Can you rebuild a business that has been declining for more than a decade?

On this episode of Keep Going, I spoke with Dorothy Belshaw, CEO and co-founder of Rockview Management Group, which recently acquired NY NOW, the New York gift and home furnishings trade show.

At its peak, the show occupied more than 500,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Javits Center. But years of ownership changes, shifting strategies and the COVID pandemic took their toll. When Belshaw acquired the show, attendance had been declining for years and the event was a fraction of its former size.

Rather than starting a new event, Belshaw saw value in the existing business, including its brand, buyer and exhibitor relationships and established place in the industry’s buying calendar. She also saw an opportunity to run it differently, with a small team that could make decisions quickly and work directly with customers.

The early results are encouraging. After just three months under the new ownership, the August show grew slightly in size and attendance increased 5%, reversing years of decline.

We talked about what it takes to rebuild a struggling business, why physical trade shows still matter in a digital world and how small brands can decide when they’re ready to move from direct-to-consumer sales into wholesale.

It’s a conversation about taking an established business, treating it like a startup and finding out whether personal relationships and faster decisions can bring it back.