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Since 1996, MDA’s Existing Industry and Business (EIB) Division has hosted Mississippi Market, an event designed to bring Mississippi business owners and artisans together with buyers from around the region. The concept behind the wholesale market is to help budding proprietors introduce their products to retailers and increase business and sales for all participating vendors. The market is not open to the general public; it is strictly for credentialed retail buyers and Mississippi-based businesses showcasing their Mississippi-made products.
MDA assists up-and-coming businesses with other essential aspects required for successfully marketing a business. Year round, one-on-one assistance is provided on financing, packaging, labeling, staffing and cash flow. Each spring, prior to the show, a full day workshop is held for registered exhibitors to learn how to set up booths and price their items for wholesale.
“We help a lot of the ‘mom-and-pop’ businesses with their packaging, labeling and financing,” said Elizabeth Taylor of MDA’s Existing Industry and Business Division. “Many of these businesses can’t afford to go to larger shows, but they want to move beyond the scope of flea markets. So we created Mississippi Market for those businesses.”
Many of the artists and businesses that made their debuts at Mississippi Market have achieved such great success that they only exhibit at larger shows in larger markets. Others attend larger shows, but still return to the market each year. As a result, 50 percent of exhibitors are brand new to the show each year. Since 1996, over 650 businesses have exhibited in the Mississippi Market.
At the 2008 show, the number of exhibitors and number of booths increased again from last year. The initial booth layout sold out well before the show. The amount of sales written at the 2008 show was another record amount – $469,371 – over $36,000 more than the previous year.
Kerry Scott, owner of the specialty store Hanging By A Thread in Hernando, has attended the market for the past three years. “Before the Mississippi Market rolled around, MDA held a workshop for people who were looking to start wholesaling their products,” said Scott. “They gave me great ideas on everything from how to display my product to how to figure out what to charge for it.”
The show continues to increase in exhibitors and sales each year and continues to attract more buyers to the variety of great quality products Mississippians have to offer. The market is held the first week of June each year at the Mississippi Trade Mart in Jackson.
“Mississippi Market is a must for small business owners and artists! It’s a great way to reach a broad retail audience in a two-day period, especially for someone like me who works full-time in addition to my business,” said Liz Patterson whose company, It’s A Match, specializes in swanky decorative matchboxes and jewelry. “Buyers from all over the southeast attend Mississippi Market and are impressed with the professional, yet fun, atmosphere of the show. Developing friendships with the MDA staff and other market vendors has been an added bonus for me.”
This year’s market is scheduled for June 4-5, 2009. For more information, visit www.mississippimarket.org or call 1.888.886.3323.
