The occasional encouraging sales reports that Retailing Together found on the trade show floors in Las Vegas has been confirmed in more detail by the real journalists.

The February 27 issue of California Apparel News ran several encouraging articles:

Better Results Than Expected in Las Vegas

… Some shows"notably the Off-Price Specialist Show and MRket " reported an uptick in traffic this season. …

MAGIC, WWDMAGIC Find Good Sales in Bad Times

The weak economy and new layout of the trade show had this husband-and-wife team forecasting sales would plummet 50 percent compared with their sales at MAGIC last February. However, by the last day of the most recent show, they said their initial forecast was proven wrong when their sales broke even. Better yet, they estimated they spread the word about Dead Threads to 30 percent more buyers than they had during the same show in the previous year.

Pool Trims Size, Gains New Business

… many vendors were pleasantly surprised by doing good business in a poor economy. Cody De Backer of Los Angeles–based label Grn Apple Tree estimated that his label’s sales increased 15 percent compared with the February 2008 show … He claimed that 60 percent of retailers visiting his booth wrote orders.

Retail Traffic Up at MRket

"The buyers coming into Vegas hadn’t bought much, so many of them left paper. It was an order-writing show," she said.

The show was 70 percent larger than the February 2008 inaugural show and 15 percent larger than the August 2008 show. 

Several of the articles also noted that vendors are  offering more immediates, a trend we also learned about from  WWIN and some retailers. 

Can we declare the recession over yet?

In  contrast to the comparatively dead scene at other Las Vegas apparel trade shows, PROJECT February 2009 was packed for its first two days, leaving little space for dancing and drinking at the party-themed show. Instead attendees were busy browsing and writing orders, with spare time for carousing and people watching. 

Based on the light attendance at MAGIC Premium, Street, S.L.A.T.E. and POOL on Wednesday and Thursday, it seems like Project cannibalized attendance from other shows.

This season the PROJECT  exhibitors were showing a greater diversity of styles, a refreshing break from the tattoo-print t-shirts and embroidered denim that dominated  PROJECT in Fall 2008. The show floor was fully booked with a very cohesive set of exhibitors, with some exhibitors being moved from PROJECT to MAGIC Premium because there either was no space for them, or because the line didn’t quite fit in with PROJECT. 

Business seemed brisk, with the few exhibitors we asked reporting a steady stream of buyers. We’d like to report based on more interviews, but we missed nearly all of our interviews because the exhibitors never got a break from buyers – a problem for our reporters, but a good sign for the health of the industry.

UPDATE:  California Apparel news reports that the PROJECT show downsized this season, from 500,000 sq ft in August to 300,000 sq ft in February. The reduced floor space may have contributed to the sense of crowding.

The CURVENV lingerie trade show for Spring 2009, which ran from February 16 to 18 at the Venetian in Las Vegas, is a unique apparel trade show with a sophisticated atmosphere, a focused concept, and dedicated buyers.

Although small compared to other Las Vegas shows, filling three meeting halls with 200 brands, the show is juried and very specialized, offering only premium lingerie. The elegant white and aluminum booths are provided by the organizers, and the floors are covered in white felt, creating an appropriate boudoir atmosphere for the occasional model, strolling languidly in lingerie and a silk robe. Even the music contributed perfectly to the panache.

But CURVENV is not a marketing show, and the attendees are buyers, not shoppers. Although traffic was light, all attendees were buyers. Exhibitors said they were meeting their sales targets and that buyers, prepared with budgets, knew precisely which categories of product they needed to buy.  

Because the buyers were so well-prepared, the show felt very relaxed and slow paced: instead of wandering the show and browsing like attendees do at MAGIC and PROJECT, CURVENV attendees were almost entirely seated and writing orders. However, exhibitors reported that despite the deceptively light traffic, orders were brisk, especially relative to the economic conditions, and the numbers of buyers  was up 12% from the previous year. 

Like WWIN, the show offered several perks that exhibitors and buyers appreciate, including breakfast, afternoon coffee and snacks, an internet cafe,  a high-quality buyers directory, and a seminar series to help vendors and retailers cope with the recession. 

