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:
