PALM DESERT, Calif. — “Health and wellness is a journey,” said Ken Nemeth, kicking off this week’s Health Beauty Wellness Conference of the Global Market Development Center, Colorado Springs, better known as GMDC. Nemeth is the member chairman of the association and president of Valu Merchandisers Co., Kansas City, Kan. The event had been renamed this year from its former moniker, Health and Beauty Care Marketing Conference, and its refocusing included an afternoon-long session on wellness awareness. Health and wellness “is a freight train, and you want to be on it,” David McConnell, GMDC’s president and chief executive, added. The executive overview was followed by research presentations on health and wellness, as well as a consumer panel and a trade panel that included retailers and suppliers. Attendance trends at the event — which followed several industry consolidations, was held in an out-of-the-way location, and ended with a Sept. 11 getaway day — was mixed, McConnell told SN. The total number of companies was up 2% to 295, while the number of business delegates declined 5% to 728 from last year, when the event was held near the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. “I feel like we’re really holding our own,” McConnell said, referring to the bigger industry trends. “Consolidation is affecting trade associations everywhere.”
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