Poking and Jabbing for our Shot at Recovery

Lingering questions clutter recovery road ahead

bullet point   How soon until we untangle COVID-19 from our supply chain?
bullet point   Will the unbalanced vaccine roll out outpace the mutant strains & third wave?
bullet point   Extend lockdowns or gradually ramp up?
bullet point   How long will the recovery will take?

The negative side of me says we’re facing a slow upward climb. Vaccinations are rampant in some countries and nowhere to be found in others. The pandemic chained us to home and altered our personal values. The pandemic locked up international value chains making them SLOWER, MORE EXPENSIVE, & RESTRICTIVE. Retail can and will make adjustments, but along the way have suffered enormous debt and received limited government assistance.

The positive side of me says sweatpants are comfortable to wear seven days a week and a home brew coffee seems free compared to Starbucks. That Glass-Half-Full guy also sees half-full restaurants and bars opening up. Mr. Rose Colored Glasses sees outdoor events at full capacity by the summer. And this Fall Mr. Trade Show Guy sees a half full convention halls and calls them SOLD OUT! So things are on the upswing with silver linings all over the place.

The vaccine is spreading faster than the virus

Most in the USA will have had vaccination or be eligible for one during April. More and more vaccines are being produced. Worldwide, progress is also happening. As the USA roll-out nears completion, USA-produced vaccines will spread outward to more countries.

With vaccinations comes recovery – aka consuming consumers of apparel, entertainment, food, drink, fun,…life…& travel…and travel leads to international travel and that means business…

International travel and face-to-face large-scale meetings

Unfortunately international travel and f2f large-scale meetings are at the back of the line. But guess what? We can see the line forming…and moving. Great news considering for nearly a year there was no “Back to Normal Line” forming…now there is.

Looking Ahead

So now it’s time to get in line. Register. Re-register. For Free. For One. For All. For Virtual. For Physical.

bullet point   Virtually May 25-27 Apparel Textile Sourcing Virtual Miami – powered by Zoom & Manufacturer.com
bullet point   Virtually July 27-29 Apparel Textile Sourcing Virtual Canada – powered by Zoom & Manufacturer.com
bullet point   Physically Sept 21-23 Apparel Textile Sourcing Miami – Mana Wynwood Convention Center
bullet point   Physically TBD – Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada – Toronto Congress Centre – Toronto, Canada

John Banker

Author: John Banker

Group Show Director - Apparel Textile Sourcing Trade Shows | A self-proclaimed Trade Show Guy since 2004, John’s only longer-term roles are husband, salesman, and sports fan. He’s directed trade shows since ’07, and been the Apparel Textile Sourcing Director since the brand’s inception in ‘15. He’s most natural selling the benefits of ATS and has travelled the world searching for sources…from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, from New York to New Delhi, from Beijing to Dhaka, Toronto to Miami and back again. All that and the fact that his boss nicknamed him ‘Wordsmith’ led to him writing blogs for ATS. He likes to think he's kind of funny too, so look for some of that.