Three Generations Keeping Karel Exposition Management Family Strong

Furniture World Magazine

For three generations, the Karel family has been bringing together buyers and sellers of furniture, lighting and accessories. Their venue: vibrant, exciting regional shows that draw hundreds of exhibitors and bargain hunters from the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. "I love the creative aspects of my job," said Larry Karel, president of Aventura-based Karel Exposition Management. "Even after all these years, it's a thrill to see a convention center littered with cardboard boxes and display equipment transformed overnight into a dazzling, show-biz-style production, and the aisles filled with buyers." Larry's father Jules started the company in 1952. His daughter Jill is now the controller. "When three generations of family have been involved with a business, you feel a real sense of responsibility toward your customers," Karel said. "The company carries our family name, and we want to always be proud of what it stands for." Back in 1952, Jules Karel was a housewares salesman in Chicago. When he tried to lease exhibit space at a large trade show, he was disappointed to discover it was sold out. Undaunted, he decided to start his own show. That was the beginning of KEM, which now does nine regional home furnishings trade shows in Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Calif., Edison, NJ, and Fitchburg, Mass. In 1960, Larry Karel joined the business after attending the University of Miami.  At that time, Jules kept the mailing list on index cards in shoebox, and Larry's first job was running the addressograph. "I spent hours at it," he recalled. "We did everything by hand." In the mid-1960s, political corruption in Chicago threatened to destroy the company. Larry, who had fallen in love with Miami Beach during his college years, persuaded his father to relocate there, and gradually, they began to rebuild the business. It wasn't easy. But things began to turn around when the Florida Furniture Association chose KEM to produce their then-small shows. "We were able to expand our slate of shows to include cities like Indianapolis, Nashville, Columbus, Chicago, Denver - all over the country, until we settled in with the ones we knew would produce the results we wanted for our exhibitors," Karel said. Although things were simpler in the old days, Jules taught his son the key to making a business successful in any era. "I learned from him to care," Larry said. "That's the secret: care for the people you're doing business with. That means not making them wait on the phone, and accommodating their requests. He always reminded me that without the customers, there would be no business. "My father was a fantastic person," Karel continued. "He could take a complaint and turn it into a joke-then once the person was laughing about it, he'd solve the problem." When Jules died in 1972, Larry continued with the business, focusing hard on expansion. By 1980, the Florida Furniture Market's August show was drawing more than 700 exhibitors as well as major regional buyers. In the mid 1980s, daughter Jill left the banking business to become KEM's controller. "Things changed when she joined the company," Karel said. "After Jill arrived, we started going into our shows with all our accounts paid in full. In the old days, we'd pin notes on the booths telling exhibitors to see us in the office. Sometimes they came, and sometimes they didn't." The business has grown tremendously, with about 6,000 booths sold annually, and tens of thousands of buyers visiting nine shows. Today, KEM occupies two buildings in Aventura and has a mailing list of more than 125,000. Karel credits the success partly to strong direct mail marketing efforts. Prior to each event, he does thousands of mailings to attract manufacturers and buyers. "One thing that never changes is that making a show successful takes a great deal of planning and advance work," Karel said. "It's attention to details that keeps buyers and exhibitors happy and coming back again." The current slow economy and the airline scares have actually helped boost popularity of the KEM shows. "Our exhibitors don't need costly permanent showrooms, which many companies are finding difficult to maintain," Karel said. "And buyers don't want to travel as far. Many of them can drive to our shows instead of getting on a plane, and return home the same day, all for less than a tank of gas." It's not unusual for KEM shows to sell out.  "We're waiting to expand the events in Long Beach and Edison, so we don't have to turn exhibitors away," Karel said. "We also expect the new Tampa Show to sell out on its first run in March of 2003.The Orlando show is our largest, with more than 1,300 booths." KEM has built a strong reputation within the industry for quality, well-run shows. "Karel Expo does an amazing job of show management," said Keith Koenig, vice president of Fort Lauderdale-based City Furniture. "I'm always amazed at the huge crowds Karel draws to its markets and the smooth, organized way in which all aspects of the business are managed." David Perry, executive editor of Furniture Today, a weekly trade publication, calls Karel dean of the drive-in markets. "His shows fill an important niche for retailers and manufacturers who don't have the time or money to go to the major furniture markets," Perry said. "He's a tireless promoter who genuinely wants his buyers and sellers to do well. His record of success speaks for itself." Karel loves having his daughter be part of the business, but many of the employees have become like family, too. "Some of them have been with us for 25 years," he said. "We couldn't be as successful without them." Based in Aventura, Florida, Karel Exposition Management is the nation's largest producer of regional furniture and accessory markets with shows in Tampa, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Edison, New Jersey; Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Long Beach, California.  Fo additional information, visit the Karel Expo Web site at www.kemexpo.com or call (305) 792-9990.