CURVENV deftly combines the elegant atmosphere with business practicality. “Most of the shows mix everything, and buyers are lost. Two things are precious, time and customers,” explained Executive Vice President Laurence Teinturier. ”We do everything for buyers to be ready,”  including showing photos of lines on the website before the show and sending buyers newsletters between shows. 

Since Lingerie America ended operations last year, CURVENV Las Vegas and CURVENY New York are now the only show in the USA for premium Lingerie. CURVENY New York runs Feb 22 ,23 and 24 at the Javits center. 

Update: Ms. Teinturier sent some wonderful shots from this week’s show, and it would be a crime not to include them: 

Vendors at the WWIN show at the Rio offer mixed reports of their sales amid general reports of retail’s decline. Some vendors are seeing meager sales, while others’ sales are similar to or up from previous shows. 

The WWIN show caters to vendors that sell though independent retailers, so the vendors’ sales depend on independent retailers’ predictions of sales for the next season. The retailers are reporting mixed results, so the vendors report mixed results as well. A common theme in our discussions with vendors is that many retailers have poor business skills, while others have been in business for decades and have solid business habits. Many smaller vendors who have well-established retailers are seeing a smaller number of orders, but an increased amount per order"an expected result when poor retailers fail and the remaining retailers pick up the failed retailers’ business. This show, the buyers going to WWIN seem very well prepared. 

Our interviews with retailers have uncovered many independent retailers that are faring well this season. While major retailers are hunkering down, independents with strong customer relationships and excellent customer service are actually thriving, and these retailers make up the bulk of buyers at WWIN. 

Although buyer traffic is lighter than in the Fall 2008 show, the vendor space was sold out. Every buyer and vendor we’ve talked to considers WWIN an excellent show, the last show they would drop in an economic crisis.

As predicted based on earlier post-recession trade shows, this season’s MAGIC show is notably smaller, but most suppliers and vendors are upbeat about business. 

The Advanstar trade shows"five MAGIC shows, PROJECT, and POOL"opened this season with a few format changes. PROJECT moved to Mandalay Bay, with some PROJECT brands leaving PROJECT for the Premier section of MAGIC. The South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center was not being used, although more than half of that reduction in space was due to moving PROJECT. 

Although there were many fewer vendors this season, the traffic on the floor seemed only slightly less dense than in previous seasons. 

The surprise was that many of the suppliers and vendors were upbeat about sales, in stark contrast to media reports about the demise of retail. We’ll be talking to more vendors to learn how the vendors’ perception of the business climate differs from the media’s and what differentiates the vendors who are doing well.

Fashion Incubator has an excellent list of Apparel trade shows running in Las Vegas in February 2009, as well as links to all of the posts at Fashion Incubator with trade show trip reports or reviews from past shows. It’s an excellent list to review if you are attending the shows this year. 

Also see our post about the WWIN show.

Here are a few other sites that have ASR coverage: 

• Boardistan.com
• Shop-Eat-Surf.com
• Silverfish Longboarding doesn’t have and ASR posting as time of publication, but should be posting soon. They do have postings from Surf Expo. 
• San Diego Union Tribune 

The first day of the Action Sports Retailer show in San Diego opened notably more somber than the ASR Fall show. The reduction in the size of the show is immediately apparent: the show occupies probably 60% of the floor space compared to the fall 2008 show. The mood in the seminars and panel discussions has been similar: gloomy, with a strong emphasis on basics.

At the first seminar, “Thinking Outside the Box: Staying Relevant in This Market” the four panelist returned repeatedly to marketing basics, admonishing retailers and brands to:

• Identify a market niche for the company
• Differentiate the company from its competitors
• Develop a vision statement and market position statement
• Review the store’s entire inventory and jettison products that are not performing
• Develop a connection to their customers and their community

The second seminar, “10 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Website”  told a similar story for online marketing: businesses need to be aware of basic website design, SEO and email marketing.  Those that do not will be at a significant competitive disadvantage. 

Several manufacturers and consultants talked about manufacturers’  frustration with retailers because too many retailers don’t manage their businesses well. Too few retailers have POS systems, understand inventory management and Open To Buy planning or have websites. The consultants and other commenters expect that many of these retailers will not survive the downturn, leaving the recovery to those retailers that have developed these basic business skills. 

The messages is that retailers and brands that will survive the downturn are those the have strong fundamental business and marketing practices, and all businesses would be wise to focus on the fundamentals now, before they run into trouble.

