<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>March 16, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>IT show nets record $59m <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Serene Luo
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ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
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<DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=border_dbl2_bn></DIV><DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=marginb5></DIV><!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><DIV class=story_text>FOLLOWING a sluggish first two months of the year, retailers at the four-day IT Show hit a mother lode over the weekend: Sales of electronic gadgets reached a record $58.5 million at the close of the event last night, surpassing last year's takings of $54.5 million. </DIV>
Some 768,000 visitors thronged the Suntec City Convention Centre, surpassing last year's mark of 735,000 visitors.
It was so crowded yesterday afternoon that the police were called in to control the masses surging through CityLink Mall. Human traffic there was allowed to go just one way. Hundreds of last-minute shoppers were still streaming out an hour after the show closed.
The tech brands told The Straits Times earlier that their strategy this year was to cut back on their profit margins by giving deep discounts and dangling freebies to entice people to spend.
For instance, at the Canon booth, a shopper who purchased a high-definition video camera got a digital still camera free.
Couples and families with children and senior citizens were seen carting away laptops, desktop computers and printers, all hot buys.
But signs of the recession were there. For instance, the booths were less elaborate. Fewer booth babes - nubile models hired as crowd-pullers - were on duty, and fewer pamphlets were given out. Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.
Donch blame my son for hiking GST after the elections hor! *hee*hee*hee*
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>IT show nets record $59m <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Serene Luo
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
</TD></TR><!--<tr><td>
<div class="border_dbl2_bn"">
<DIV class=border_dbl2_bn></DIV><TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV class=vclearleft>
<DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=border_dbl2_bn></DIV><DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=marginb5></DIV><!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><DIV class=story_text>FOLLOWING a sluggish first two months of the year, retailers at the four-day IT Show hit a mother lode over the weekend: Sales of electronic gadgets reached a record $58.5 million at the close of the event last night, surpassing last year's takings of $54.5 million. </DIV>
Some 768,000 visitors thronged the Suntec City Convention Centre, surpassing last year's mark of 735,000 visitors.
It was so crowded yesterday afternoon that the police were called in to control the masses surging through CityLink Mall. Human traffic there was allowed to go just one way. Hundreds of last-minute shoppers were still streaming out an hour after the show closed.
The tech brands told The Straits Times earlier that their strategy this year was to cut back on their profit margins by giving deep discounts and dangling freebies to entice people to spend.
For instance, at the Canon booth, a shopper who purchased a high-definition video camera got a digital still camera free.
Couples and families with children and senior citizens were seen carting away laptops, desktop computers and printers, all hot buys.
But signs of the recession were there. For instance, the booths were less elaborate. Fewer booth babes - nubile models hired as crowd-pullers - were on duty, and fewer pamphlets were given out. Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.
Donch blame my son for hiking GST after the elections hor! *hee*hee*hee*
