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Independent paint and decorating retailers from around the world gathered at Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas, March 9-12 to attend the ALLPRO 2022 Spring Show. The four-day event brought together ALLPRO member retailers to discover new deals, reconnect with other members and vendors and take a step away from the business to network and plan for the future.
To kick off the week’s events, attendees went to the opening reception outside, where they enjoyed food, drinks and conversation with one another. The next morning, ALLPRO members and suppliers gathered for the General Session.
ALLPRO executive vice president Mike Beaudoin took the stage during the General Session to highlight company growth in 2021, announce new and exciting updates and recognize members who achieved significant sales plateaus, as well as provide a sneak peek on what to look forward to with upcoming shows.
According to Beaudoin, purchases finished up 25.5 percent and distribution, which doubled in size of the previous three years, was up 18 percent in 2021. Additionally, ALLPRO private label tracking was up 27 percent.
He also announced several new rollouts, including a new payment portal, which will go live in April and allow members to access their invoices in real time, and an updated ALLPRO 401(k) program that now includes ALLPRO suppliers as well as members.
Beaudoin also gave the audience a chance to preview new training modules that will be available to members. The online ALLPRO University will show member retailers how to make purchases through ALLPRO, navigate the website and will provide important information on ALLPRO brand products.
“Despite all the efforts, 10 years from now members will not remember the best deal that they had at this show, but they will remember being in the Bahamas, the people that they met and watching their families enjoy the show,” Beaudoin says. “That builds the ALLPRO culture, and that is what makes our group strong.”
Before opening up the Exhibits, ALLPRO recognized its 2021 Distinguished Members.
Retailers Focus on Work and Play in the Bahamas
After the General Session, retailers walked the show floor to talk with vendors, discover new deals and gain ideas for their businesses.
Peggy Wingard, co-owner of O-Gee Paint in Miami, spent her time at the show looking for new products, gathering information to share with her brother and co-owner back home and enjoying time off in the warm weather with her peers and vendors she hadn’t seen in a while.
“I don’t get out much, and I don’t travel much, so coming to the shows is a way to get out of the store and work but also have fun,” Wingard says. “I think it’s been a very upbeat show, and I’ve found some good deals as well.”
Throughout the show, retailers were able to gather at ALLPRO- vendor-hosted parties, where they were able to enjoy local cuisine, drinks and music with family, friends and fellow retailers. ALLPRO also hosted a Next Gen Luncheon during the show, bringing together retailers 40 years and younger to network, talk business and share ideas. Next Gen is designed to build a strong peer group of this demographic and give them an influence on the future of ALLPRO.
“It’s great that ALLPRO has a group that focuses on younger retailers in the paint industry,” says Sean Downey of West Whittier Paint in Whittier, California. “I’ve had a great time at the show talking to vendors and have been enjoying Atlantis.”
At the show, members and vendors enjoyed using the scanning app which reads QR codes on their name tag badges to quickly and easily get contact information from attendees and save notes of who to follow up with after the show as well as receive push notifications updates and agenda information.
To wrap up the event, ALLPRO hosted the closing party on Saturday evening at Paradise Harbor, where attendees sipped on tropical drinks, listened to a live band, enjoyed great food and spent time unwinding.
The next Stockholder’s Meeting will be held in San Antonio, Texas, at the Marriott Rivercenter Oct. 27-29. The company also announced future plans to host the 2025 Stockholder’s Meeting in Dublin, Ireland. To watch a recap video from this show, click here.
“We continue to look for ways to evolve our events to make them more memorable and impactful for all our stakeholders, members and suppliers,” Beaudoin says.