With its origins in the women’s apparel show that was founded in 1988, WWIN"WomensWear in Nevada"has grown into a destination show with a solid influence in the women’s apparel market. We spoke with Jeff Yunis, president and owner of Miami-based Specialty Trade Shows, which operates WWIN, to find out what makes WWIN unique and how retailers should prepare before attending the show.

WWIN is one of five shows that Yunis organizes with his business partner Roland Timney. Each show focuses on a different type of apparel; WWIN hosts women’s apparel in missy and plus sizes, with an emphasis on smaller manufacturers.  

WWIN is designed for independent retailers. WWIN vendors sell smaller brands that are unique and sell well in boutiques. The vendors are prepared to take orders for immediate delivery and to ship with smaller minimum orders. WWIN attendees remark that the show is both more business-oriented and more comfortable than many other shows. Yunis attributes that to his emphasis on customer service, his ability to meet the different needs of WWIN buyers, and the free breakfasts and lunches. 

Because WWIN has a higher proportion of buyers that are independent retailers, WWIN vendors are more often writing orders for immediate delivery. Shows that cater to larger retailers are likely to have a buyer " a dedicated buyer, not the owner of a store " review the new lines and ask questions, making the purchase later as part of a detailed business decision. Independent retailers like to buy closer to the season, which WWIN vendors understand and expect.

You can sense the difference the type of buyer makes in the atmosphere of the show. Larger shows like MAGIC have huge (and expensive) booths, some of which host their own fashion shows. The Project shows have simpler, smaller booths for small vendors, but the showroom floor is studded with bars and dancing girls. Larger booths at Project look like multi-level dance clubs. Both environments have a strong element of theater. It’s clear that presenting an image is an important part of these shows.

WWIN, however, is composed of pipe-and-drape booths and has the hush of a library, with rows of people sitting and writing orders. There is no music, no dancing, and no alcohol, but there is clearly a lot of business going on, and the environment is much more serious and subdued. 

A small vendor who has shown at several shows, Georgina Estefania, describes the same situation a bit differently in a blog post at Fashion-Incubator.com: at WWIN a higher proportion of buyers are active, dedicated buyers. MAGIC has much more traffic, but it is easier for non-buyers to attend. With out the extravagant booths and major labels, WWIN is much less interesting for non-buyers, so the show has very few non-buyers.  

Another factor in attracting buyers is whether the show has a narrow or wide range of products. Larger shows have a broad range of products, while a show with a more specific focus will necessarily be smaller. Because WWIN vendors are largely aimed at missy and plus sizes, vendors who sell to that market will find a very high portion of the buyers looking for those products. 

Estefania also mentions the organizer’s honesty. As a vendor, Estefania worked with Timney; Yunis works primarily with buyers and the hotel. But both partners share a traditional view of customer service, attending to basic needs and providing special perks, and that attention has kept them popular through the years: despite the grim economic climate, WWIN is sold out for February 2009. 

This year there will be seminars and a few companies that can address the specific needs of smaller retailers, including a credit card company that can help with business credit and a buying service that is popular with longtime WWIN buyers. Another popular feature of WWIN: the vendors’ products line the walkways, reception area, and walls outside the halls on wire-frame “grids”. Buyers can get a preview of the products on their way in, making it much easier for buyers to connect with the right vendors. 

As a special perk to address the economic downturn this year, WWIN secured special discounts from many of the vendors. Buyers will find deep discounts, about 50% off, on 80 items in every category. 

Yunis offers the following advice for retailers who are new to WWIN:

• Don’t be rushed; plan to spend a few days at the show. 
• Bring business cards and some financial information to indicate your credit-worthiness. 
• Many vendors will expect unfamiliar buyers to pay with a credit card. 
• Dress professionally; business casual is OK. 
• Know your budget. Open-to-buy planning is especially helpful. 

During the first two days of the show, vendors will be busy with appointments. Retailers should make appointments with the vendors they know they want to visit and plan on visiting new vendors during the last two days. 

If you will be attending WWIN this year, either as a vendor or a buyer, Retailing Together staff would enjoy meeting you and hearing your feedback on the show.

Update: See this post at Fashion Incubator for links to many other posts about trade shows and trade show trip reports.