ATLANTA — Reflecting changes in the specialty retail scene that it services, AmericasMart has focused on becoming more flexible.
With the exception of the fall and spring markets, set for April 7-11 and Oct. 20-24, respectively, shows are no longer defined by seasons, such as resort, summer or holiday. Floors are no longer labeled according to price points and categories, but grouped into “product neighborhoods.” And showrooms, no longer banking on one category or price point, have diversified their mix by adding, for example, social occasion to sportswear or offering home and gift items, as well as multiple deliveries, including immediate goods.
“Businesses are diversifying, like in a portfolio. Consumers and retailers are mixing categories and buying close to season,” said Lawton Hall, senior vice president. “We’re no longer dictating to buyers on where and how they buy.”
For the mart, mixing up product throughout the building encourages buyers to shop all floors, rather than concentrate on one area. To promote traffic flow within and between all floors, the mart will continue to relocate and expand showrooms. Around 11,000 apparel and accessories lines are housed in the apparel building.
The new approach seems to be working. Buyer attendance over the past year increased between 4 and 5 percent per show, with the exception of the June market, when traffic dropped 6 percent. Hall said increases came from a number of new specialty store openings in the Southeast, and from national outreach programs to attract buyers from outside the region.
The mart’s efforts have boosted buyer traffic from outside the region by 12 percent per show for the past year, with the biggest draws from the Southwest and Midwest. Of the total number of buyers who shopped AmericasMart markets during 2004, 21 percent were new buyers.
The mart has also worked to woo “satellite retailers,” such as resort, hotel and gift stores that carry a mix of product, as well as retailers that carry crossover merchandise. The mart cross-references a large database of retailers who attend shows at the Gift Mart, which is part of the AmericasMart campus, then targets buyers who offer apparel or accessories as well.
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Linda Ebersberger, owner of Eva at Studio 15, a specialty home, gift and apparel boutique that opens Dec. 10 in Fort Meyers, Fla., is an example of AmericasMart’s new target.
Ebersberger shopped AmericasMart for apparel, which represents 75 percent of her inventory, but also picked up home accessories, candles, bedding and lamps.
“Our customers want stores that cross boundaries, and AmericasMart offers everything I need to do that,” said Ebersberger.
The apparel building, part of a three-building AmericasMart campus that includes the Gift Mart and the Merchandise Mart, is 89 percent leased, up from 85 percent last year. The eighth floor, which houses fashion accessories, is 100 percent leased, with a waiting list. Accessories floors are open during gift markets, to attract gift stores that also carry crossover product, including fashion accessories.
To ensure that buyers find what they’re looking for, AmericasMart will continue to identify and nurture hot categories through new shows, and by expanding temporary events. The Premiere show, a juried collective of mostly contemporary lines and accessories that began in spring 2001, will soon increase from twice yearly, during April and October, to include more dates, though how many and when is yet to be determined.
Premiere has more than doubled over the past three years, from 60 to 145 booths, targeting contemporary clothing, handbags and shoes from names such as Dana Buchman, Perry Ellis, Adrienne Vittadini and Robert Clergerie. The show is intended to cultivate permanent exhibitors, with around half of the vendors to date taking permanent showrooms or going with multiline reps.
“Vendors have expressed a need to show product more frequently, especially with retailers buying closer to season,” said Kaye Davis, executive director, apparel trade shows and fashion. “The more frequent exposure should result in less turnover.”
Premiere also will target more men’s merchandise, especially from premium denim lines such as James, Mavi and Blue Cult, which also have women’s product.
“These lines, like those carried at the Project show in New York, have exploded over the past few years, and we’re going after them,” said Hall.
In September, AmericasMart launched the Alpha show, a men’s event, which will run in January, March, June and September, featuring urban and contemporary men’s product from vendors such as Enyce and Rocawear.
“The urban categories have grown enormously, and are now evolving to include more contemporary product,” said Hall. “Alpha shows will be held earlier than urban shows in the past, closer to when the seasonal collections are launched.”
The New Temporaries, a second-floor show that started in January 2003 with 200 exhibitors, will feature 350 booths during its next staging, Jan. 27-31. Young contemporary, moderate, resort, accessories and shoes have all been hot areas.
A new children’s temporary show, with 40 exhibitors, was added in October, and will run during four markets a year, excluding June. Home accessories and juvenile products are being added to attract full-service children’s stores.
Turning its attention to a growing niche market, AmericasMart will launch a quinceañera showcase this year during the special occasion market, Aug. 25-29. The show will feature dresses and accessories for the traditional coming-of-age party held for 15-year-old Hispanic girls. Vendors such as Jessica McClintock and Mori Lee bridal are branching into quinceañera dresses, which typically resemble poufy wedding gowns without the train. The August showcase will feature a fashion show and seminars on how to tap into the Latin American market.
To better highlight the changes being made, the AmericasMart marketing budget has been increased 27 percent over 2004. AmericasMart will use the funds to expand direct mailings from an annual to twice-yearly campaign and add new visuals.
In addition to a mix of direct marketing pieces, AmericasMart is also mailing the Atlanta Apparel Buyer’s Guide, a newly redesigned and enhanced buyer’s directory that includes editorial content, market schedules, line listings, floor plans, market dates and more. This comes with a personal letter from John Portman Jr., chairman and founder of AmericasMart, inviting retailers to market. AmericasMart will continue to push amenities, such as fresh flowers, free coffee, food and drinks, informal modelling and elevator operators as extras for buyers.
Also, during April market, AmericasMart will stage a big-name entertainment event, similar to the Tony Bennett show held in the atrium during last April’s show.
“Through retailer surveys, we’ve learned it’s time to make markets more fun and entertaining,” said Hall. “We’re a marketing company, not a real estate company. If we listen to people and hear their needs, then effectively promote, the real estate takes care of itself.”