Salute, London - Saturday 13th Nov

Started by Leon, 06 September 2021, 03:31:53 PM

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Leon

06 September 2021, 03:31:53 PM Last Edit: 06 September 2021, 03:50:41 PM by Leon
The rescheduled Salute 2020 (2021?!) event is now taking place on Saturday 13th November at it's usual ExCeL home in London.  Hopefully the change of date, pandemic and Brexit-y issues don't affect visitor numbers too much and we get the usual great show.

You can place your pre-orders through our website by selecting the 'Collect at Show' delivery option and then entering the event you would like to collect from in the comments box on the following page.  Payment can be made in advance by card/PayPal or you can choose to pay on the day.  For Salute it is vital that you place your pre-orders at least 7 days in advance of the event as we will be extremely busy in the run-up to this one.

More info on Salute can be found here: http://www.salute.co.uk/salute/salute-2020/
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Leon

15 November 2021, 11:29:12 PM #1 Last Edit: 16 November 2021, 12:13:41 AM by Leon
Sadly a very quiet Salute this year with takings down by 50% and visitor attendance looking to be around a similar reduction level.  It was a shame to see so many empty game tables as well.  I think the Covid/Brexit/Warfare combined impact really hit hard and we'll have to see what happens at Warfare in a fortnight. 

Thanks to Orcs for joining us on the stand this year, we really appreciated the help.  It wasn't quite as busy as we hoped it would be but the next one should be better!
www.pendraken.co.uk - Now home to over 7000 products, including 4500 items for 10mm wargaming, plus MDF bases, Battlescale buildings, I-94 decals, Litko Gaming Aids, Militia Miniatures, Raiden Miniatures 1/285th aircraft, Red Vectors MDF products, Vallejo paints and much, much more!

Norm

Since Partizan was such a roaring success just a few weeks ago, I guess the Salute experience this year has to be seen in isolation rather than as a barometer of where the show scene is at the moment or where it is heading.

Steve J

I think you're right re: the Covid and Brexit issue, with it being harder and more expensive to get to the UK compared to before :( . There always used to be a few empty tables through no shows, but again, I wonder if failed pcr tests etc prevented clubs from attending? Others have also mentioned the costs of getting there and the door entry price as being a bigger factor this year. If I wanted to attend, it would be around £50 just to get there and park, plus entry on top, due to the much higher fuel costs at present.

Let's see how Warfare compares and Battleground, so hopefully we can see if Salute is a blip or not.

steve_holmes_11

I saw some pictures of the show last night.
I was particularly taken with the massive effort that went into the scenery.
(Just when you think you have an adequate layout - eh!)

Salute may prove a bit of an outlier.
A huge show drawing attendees form a vast hinterland, many coming on public transport.

The current situation may have put a lot of the intercity visitors off.
Especially if there's a cosy local show scheduled in the next couple of months.

Big Insect

I think going into London may also be a big 'put-off' Leon.
I went into London for work a couple of weeks ago (1st time in 2 years) and the state of the trains was terrible.
I had to change trains twice, on the way up, as the 1st one didn't leave the departure station, the 2nd had a door fault by the time it got to Swindon and the 3rd was consequently so crowded that any form of social distancing was out of the question. On my way back 2 days later I had similar issues - 3 trains cancelled and then I eventually got on a train to Cardiff (that was going to convert to a replacement bus service at Newport) and got off at Bristol Parkway and took a taxi home.
My daughter travelled down to see a friend in Salisbury and her 10 carriage train was reduced to 4 there & back, due to rolling-stock shortages.
According to GWR, the issue is that a large % of the railway maintenance yard engineers were from the EU and they have gone home, and it takes many years to train up a competent engineer.

TBF I have never been a fan of Salute - it always seemed to give me a splitting headache (at whatever venue it was held) but I also think event 'congestion' is a big factor on lower numbers. Alongside the travel issues.

Mark
'He could have lived a risk-free, moneyed life, but he preferred to whittle away his fortune on warfare.' Xenophon, The Anabasis

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Orcs

I enjoyed helping out at Salute, Adele and Leon looked after me very well.(thank you both)

I heard on the grapevine (so unsure how correct) that one of the Warlords admitted that they had only sold 4000 tickets this year. That is at least a drop of 1/3rd if not half on previous years.

Other Trader friends I spoke to all said that takings were significantly down, and it had been very quiet.

I think people have got used to ordering online, especially if they are ordering a known product. Excel were insisting on showing a Covid Passport to get into the complex, although the checking was not very thorough.

I must admit Salute is not a pleasant venue, and its closeness both physically and in time to SELWG and Warfare cannot have helped.

As its now run very much as a commercial venture (each year is a Ltd company)  I wonder if this will affect what the warlords do next year. A drop in 2000 or more in ticket sales will have cost them at least £20,000. The cost of being a trader are also very high, an only sustainable for the traders if the taking are also high.

Some Traders ae now doing "No Salute" sales, and the one trader I know well says they takings on this are higher than at Salute without the associated costs and effort.  However, I am not sure how you can show your wares to new potential customers without at least some show attendances. Also Its is nigh on impossible to asses the loss of trade from potential sales from people who saw your stuff at a show.   

 

The cynics are right nine times out of ten. -Mencken, H. L.

Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well. - Robert Louis Stevenson

hammurabi70

I think SALUTE may have hit the financial buffers.  Apart from the issues raised already, I was surprised that all my local contacts who have been regular attendees decided not to go.  There is now the ULEZ charge to consider and the general view was that it was just not worth the effort.  I suspect that would be a surprise to those flying in from Europe or travelling half the length of the country but one suspects that locals make up the core of supporters and they seem less inclined to go.  No doubt the 2022 and 2023 shows will be decisive but I have the impression that shows have been in general decline for some years, given that you can check websites and order online.  Friendship counts a lot but the trade is the key element of the life of any show IMHO.

Those of my contacts not going to SALUTE this year are ALL going to WARFARE so how that show pans out will be most interesting and, presumably, illuminating. 

John Cook

Quote from: Big Insect on 16 November 2021, 09:25:54 AMI think going into London may also be a big 'put-off' Leon.

Quite agree.  Even Before Covid getting to the Excel was tortuous and the venue is cavernous and uninviting.  I haven't been for years and I can't think of anything that would get me to go again.  Even though Newbury is a good two hour's drive my favourite has always been Colours but in the present circumstances I'm afraid that nothing would get me to a show anywhere.

Leon

The ULEZ was definitely a factor, we didn't know it existed until the night before so that was a bit of a surprise.  There's no way to avoid it when you're putting an entire exhibition stand in a 3.5ton van, unless TfL want me to put the stock/equipment on the DLR instead?  So that was another £50 on top of an already expensive event.

If I was a visitor to the show, I'd look at the entry (£12-£15), parking (£20) and ULEZ (£12.50) to pay before even getting in the door and wonder if it's worth it.  Especially if I can go to Warfare a fortnight later and pay £8 entry with free parking and no emissions fees.
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Steve J

Warfare is certainly a far more attractive proposition as you rightly say Leon. Fingers crossed it has good attendance and takings for the traders.