Dear Stephen:
Wow—I loved your coverage of Salone, and I’m sorry I missed Milan. We’re a large Steelcase dealership with offices in Atlanta and elsewhere, and I heard clients from Gensler, other design firms, and so many dealers went for inspiration and the experience. Now I regret not going, and not sending some of our salespeople.
I keep thinking Design Days, NeoCon, and now ICFF in NYC coming up in May are enough, but the industry is clearly moving beyond those traditional moments to stay engaged with clients. Our customers are getting younger, and they’re looking for more—more inspiration, more energy, more experiences that feel worth their time.
So as a dealer for a major manufacturer, we need to keep up. We need to go where they’re going.
What’s next? What else should I be paying attention to?
Signed, A Dealer Who Wants to Be in the Know
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Dear Dealer,
You’re right—and you’re asking the right question at the right time. Attending the well-known shows is important, but it is not always about going to a trade show. Sometimes it’s smarter for a manufacturer to create a regional event and capture an audience locally. The next generation of designers, specifiers, and dealers aren’t just looking for information—they’re looking for something to feel. They want energy. They want to be part of something. If it doesn’t deliver that, they move on quickly. Milan was very special, but you shouldn’t have to travel farther than your local market to find an experience filled with positive vibes. Smart manufacturers stay relevant by creating events in each region to draw dealers into their showrooms, along with architects, designers, real estate professionals, and specifiers.
I saw exactly what that looks like this week.
Global Furniture Group hosted an event tied to the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, and from the moment you walked into their Miami Design District showroom, you could tell this wasn’t business as usual. It didn’t feel staged, and it didn’t feel forced—it felt intentional, and that’s a big difference. There was movement in the room right away. Race simulators, reflex challenges, people competing, laughing, leaning into it. No one stood off to the side checking their phone, and no one quietly planned their exit. If you’ve been to enough of these events, you know how rare that is. The excitement was contagious.
What stood out wasn’t just the activity—it was how well everything worked together. The food made sense for the moment. The drinks had personality. The music from DJ Yissel gave the space a steady pulse without taking over the room. It all fit, and because of that, people stayed engaged longer than they usually do. And Global did something a lot of companies still get wrong—they gave people a real reason to stay engaged. Not a generic giveaway, not something forgettable, but actual Formula 1 race tickets. One prize was a $13K ticket to the race! And there were 4 other major ticket prizes as well. That’s the kind of incentive people pay attention to. It changes the dynamic. It keeps people in the room, in the conversation, and talking about it afterward. Because when this is done right, it’s not about putting on a show. It’s about what the show says about you. And this one said a lot. This is a furniture showroom—office furniture and healthcare furniture—and customers seeing, touching, and sitting in the products has to be a win-win for Global.
You could feel it starting with the CEO of Global, Joel Feldberg. He was present, engaged, and clearly comfortable in the room—not putting on a performance, just connecting with people in a way that felt genuine. That tone carried across the entire event. You saw it in how people interacted. Elizabeth Guillory, Senior VP of Sales, moved through the space, connecting people without making it look like work. Dealers like Empire & Co (a huge national dealer from NYC with offices in Florida and elsewhere) were there, along with Pradere Designer Workspaces, JC White, and more. I talked with people from Compass, HOK, Atelier Interiors, Leotta Designs, Gurri Matute, AES Interiors, Fineline Interior, and the Miami Dade Aviation team. Yes, all in the Global Furniture Group showroom.
I’m not even naming everyone. People showed up with their “teams” and their clients—not out of obligation, but because they wanted to be there. It was a fun night out, and it made good business sense. Not just dealers, but designers and specifiers, and real customers.
This wasn’t a slow weekend in Miami—it’s one of the busiest weekends of the year—and still, people made time for this. That tells you everything you need to know. What Global understands—and what a lot of others are still trying to figure out—is that you can’t wait for customers to come to you anymore. You can’t assume they’ll show up just because you opened the doors. You must give them a reason. A real reason. Global is investing in relationships, in their dealers, and in creating experiences that feel natural, not manufactured. And when you do that consistently, people respond. They show up earlier, they stay longer, and they come back. I saw Don Tarr, Regional Sales Manager Gulf Coast for Global—who seemed to know everyone— and Kristin Adams, the Regional Sales Manager, with her Miami team.
I had designers tell me they came early just to spend time in the showroom. That doesn’t happen by accident, and it’s not something you can fake. That’s built over time. So yes, there are still important moments for trade shows on the calendar, and you should absolutely be there. But if you want to stay ahead, you need to start thinking beyond those moments. Manufacturers should go where customers are going to feel inspired and create an event. Don’t wait for a trade show. Because right now, the companies separating themselves aren’t relying on location, timing, or routine. They’re creating energy. They’re creating experiences people remember. And more importantly, they’re creating experiences people don’t want to miss. That’s the shift.
And the manufacturers who understand it first won’t just stay out in front—they’ll make it impossible to catch up.
Stephen