NEW YORK — AccessoriesTheShow is betting on Las Vegas as a new winning venue.
For several years, the show’s owner, Business Journals Inc. of Norwalk, Conn., has been running three events annually — in January, May and August — at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
Apparently that wasn’t sufficient for exhibitors, and two years ago several started asking for a locale in the West, too, said Britton Jones, president and chief executive officer of AccessoriesTheShow.
So, strategically timed to coincide with WWDMagic and several other fashion markets, an additional AccessoriesTheShow will be held Aug. 29-31 at the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino. There are plans already for two Las Vegas events next year.
“Over the years, a fashion week has been developing in Vegas, with MAGIC at the heart of it,” Jones said of why it was decided to bypass Los Angeles, another logical choice for an event. “We did quite a bit of research. There are 80,000 to 100,000 retailers going to Las Vegas at that time, and there hasn’t been a proper venue for better accessories.”
Jones said that its first Las Vegas show has already sold out for vendors, with 300 exhibitors set to display in the 16,000-square-foot Venetian ballroom. Exhibitors will include BCBG Girls, Rampage Handbags, Nicole Miller Legwear and the Derek Alexander Group. While the show is still registering retailers, some 3,000 have signed on to date.
To entice visitors and make it an enjoyable experience, there will be treats including goody-filled tote bags, free massages at the Venetian’s Canyon Ranch SpaClub and a cappuccino bar.
“This is smaller. It is a regional expansion of the New York show,” said Jones, noting that the New York shows offer 60,000 square feet of exhibitor space and draw 11,000 retailers from the U.S. and 44 other countries.
The Las Vegas setup will be similar to the New York shows, with hard-wall booths provided for vendors. Complementary categories will be grouped together, while close competitors will be thoughtfully kept apart.
Business Journals acquired AccessoriesTheShow in 1997, at a time when attendance had been dwindling.
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“We totally overhauled and revamped every aspect,” Jones said. “We got much more serious about jurying the show. We identified the retailers who needed to be shopping our show and created a show that was valuable.”
This year, Jones anticipates that handbags, gold jewelry and belts will be among the hottest of the 37 accessories categories the show promotes.