JULY 28 | If only you could get to the 30th floor.
With that one caveat--over the infuriating system for gaining elevator access to the rarefied tiers of the Bellagio, where the major studios hid out--exhibitors and attendees were in a generally buoyant mood during the 24th annual VSDA convention.
"The sky is not falling on the [DVD] category" Buena Vista Home Entertainment senior VP Patrick Fitzgerald said during a studio marketing panel, echoing a refrain heard many times here over the past two days. "Yes, the growth rate has slowed a little sooner than we expected, but this is still a $25 billion category."
Fitzgerald's slightly defensive tone reflected the battering the video business has taken in the mainstream media in recent months, after disappointing results from a handful of high-profile titles touched off speculation that the DVD boom might be coming to an end.
Total DVD sales are expected to grow by 3% this year, Adams Media Research president Tom Adams said. That's well off the industry's earlier double-digit growth rates and down from Adams' own earlier forecast of 12% growth, but not bad for a $25 billion business.
"I think the business is in a very healthy place right now," Paramount Home Entertainment executive VP sales and marketing Michael Arkin said. "I don't know why people are looking for negatives."
Arkin said the business good health was reflected in the quality of the meetings Paramount had at the show with customers, including such high-profile sell-through accounts as Virgin Superstores, Circuit City, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders.
Rental reps also generally seemed happy with this year's clambake.
"This is one of the best we've had in several years," said one-store independent operator Al Welch of Video Village in Rockwall, Texas. "There's higher participation and more enthusiasm on the vendor side. And there's a lot of traffic here."
Final attendance figures will not be available for two to three weeks. But VSDA officials said the tally will show a double-digit percentage increase over last year. The number of exhibitors grew by 29%.
Many attendees attributed the positive vibe to the change in venue this year from the Venetian, where the show had been held for the past few years, to the five-star Bellagio.
The move was made in part to accommodate the major studios, who for the past few years have generally holed up here even while the rest of the show were down the Strip at the Venetian.
If nothing else, the move increased studio participation, with all the majors represented in meeting rooms.
Attending panels and parties were Warner Home Video president Jim Cardwell and exec VP/general manager Ron Sanders and Lions Gate president Steve Beeks and senior execs Ron Schwartz and Anne Parducci.
Meanwhile, Buena Vista sent executive VP marketing Patrick Fitzgerald, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment had VP marketing Pam Kunick-Cohen and VP sales Simon Swart, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brought senior VP marketing Lexine Wong and VP marketing Marc Rashba.
But getting to the meeting rooms wasn't always easy, prompting frequent grumbling. Special keys were needed at certain times to get to the 29th and 30th floors, where the major studios held court.
Some attendees also were surprised to pay $11.50 for a cup of coffee and a bagel in the morning.
Still, the Bellagio won mostly high marks from attendees.
"Things are closer together, so this is a better facility," said John Merchant, owner of 49er Video in Davis, Calif.
Indie suppliers seemed particularly upbeat about the show.
"In the last 15 years, this is the best show we've had as far as the quality of meetings," said Steve McGonigle, president of Triumph Marketing. "And we've had a lot of unexpected traffic."
McGonigle said Triumph is getting into new areas and different accounts, such as gift stores.
"This is one of the best networking opportunities," said Albert Nader, chairman of Questar, a specialty label celebrating 20 years in business.
Nader praised the VSDA organization for consistently providing a forum for industry issues and for paying attention to the needs of small companies.
"Our positions can be aired and discussed," he said.
This year's show also marked the first anniversary of IDEA, the VSDA's indie-retailer oriented group. It was launched to shore up declining membership at VSDA, which has been blamed for focusing attention on the chains.
Over the course of its year-long recruitment campaign, IDEA has doubled membership to 800. Its projected goal is to reach 1,000. Members pay dues to VSDA as normal, but are additionally grouped within IDEA if they define themselves as indie retailers.
There was a sense that IDEA could stand to make some adjustment, with some new members dubious about shelling out roughly $500 in VSDA convention fees.
"I feel like [VSDA] has lost focus on indie retailers, but I like what they are doing now," said Diane Kruger, owner of Minnesota's Videos and Beyond who last attended the convention in 2000. "It costs more now to go to the convention. In a small business, every dollar counts."
First-time convention-goer Teresa Labus, from Oklahoma's Hollywood Nitz wished she could have paid a la carte for convention events but added she has "enjoyed getting [IDEA] e-mails and learning about certain options that I didn't know about."
Long-time VSDA member and Video Buyers Group president Ted Engen was pleased with IDEA's progress overall.
"They're starting to move in the right direction and starting to understand that they need to represent indies," Engen said. "But it does take a while to get an idea out of the chute."
Additional reporting by Jennifer Netherby, Cindy Spielvogel and Susanne Ault
E-mail Paul Sweeting