LOS ANGELES — Convenience is the buzzword for the upcoming February Las Vegas apparel trade shows. Many organizers said they are continually trying to consolidate their resources, in reaction to vendors and buyers who complain that the shows are overwhelming.
Particularly important to capture, organizers said, are the boutiques that are increasingly dominating the retail landscape. Especially important are the stores that have loaded up on the accessories, home and lifestyle pieces that are a growing segment at the shows.
In August, MAGIC for the first time consolidated its shows under one roof, moving WWDMAGIC from the Sands Expo Center to the Las Vegas Convention Center. MAGIC spokeswoman Ernae Mothershed said attendance was at “full capacity” at 95,000 attendees, and she is expecting more of the same for the Feb. 14-17 show.
“We had a good response to having everything under one roof and the convenience of it,” said Mothershed. “A lot of our exhibitors took the opportunity to grow their space and show their entire collection.”
Most important, said Mothershed, is that buyers and vendors had “the convenience of a singular market. Sixty percent of the buyers were crossover buyers and they spent a lot of time going back and forth to venues, and they want to spend less time traveling and more time on the floor.”
Mothershed said she feels the market is being driven by ease of use. “The feedback that we get from buyers is that they are not interested in going to multiple venues,” she said. “And having to spend time in an increasing number of venues will just frustrate them.”
Be that as it may, in October, MAGIC announced it had acquired the Las Vegas Hilton Ballroom, Pavilion and Center adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Although no specific plans for the new space have been announced, Mothershed said it will, indeed, be utilized for the February marketplace.
The continuous shuffling of space can have a ripple effect up and down the Strip. Perhaps due to WWDMAGIC’s absence from the Sands Expo Center in August, the Off-Price Specialist Show there saw business soften. But Bill Jage, chief executive officer of Off-Price, said enthusiastic buyers have registered early for the Feb. 12-16 show, making it “virtually a sellout.”
Related Articles
You May Also Like
The show has more than 5,000 preregistered guests and is expecting about 10,000, which falls within its average of 9,000 to 11,000 attendees. However, what’s unusual, he said, is to have the registration “running so early and strong.”
“Support for the show is at the all-time highest,” said Jage, who is expecting about 400 exhibitors in 300,000 square feet of space. “It was an easy sell to get the exhibitors and buyers on board.”
New this year is the show’s first jewelry section. “We’re going to start small and keep it in a separate section for both security purposes and to give it a chance,” he said.
Jage said jewelry was added to service key off-price chains such as Ross and TJ Maxx, as well as the smaller stores that are eager to emulate the big stores’ success.
The Las Vegas circuit’s game of musical venues continues with the ASAP Global Sourcing Show, running Feb. 14-17. Formerly held at the Las Vegas Hilton, it will move to the Venetian Hotel, where it will expand to 80,000 square feet.
ASAP show manager Barbara Wu said the event will attract about 300 exhibitors from 40 countries, including China, Macau, Kenya, El Salvador and Colombia. Attendance figures are on par with last year.
What’s different, Wu said, is the number of seminars and caliber of speakers attending. “We’re really trying to appeal to all sourcing professionals, from those at lower levels to executives, especially with the lifting of quotas next year,” she said. Sourcing officials from Pacific Sunwear, Kohl’s, Perry Ellis International, Eddie Bauer, Phillips-Van Heusen and Polo Ralph Lauren will address issues on quota eliminations, sourcing challenges and quality control.
Also at The Venetian Feb. 14-16 is Brighte, ENK International’s spinoff of its Los Angeles show of the same name. So far, about 80 companies, including Stitch’s, Da-Nang, Walter and Streets Ahead have signed up for the show, with about 150 vendors targeted, said Elyse Kroll, president of ENK. “This will be different from L.A. We hope to bring more of a lifestyle approach to the show, one that includes items beyond apparel,” Kroll said, adding that promotion planning is still in the works.
To help buyers venue-hop, lifestyle show Pool is offering door-to-door shuttle service from MAGIC to its show at Mandalay Bay. Additionally, Pool is getting a face-lift with a new layout and new furniture, and a “vibe that is much cleaner and more sophisticated,” said show producer Ronda Walker.
Walker said she is expecting about 10,000 buyers for the Feb. 14-16 show. Pool, which started at the Hilton with 70,000 square feet of space and about 5,000 buyers, jumped to 180,000 square feet and about 8,000 buyers when it moved to Mandalay Bay in August. Walker expects Pool will grow yet again in August, when she is anticipating expanding into 300,000 square feet of space.
Walker, who said 2004 has been “the year of accessories,” expects that segment to continue to be just as big a hit this season, along with the home category, which she said is the newest thriving business at the show.
“If you go into any boutique now, you don’t just buy shirts; you buy books and vases and more.”
To that end, Walker is also doing a Pool compilation CD. (Contracts were still pending at press time and she could not reveal the artists’ names.)
There was also talk of a possible collaboration with Sam Ben-Avraham, producer of the Project trade show for men’s apparel and owner of the Atrium boutique in New York. Walker, however, said it’s unlikely for February, but remains a slim possibility for August.
“If Pool and Project were to ever do anything, it would be a collaboration [of shows],” Walker said. “But he’s a men’s show and we’re a lifestyle show, so it’s really difficult to merge things even though we share a lot of the same exhibitors.”
More important, said Walker, is streamlining all the trade shows even further. “Our goal is not to make [retailers] travel more, but less,” she said. “The idea was to create a trade show that would eliminate the need for other trade shows.”
Although no partnership has been cemented between Pool and Project, Project will be sharing 30,000 square feet of space at Mandalay Bay with the West Coast Exclusive show, said Ben-Avraham. The shows overlap by two days, with West Coast Exclusive running Feb. 13-15 and Project opening a day later and running through Feb. 16.
“There’s no partnership or joint venture. We’re doing our own registration, food, etc., because Mandalay Bay didn’t have any space available,” said Ben-Avraham of the show, which will carry men’s and women’s lines. “We decided to do it because Pool is already there and West Coast Exclusive, so it gives the buyers one place to come to.”
Ben-Avraham had been showing in New York and L.A., but said vendor demand to show in Vegas was high. He’s hoping for 6,000 to 7,000 visitors, after receiving about 4,000 in New York last season, he said.
“I think we have to listen to what the vendors wanted to do, and none of the them were ready to completely move out of Vegas at the moment.”
Ben-Avraham said Project’s L.A. edition, scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 2, remains on the calendar, because there are still vendors who want to show there. The show will go on, Ben-Avraham said, if they get at least 45 vendors.
“L.A. is definitely a key location,” he said. “New York and L.A. are where fashion is happening, but the traffic in Vegas is much heavier than at other shows that I know.”