Vendors of big-ticket items can do outsize business at fair

During the past month, Larry Jensen has bumped up his exercise routine and paid greater heed to his diet. He wants to be in tip-top shape when the Minnesota State Fair begins Thursday, and not just so he can indulge in a Pronto Pup or two.

As owner of ComfoRest Adjustable Beds, Jensen typically does 10 percent of his annual business during the fair's 12 days, selling from his booth on the upper level of the Grandstand.

"It's 9 to 9 for 12 days," he said. "Lots of people coming through. Once they see the bed, many of them are interested. I'm with them for a half hour to an hour. And about half of those will actually purchase right there at the fair."

For Jensen and the more than 1,200 commercial exhibitors and concessionaires, the State Fair offers a chance to reel in customers with sweet smells, hands-on demonstrations and unique offerings.

Big-ticket items don't just make for fun browsing; they're big business.

One of Jensen's ComfoRest bed runs about $1,800, on average. A custom-made window, perhaps $3,000. If you're looking for pest control, Tom Olson at Mosquito Control can set you up with an automatic mosquito misting system for $2,800 to $5,000.

Other big-ticket players at the fair this year include 10 car dealers, nine roof and siding contractors and a couple of companies selling pianos and organs.

They'll be waiting for people like Elissa and Jason Beach to come their way.

A few years ago, the Beaches dropped about $2,000 on a water softener. The next year, they forked over $350 on a set of cookware. Two years ago, they spent a $2,500 on a wooden play system for their home in Lonsdale.

"We're kind of impulse buyers," said Elissa Beach, 33. "We're both thinking, 'We should go take a look at something,' and next thing you know, we're handing over our credit cards."

But she said the variety of vendors and knowledgeable salespeople make the fair a great place to shop.

"We love the fair, and the retailers love us," she said.

Waiting to get a space

For vendors eager to hawk their wares to a statewide audience, landing a booth at the fair can be competitive process -- especially for certain products.

There's a pool of about 1,700 applicants on file still hoping to get a license, according to fair officials. This year, about 125 new ones made it in.

"If we were to take everyone who comes along who sells roofs or siding, it'd be a home show and not the State Fair," said Jim Sinclair, the fair's deputy general manager. "But there's always been a place for companies that have new products and services, and new lines to get in front of a potential market."

In other words, settle in for a long wait if you're selling spas, saunas or hot tubs, say fair officials, because there's seven of them this year. Yet Dan Gibbs, president of Driveway Designs, got in the first time he applied.

Gibbs' company sells custom-designed stamped asphalt and decorative driveways. A customer can spend anywhere from $2,000 to $70,000, depending on the scope of the project.

Gibbs said he's hoping to pick up a few jobs for the end of the year and get a head start on his 2008 sales.

His expectation?

"A lot of cash," Gibbs replied with a laugh.

It costs non-food vendors $85 to $100 per front foot of space for the 12 days of the fair, a bit less than the springtime Home and Garden show at the Minneapolis Convention Center, according to several retailers.

Last year, concessionaires and exhibitors paid about $5.6 million in space fees, or about 17 percent of the State Fair's $33.7 million in total income, according to the fair's 2006 annual report.

Making contacts for later

Chuck Howard of B.C. Kitchens hasn't missed the fair for 15 years, even though he doesn't get a lot of on-the-spot business.

The fair is his chance to drum up future big-ticket sales.

"If we get immediate business out of the fair, it's dumb luck," said Howard, whose company builds and installs everything from kitchen cabinets to countertops to tile floors. "I've always told people, 'Who goes to the fair to buy a kitchen?' Hardly anybody. They go to ride the rides or to see the pigs or the butter sculpture. Maybe eat some corn dogs.

"But it has residual value," he said. "Sometimes people will say, 'I've been watching your booth for five years, and now we're ready to do something with our kitchen.' "

Retailers are just starting their mad dash to get their exhibits set up. Hammers are pounding as roofers put finishing touches on a high-end log cabin from Pioneer Log Homes. Workers have poured the concrete sidewalk around a small model home showcasing foam-filled siding from EPS Building Solutions.

As for ComfoRest's Jensen, he said he's feeling fit enough to make the mile-long walk from the parking lot to his sales pod -- and to give serious customers a half-hour or more of undivided attention.

His wife, Diane, makes sure he's got plenty of fuel to keep it in high gear.

"She prepares healthy lunches so I don't eat too much fair food," he said.

Steve Beisang, a sales manager for Culligan Water, has a State Fair spring in his step, too.

"It's like Christmas for us," he said. "Or like having an extra month of sales in those 12 days."

Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335

Jackie Crosby • jcrosby@startribune.com