Dale Lindholm, founder of Pure Accessories showroom, already has received a reorder for the Treesje handbag line from Tony Salame’s Aishti department stores in Dubai. The first $20,000 order was shipped soon after an initial meeting at the Accessorie Circuit trade show in January, and the goods sold through in two weeks.
“They e-mailed me and said, ‘send anything you can,'” recounted a disbelieving Lindholm, who is now processing a third request.
Therein lies the attraction of Accessorie Circuit. It is highly unlikely the Middle Eastern retailer would have made his way to Pure’s New York showroom, which represents the collections of 18 jewelry, handbag and belt designers. But, as buyers troll the vast exhibit floor of Pier 94 on New York’s West Side, there is always the chance of making a connection.
That is why Lindholm has participated in Accessorie Circuit since starting his business five years ago. “You have to do the shows,” he said. “You get a captive audience.”
The Accessorie Circuit is another brainchild of Elyse Kroll, founder of ENK International, and made its debut in May 1987 as an offshoot of Fashion Coterie. “I was getting bombarded with accessories companies who wanted to show there,” explained Kroll. “I started Coterie in 1986 and was very determined to keep it an apparel show.”
Accessorie Circuit began with a limited gathering at the Omni Hotel in Manhattan, where designers presented in individual suites and retailers would travel from room to room, giving the show an air of exclusivity and privacy. Participants said the industry’s first juried show filled a void in the market for accessories vendors.
“Trade shows were pretty grim in those days: People carried hot dogs, walking around the New York Coliseum,” recalled jewelry maker Gerard Yosca, nominated in 2005 for accessories designer of the year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. “Then Elyse made this show that was like a party. She decorated. There was lighting in the hallways between floors and flowers everywhere. It was so directional.”
Yosca has exhibited at Accessorie Circuit since the beginning. “We were a new company trying to survive. Elyse had a new show and we wanted to investigate.” Yosca’s collections are now sold in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and he credits 25 percent of his business to orders written at the show.
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During its 19-year history, the Accessorie Circuit has continued to grow and moved from the Omni to the Plaza Hotel and, ultimately, like ENK’s other shows, to Pier 94. There are now three Accessorie Circuit events a year — held in January for spring-summer, May for fall and August for holiday-resort. Its most recent January event drew 9,700 retailers and 465 vendors. Although it is a large event, it has retained its prestigious image, catering to high-end retailers; vendors still must be approved to participate.
Still, Kroll and her Accessorie Circuit aren’t free from criticism. Vendors constantly vie for better locations for their exhibit space, and this year’s fall show dates, April 30-May 2, are a cause of consternation because the event doesn’t coincide with market week. They fear fewer buyers may be in town.
Also, when the show moved from the Plaza’s suites to the more cavernous Pier 94 space in 1998, some said there was a loss of cachet. But Janet Goldman, owner of Fragments, a luxury jewelry vendor with several divisions and the show’s largest exhibitor, “loved it.”
“For me, it was a great thing,” said Goldman. “We are now able to show what we have. We put it out there and give buyers, in one glance, an overview.” In the past, because of the separate quarters, buyers were forced to spend more time with a vendor than they sometimes wanted to, she said.
The open forum also lends itself to special events, like when members of the Mexican Huichol Indian tribe crafted their famous beaded bracelets before the crowd. “It must have been January. They were wearing open sandals in the snow,” remembered Goldman, who represented the collection. “We scrounged around and got boots for them to wear.”
With consolidation of major retailers, the trade show forum has become even more vital to business than in the past, noted Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for NPD Group of Port Washington, N.Y. “It has become more important for the specialty retailers to go to one place and cover a lot of ground to allow them to be unique and different from the big guys.”
Added Cohen: “In the past, the goal was to sell a lot of wares to a few retailers; now it is important to sell a few wares to a lot of retailers.”
Pure’s Lindholm agreed. The small stores, he said, “are our bread and butter. Those $1,000 orders add up.”
Cynthia O’Connor, owner of the Cynthia O’Connor & Co. multicategory showroom, noted that participation in the show is a prerequisite for the designers she represents. “Unless you do a trade show, you are going to limit your business dramatically,” said O’Connor. “The trade show business is not the dominant part of my business,” she noted, “but it is part of what we do.”
Like many others, O’Connor works hard to replicate the look and feel of her showroom into her exhibit space. In particular, she has brought in her own Italian fixtures and paid close attention to carpeting. “All wall colors must flow and all fixturing,” said O’Connor, who is known for her role in developing Kate Spade and, most recently, Isabella Fiore and Kooba handbags.
Joan Goodman, owner of Pono, a jewelry line that grew out of her Bobbi Trim button business, said being at the Accessorie Circuit in 1994 got her line in front of buyers from Neiman Marcus, who probably would not have looked at her collection otherwise. The retailer has been a good customer ever since.
And Jay Gerish, co-owner of Kathy Jeanne Inc., a hatmaker in Fairfield, N.J., credits participation in the Accessorie Circuit several years ago with opening its account with Bloomingdale’s. Prior to the exposure garnered through the show, it had been impossible to get a meeting, said Gerish.
It is Kroll’s attention to detail and quick response that has made her events successful, said many participants. It is also the small touches, such as an espresso bar and rolling food carts, that make the long days easier and more pleasant.
“Elyse created a niche with a fine, luxury fashion marketplace for better and specialty stores and boutiques. That’s where her eye is, and also mine,” said Fragments’ Goldman.
Commented Yosca: “You can’t build a business like this and have piers full of crazy fashion people without being pretty strong. She saw a niche and filled it beautifully.”