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G.L.D.A.’S  28^th Annual Tucson Gem & Jewelry Show held January 31 –  February 5, 2006 at the new “STARR PASS MARRIOTT RESORT HOTEL & SPA” opened Tuesday with festive crowds of buyers anxious to get to the HOT DEALS before they missed out!!!    For the second year in a row buyers packed the aisles early on opening day to shop and enjoy G.L.D.A.’s fabulous new show location.   Buyers were excited to get in and locate the super deals on treasures they knew awaited them inside.  There was no shortage of new quality direct source foreign & domestic suppliers anxious to fill the buyers orders.    A frantic pace of buying continued all day long with many exhibitors reporting sales that exceeded their total sales for the show in 2005.   By the end of the first day exhibitors and buyers alike were smiling and very pleased with the shows outstanding results and the special location.

This show, unlike many G.L.D.A. Tucson shows of the past, was easy for the buyers to shop with wider aisles, elegant carpeted exhibit halls, and all exhibit areas located in one central location.  The surroundings were elegant and the views breath-taking with wonderful restaurants, lounges and patios where buyers could take a break and eat or just relax and have a drink.

Many of the small inconveniences experienced with the shows move to the new location in 2005 such as parking, shuttle service and hotel organization has been greatly improved.  “We all had a year to work on it,” stated G.L.D.A. President Tanna Wyatt “and it was plain to see that our many efforts and that of the hotel have paid off in better service and a more pleasant experience for everyone.  The hotel is planning on adding between 250 and 500 new parking spaces before the 2007 show and that will also help a great deal.

G.L.D.A.’S management and staff were expecting a very large buyer turn out, due to the huge buyer per-registration ahead of the show. The number of buyers that actually attended this year was up significantly however exact numbers were not available at press time.  “This has been one of our best pre-registrations ever”, said Sue Brent, executive in charge of G.L.D.A.’S Buyer Relations and Pre-registration.  Every year G.L.D.A.’s buyer registration increases with new companies wanting to attend.   Our foreign buyer attendance has exploded over the past four years.  The G.L.D.A. shows enable buyers to survive better in hard economic times and really thrive when the economy is good by allowing them to give their customers better quality goods at lower prices than their competitors. 

The frantic pace continued on the second day, with many buyers who had missed the first day anxious to search for goods they needed before all the special stones and one of kind items had been sold.  By Thursday the pace had slowed somewhat giving buyers time to do some serious shopping and looking for new items to add to their lines and exhibitors a chance to regroup for the weekend.  The huge crowds and frantic pace returned on Friday and continued throughout the weekend with the shows last day reserved for last minute specials as exhibitors cleared out inventory, and bargain hunters combed the aisles for deals. 

Many buyers commented on how much they loved the luxury and comfort of the show’s new location and what a pleasure it was to be able to shop the show without having to go up and down stairs, and from one small room to another looking for their suppliers.  There were many new direct source foreign exhibitors to choose from and buyers were pleased to have a new selection of suppliers to compliment many of G.L.D.A.’s long time exhibitors.

These years show featured special foreign group pavilions from Germany, Sri Lanka, and India.  The groups consisted of the best of the best from these countries and the buyers were stunned at the quality and selection they were able to find at the show.

G.L.D.A. has chosen to take a cautious approach with our new location wanting to insure the quality of our show by being very selective about the exhibitors we will accept.  We don’t want to disappoint our buyers by lowering the quality of our exhibitors just to have a larger show.  Our goal is to attract new excellent foreign and domestic direct source dealers who will give our buyers the best possible goods at the lowest prices.  Over the next two years we will be able to increase the number of exhibitors by about 40% adding up to 150 additional booths for future Tucson shows.

Buyers came to the G.L.D.A. show expecting to get the best prices from direct source exhibitors and were not disappointed in their search.  With over 50% of the G.L.D.A. show exhibitors being foreign direct source companies, the search for the best buys, most unusual stones, and jewelry items was fruitful.  Once the objects of their search were located, buyers purchased without hesitation.  When you find what you’re looking for in Tucson at this show for a good price, you don’t hesitate.  If you wait and go back even an hour later what you wanted will likely be gone.”

Exhibitor anticipation and expectation was running high.  Once the show opened it soon became apparent that the buyers would not be deterred and had come to shop.  Buyers showed up in record numbers. With a much stronger economy than in the past two or three years and stores having depleted stock inventories due to a better than expected Christmas season, the buyers came to buy and quickly scooped up the best deals.

The G.L.D.A. Tucson Show once again lived up to its reputation.  “The move to this beautiful new resort has been a huge step up for our show and has given our world class exhibitors a world class venue from which to market their goods” stated G.L.D.A.’S marketing director Paul Page.  The Marriott offers a great resort hotel with great food, and an elegant, yet casual atmosphere with a beautiful large convention space all in one area. 

The variety of merchandise displayed by companies exhibiting at G.L.D.A.’S show gave buyers an incredible selection to choose from with the advantage of very competitive pricing. G.L.D.A. Shows are unique in the U.S. Gem & Jewelry Industry with over 50% of the exhibitors being direct source loose gemstone companies and the remaining exhibitors being the highest quality finished goods manufacturers, suppliers, mountings and equipment companies. These exhibitors offer a wide variety of colored gemstones, jewelry, diamonds, pearls, carvings, beads, fine jewelry, silver jewelry, antique jewelry and sculpture. 

Worldwide the G.L.D.A., INC. shows are the most international shows in the industry with over 50% of their attending exhibitors being from foreign countries.  The G.L.D.A., INC. Shows continue to grow in buyer popularity and have a lot to offer buyers that most major industry events don’t.   All G.L.D.A. Shows are delivery shows and welcome buyers from all countries and sections of the Gem & Jewelry Industry.   At the G.L.D.A. Shows buyers have a wide selection of direct source gemstone dealers and manufacturing jewelry companies to choose from.  These exhibitors come from all parts of the world and are the most competitive in the industry.  You could not get lower priced goods if you were to go directly to these companies in their own countries.  At G.L.D.A. shows exhibitors have the competition that requires them to keep prices as low as possible if they wish to sell.  Unlike many of the larger shows, at the G.L.D.A. Shows you will not have thousands of exhibitors to wade through. Buyers will only find hundreds of the best, most competitive companies from which to choose.  This is one of the main reasons the G.L.D.A. shows continue to grow in buyer popularity. Buyers can find what they want at the prices they want and never have to leave the country!!!