Beauty Show Truth! Is it worth it or a waste of time?

A supplier’s insight to the beauty show truth!

You may ask, where can I find the Allwhite Laser stand today?

Let us tell you where we are, but before we do, let us highlight a few pros and cons of the beauty exhibition show and why we feel that customers need to know the inside story rather than a glorified outlook of the show.

In 2019 when Allwhite Laser AW3 went to the Excel Beauty show in London, we had the largest stand there, made a huge impact and created the biggest buzz in the Laser and fat loss industry. Our stand was enormous, 20x times bigger than the majority of our competitors which made them baffled as to how AW3 could dominate the show, they were envious. Not only were we leading the industry but customers using the AW3 brand had an advantage over any others due to the popularity. Users were pleased to be part of the most recognised brand.

2 years on after the Pandemic we were debating if we should go back to make another statement at the show. But first, let’s talk about the inside story of the show and the pros and cons of being a buyer.

So back then, at the show, we initiated deep market research into all other brands. This is normal as companies there were doing the same to each other. So before we mention the pros, let us just mention the cons at a trade show. The first thing we noticed was the dishonesty of what 90% of sellers are claiming and let us bullet point this below.

1. Discrediting another company seems to be normal at the show, salesmen are flat-out lying about one another to win over customers. It can also sound quite convincing.
2. Almost everyone is giving out a “show price offer” today only however in reality, it is not cheaper than what it is normally and in many cases, it is more expensive.
3. Providing past flaws of their competition which may no longer be the case, e.g. I know a customer who has their machine and can give you feedback.
4. 2 particular companies had it in for AW3. To the point, they discredited AW3 before anyone even mentioned us.
5. 90% of sellers are middlemen and you are not getting a direct wholesale or factory price. They don’t produce the machine but instead, they re-sell it for another brand and mainly from another country. For a much higher price tag of course.
6. Suppliers push for you to make an on-the-spot decision by pushing for a deposit or your card details.
7. Anyone with £5,000 can have a space at the show offering amazing deals. Pay £300 to be featured in a magazine and brochure, rent out a serviced office that costs less than your machine, voila they are now a reputable seller at the beauty show.
8. By the end of the show, your head will feel like it wants to explode with information and your hands will hurt holding a bunch of brochures which for most will end up in the bin. You will go there thinking you will be leaving with all the answers however you will be walking away rather confused and won’t know anything better than what you could research and find on Google.

Photo of the show after hours

So these were just some points that happened at the show, you may now be wondering what it is behind the scenes of the show as mentioned previously. Trust us there was a lot of background work, especially when we decided to go last minute and had only 2 weeks to set up the stand. We worked flat out and took 40 machines, 2x lorries, set up the stand and 4x 300-inch TVs to surround our space. We had a whole production team, celebrity guest speakers and doctors representing AW3 at the show. Such effort would have taken months to organise however we did it all in 2 weeks with the support of 30 staff members and extras.

It was a lot of work just to be there for 2 days. So how much did it cost us to set up this stand? A large amount, since it was 20x times bigger than many companies and the rental rate alone was extortionate. Put it this way, anyone can buy 2 to 3 machines from abroad, stick them at the back of a van and resell them at the show for 5-10 times the profit. It costs as little as £5,000 for a tiny space and there were many companies there with this business model. It takes as little as 1 machine sale to cover the cost and make a huge profit for 1 day’s work. There’s no liability, no factory, no staff, no marketing and for some not even a premises as they only offer outcall, which is a selling point to naive customers. These companies are here today and gone tomorrow as we see it happening regularly in this industry.

Now we’re not here to discuss other companies’ operations and we stress to customers how important it is to buy from a reputable brand that always puts customers first rather than hi or bye at a beauty show. We are talking about thousands of happy customers here, some unhappy of course. However not the best dozen which are cherry-picked by our competitors to provide a 1-sided review. With AW3, we are here to stay and won’t be going anywhere for years to come. Some may say we are not perfect, no company is! However, we’re the most perfected and best-value brand in this industry.

So what are the Pros of going to a beauty show?

1. You get to compare technology and companies. You are comparing the professionalism of each brand for each technology they offer. You wouldn’t buy chicken at McDonald’s or beef burgers at KFC.
2. You get to compare the price to see who offers better value. Remember value is not how cheap the product is but how successful your business will become.
3. You get to meet the team and see what is being offered such as marketing, and business support. However, remember not every marketeer is the same and not all levels of support are the same.
4. You get to have a day out with your friends.
5. You get to learn new information but don’t believe everything you hear as this industry is not highly regulated.
6. You get to look into other beauty industries rather than just fat loss or lasers.

So after reading the above, AW3 will not be at the beauty show this year. We are too busy to take this project on and we refuse to go and set up a simple average-sized stand. We would rather not do anything half-hearted, including the quality of our machines and business structure. We go big or we go home!

However, we suggest you visit the beauty show but our advice is to never sign up on the spot or part with your credit card details with any company. Salesmen will offer you the “show offer price” however we can guarantee that their normal price is the same or cheaper than the show price in most cases. We know this because we have been in this industry for many years and it is an old tactic used at the show.

With that being said why don’t you visit our factory in East London which is 20 mins drive from the Excel beauty show. Here you will not see a few machines at a little stand, but you will get to see hundreds of machines and various models in our 15,000-square-foot factory.  Everything is sold at direct factory prices with no middlemen or resellers involved.

Come and see our whole operation first hand and meet our staff in person. Have peace of mind knowing that we exist rather than someone coming to visit your salon today and going into thin air tomorrow.

We take this opportunity to invite you to our East London factory for a demo. Contact us to take a visit, have a great day at the show.