed specifically for gift shops. Enhanced Lay-By, stock management, reporting and Point of Sale facilities will help gift shop owners build stronger and more profitable businesses

The Gift Fair will provide us with an opportunity for valuable feedback on the new software not only from gift shops but fro the many other retailers who attend including newsagents.

This is our second trade show for 2010 and we are excited for the opportunity. If you are at darling Harbour for the event, be sure to drop in and say hello.

With our first trade show for the year now over we are well into planning for the GHA Home and Giving Fair in Sydney later this month.  This looks set to be an excellent event with close to 30,000 business people expected to attend.

We will announce a special offer at the GHA Home and Giving Fair along with other innovation.

We are using trade shows this year to show new software as well as our online training and training videos.  It’s great to show our point of difference live and in a context which makes sense - more so than just talking about things.

Here is our revised Trade Show schedule for 2010 so far.

• GHA Home & Giving Fair, Sydney, Feb 27 - Mar 2
• Reed Gift Fair, Brisbane, July 3 - 6
• GHA Home & Giving Fair, Melbounre, August 7 - 11
• GNS Market Fair, Melbourne, Jul 31 - Aug 1
• GNS Market Fair, Sydney, August 7 - 8
• Ausbike/Interbike, Melbourne, August 22 - 23
• GNS Market Fair, Perth, August 22
• JAA Jewellery Fair, Sydney, Aug 30 - Sept 1
• GNS Market Fair, Brisbane, Sept. 11 - 12

We expect to add at least anothermore trade shows to these plans as we develop opportunities with trade show organisations.

Our stand at the Melbourne Gift Fair has delivered excellent new leads for us over the last three days.  We also got to meet with many existing customers as well as with many gift suppliers who can make good use of our technology.

The configuration of our stand made it easy for us to talk with multiple groups at any one time.  This was important given the show traffic as well as the number of businesses we met having more than one outlet - common in the gift space.

We used the Melbourne Gift Fair to roll out the first phase of new look and feel marketing collateral for 2010 as well as our new software release.  The reaction was excellent.

As we anticipated, visitors to the trade show and our stand came from the gift retailer, jeweller and newsagent channels.

This has been our first Trade Show for 2010 and even with one day left to go we’re feeling good about the interest retailers will have in technology this year.

Here is our Trade Show schedule for 2010 so far.

• Reed Gift Fair, Melbourne, Jan 30 - Feb 2
• GHA Home & Giving Fair, Sydney, Feb 27 - Mar 2
• Reed Gift Fair, Brisbane, July 3 - 6
• GHA Home & Giving Fair, Melbounre, August 7 - 11
• GNS Market Fair, Melbourne, Jul 31 - Aug 1
• GNS Market Fair, Sydney, August 7 - 8
• Ausbike/Interbike, Melbourne, August 22 - 23
• GNS Market Fair, Perth, August 22
• JAA Jewellery Fair, Sydney, Aug 30 - Sept 1
• GNS Market Fair, Brisbane, Sept. 11 - 12

We expect to add at least another six trade shows to these plans as we develop opportunities with trade show organisations.

Tower Systems New Zealand will have our software for jewellers on show at the New Zealand Jewellery Fair this weekend.  we will be demonstrating our latest software including repairs, manufactured goods, point of sale and jeweller specific reporting.

Jewllers in New Zealand  have made an excellent contribution to the enhancements we have included in our software this year.  Some of their suggestions will be on show in Auckland this weekend.

With our second last trade show of the year now over, we are taking time over the next two weeks to review our plans for 2010.

We have completed twenty four trade shows under this year and as a result have excellent contact and closure data to guide our plans.  In some markets, trade shows are passing theur use by date while in other markets they are growing in importance.

The gift fair just completed in Sydney has been good for us, generating some excellent new leads.

Our stand at the Reed Gift Fair in Sydney from today through to Tuesday is open for business with the latest gift shop software on show.  Attendees at the trade show will get to see our point of sale, stock management, back office, lay-by, loyalty club, theft reduction, reordering, business management, customer service and multi store management facilities for gift shops and other businesses likely to be represented at the show - such as newsagents.

Our gift shop software is selling well and to store owners and has been endorsed by many suppliers keen to trade electronically with gift shop owners.  We continue to innovate, releasing new facilities this year to add value to the gift shop offer.  Many of these innovations are as a direct result of gift shop owner suggestions.

There is no  better way to demonstrate support for a marketplace than to  support their industry trade shows.

The photo was taken of our stand this morning, a few minutes before the fair opened.

Our jeweller software has been a hit at the International Jewellery Fair in Sydney these past three days. It is great to be at a trade show and meeting people who stop by because of recommendations from their peers.

Our sales team has a busy few weeks ahead following up the new sales leads here in Australia as well as overseas.

The trade show has been another successful outing for our new gift cards as well as our new repairs management software. Both are generating excellent business opportunities for us.

Our stand is ready at the JAA International Jewellery Fair in Sydney which opens tomorrow.  On show will be Tower Systems’ new jeweller management software including our new repairs facilities, marketing tools and retailer efficiency tools.  this will be the fist outing for some of our new facilities.  We have experts from the company on hand to show the strength of our jeweller software and support services. The professionalism of the stand shows off our commitment to the marketplace and our dedication to the jeweller channel.

The Ausbike trade show which drew to a close in Melbourne this afternoon was a great success for us.  We have picked up new bike shop customers for our retail and back office bike shop software.  We also got to reconnect with some of our users.

Our team reports that this was a terrific event for us and proof that trade shows are an excellent way to market point of sale software - the software speaks for itself.

Bike shop owners themselves are a happy bunch, focused enjoying themselves while building strong businesses.

Here is a list of trade shows in which we are participating over the next four (very busy) weeks:

Sydney. GNS Market Fair. For Newsagents. August 15-16
Melbourne. Ausbike/Interbike Australia. For Bike Shops. August 16-17
Perth. GNS Market Fair. For Newsagents. August 30
Sydney. JAA International Jewellery Fair. For Jewellers. August 30 - September 1

As the list shows, this is a very busy time.  On top of the trade shows, our sales team remains very busy presenting in-store to prospects.