Under new ownership, Project Las Vegas grows to include a broader range of men’s and women’s contemporary brands.
Project Global Trade shows — now under the fold of ADVANSTAR Communications, parent to MAGIC International — is plucking a page or two from its owner’s playbook in staging its Las Vegas exhibition Feb. 21-23 at the Sands Expo Convention Center.
Like MAGIC, which began as a men’s show and eventually expanded to include women’s apparel and accessories at WWDMAGIC, Project is reaching across the gender divide to create a much larger event. The 180,000 square feet Project will occupy at the Sands represents a 70 percent increase over last August, thanks to an influx of women’s-only brands. Previously, the two-year-old Project show only accepted lines that carried both men’s and women’s products.
Attendance is also forecasted to rise by 17 percent to 14,000 buyers who can also attend the show’s casual open-bar party at the Center Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Feb. 20, as well as Project’s blowout bash, complete with a DJ and hors d’oeuvres, later in the week at Tao at the Venetian.
The expansion represents a collaborative strategy hatched by Advanstar’s team, which includes Project founder Sam Ben-Avraham, who sold the show to his former competitor last August. (Along with Project, Advanstar picked up the Pool Trade Show, Feb. 20-22 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.) Eventually, Project could roll out the changes to all of its four shows in Las Vegas and New York, and possibly new cities as well.
“It’s a bigger show and it’s a better show,” said Ben-Avraham, who is now Project’s president, reporting to Advanstar chief executive officer Joe Loggia. “We’re trying to give one-stop solutions to retailers. A lot of boutiques have just one buyer or owner shopping for men’s and women’s so it made sense to put everything under one roof.”
To simplify the visual presentation of the show, Ben-Avraham said products will be merchandised in sections devoted solely to men’s and women’s and one area will be reserved for dual-sex brands. About 100 VIP retailers will get a jump on the merchandise with an invite-only buying day on Feb. 20 from 1-7 p.m.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
In the past, women’s clothing lines accounted for 2 percent of the exhibitors at the show. In Sin City, that number rockets to more than 50 percent. Along with 75 women’s-only vendors, the event will showcase up to 180 clothing lines with men’s and women’s offerings. About 450 apparel and accessories vendors are expected, up 44 percent compared with last August.
Known for its denim-heavy assortment, Project is also opening up its booths to a wider range of contemporary sportswear, including Ya-Ya’s new label, Love from Ya-Ya, consisting of edgy basics; Joyaan, a line of highly embellished tops, dresses and skirts, and Raven, a bottoms-driven women’s label.
The sea of denim at Project, including labels such as Seven For All Mankind, Chip and Pepper, Antik Denim, Hudson and Serfontaine, isn’t a turn-off for the rest of the players in the contemporary market who view denim as integral to the product mix.
“It’s very reflective of our customer who’s mixing high-end tops with denim,” said Joyce Azria, owner and design director of Los Angeles-based Joyaan.
The show’s buzz, along with the addition of an international sales representative, is pulling in directional European companies. Italian denim brand Replay, which has been on wholesale hiatus in the United States since the end of 2002 while it focused on growing its European market, chose Project for its Stateside reintroduction. Product hits stores for spring 2006, and the company is launching its own stores in Los Angeles, Miami Beach and Las Vegas, as well.
“[Project] has the best stores, brands and distributors in the country,” said Brian Hogan, president of New York-based Modamood, Replay’s wholesale distributor. “Project is almost like a fashion magazine for retailers — it’s where the latest fashion trends and ideas are presented.”
Another Italian brand at the show is Aerea Denim. The year-old line relies on Project for its global distribution strategy, which spans from the U.S. to Russia and Japan. “Project separates you from the multitudes,” said Sanjeev Bahl, owner of the line, known for its collections fashioned from cashmere, handpainted art and crafty details, such as damask patterned fabrics in its waistbands. Aerea wholesales from $80 to $215.
Despite the show’s growth, invitations are still hard to come by among up-and-coming vendors. About 30 percent of Project applicants were rejected by Ben-Avraham — also owner of New York’s Atrium boutique — and his team of three buyers, and most of those turned away were jeans-centric. High revenues don’t guarantee a slot either, since Project includes brands with annual sales ranging from under $10 million to more than $200 million.
“Denim is our anchor, but at this point 95 percent of the good brands are here,” Ben-Avraham said. “A maximum of four denim brands can get in. What we’re looking for is an identity.”
Exhibitors at Project say they appreciate the show’s selectivity, which creates its premium vibe. “Project is a little more refined, more handpicked,” said Joyaan’s Azria, who scouted MAGIC but felt Project was a better fit for her two-year-old line.
Like Joyaan, roughly 50 percent of the lines are new to Las Vegas, according to Ben-Avraham, while some herald from Pool and others have crossed over from MAGIC.
Hard Tail, a 13-year MAGIC and WWDMAGIC veteran, traded in its loyalty when weak placement in August cost the line floor traffic and sales. “It’s important to me as an exhibitor that the buyer have a focused area to walk,” said Dick Cantrell, co-owner of the Santa Monica,
Calif.-based activewear line. “Five hundred acres of land that isn’t for you isn’t benefiting the buyer or the exhibitor.”
A chance of show cannibalization doesn’t worry Advanstar executives, who believe Project serves a niche market segment.
“Both shows will continue to excel as they are also focusing on bringing new resources to the market,” said Advanstar spokesman Marc Merrill.
To ensure that Project fits into the landscape with MAGIC and Pool, Merrill also said that Advanstar’s “goal is to capitalize” on each event’s strengths.
“It’s important that we maintain the distinctive position, environments and customer relationships of each event while coordinating and enhancing the services that we provide to our retailers and exhibitors,” he said.
Retailers caution that they don’t want to see Project grow too big.
“The fact that it is small is refreshing and saves me time,” said Fred Levine, co-owner of M. Fredric, an Agoura Hills, Calif.-based chain of 22 contemporary stores. “When it gets too big it’s too time-consuming.”