GREEN BROOK, N.J.-- The Asian American Retailers Association (AARA) successfully held its ninth trade show at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center last month. As many as 2,500 retailers from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania participated, the group said. Almost 150 booths were set up by the vendors to showcase their products.
The trade show gave the opportunity to the retailers and vendors to meet under a common roof to discuss business, learn new trade tactics, understand new business concepts, build brand recognition, introduce new products, get new networking contacts, develop new market base and meet single- and multiple-store owners and understand their needs.
"Our aim is to ensure that the vendors and retailers operate in a cordial atmosphere and jointly enjoy the fruits of the hard work they put in their business and that has been the goal of AARA since its inception," said Vipul Patel, president of AARA.
Dilip Patel, one of the trustees said, "AARA allows the vendors to directly communicate with the members and market their product and at the same time helps their brand to get recognition as an enterprise that supports the AARA community."
One of the retailers, Gurucharan Singh, who was participating in the AARA trade show for the second time this year said, "the tradeshow helped me to get in direct touch with the vendors and strike a good business deal and at the same time know what was new and what other things were being offered by the vendors and other retailers had and how I could also improve my business."
Vipul Patel, president of AARA said that with "over 1,200 members, AARA has been able to provide a secure chain to the retailers and vendors to co-operate with each other, understand their business needs. AARA also understands the problems faced by the vendors and also retailers and hence fight for their legitimate rights and benefits."
Said Patel, "We now plan to expand our horizon and go to neighboring areas like Pennsylvania within a couple of years."
He also announced that the 2014 trade show will be held at the Garden State Exhibit center in Somerset, N.J., on Sept. 9.
Besides trade show, AARA also organizes number of useful seminars for the benefit of its members to educate them on the newest trends in the market and how to negotiate the trouble waters of the economic situation. The organization also plans to hold seminar in collaboration with security agencies to enable the members to learn and get first-hand information of how to secure their business premises, learn new methods of accounting and other finer points of doing business.
The AARA is nonprofit organization represents members that include owners and operators of convenience stores, gas stations and liquor stores in New Jersey. It develops policy, creates economic incentives, communicates vital information, exposes new products and services and offers tools and strategies for retailers' growth.
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