Throw a Vs Fashion Show Viewing Party

As a designer in my early years and a brand builder over the terminal 15 years, I've visited many trade shows in my time. I've sourced fabrics, yarns, manufacturers, even a client or ii, during my casual chats and of course, tendency prediction. They were always bustling with the most important people in style retail and innovative companies, selling their ideas, finished products and materials, merely not anymore it seems.

I have to admit, I haven't been to as many Merchandise Shows equally usual over the by couple of years. Costs are rising, my time is squeezed more than ever earlier and somehow, they merely don't hold the relevance to me, that they used to.

It could, as my husband keeps reminding me, just be my age. I am, after all, no spring chicken these days. But yesterday I fabricated some time to visit a local Trade Evidence. Fashion Access and Cashmere World, in Hong Kong and after chatting to a few people at the show, I was happy to hear that my age had zero to do with information technology.

Over the past year, I've had a lot of clients asking me whether they should exercise Trade Shows to attract more buyers, so I gauge information technology's a topic that needs some discussion. In this postal service I'll explain why Trade Shows are no longer the fashion forward for new [and sometime] fashion brands and what your alternatives are, to attract more than customers, buyers and sales.

WHAT ARE Merchandise SHOWS?

If you've never visited a merchandise show earlier, let me take a moment to explicate exactly what they are. Almost people have visited a market at some point, which is a pretty adept illustration, so call back virtually that market for a moment.

Lots of stalls, selling products on narrow roads. Lots of people, pushing past y'all to become to where they demand to be. Noise. Hustle and hurry everywhere. People's shopping smacking into your legs equally you walk past. Stall holders trying to attract yous to their stall. Restaurants and food stands with people standing effectually trying to eat as quickly as possible and lots to look at. Pretty accurate?

Well Trade Shows are fairly similar. Widen the streets a bit and change the pavement to carpeting. Put the market stalls inside a large conference centre, with more mod stands and make sure anybody there has a lanyard with their ticket to enter. Add a few talks and presentations. Exhibition areas for trends and products, and remove the sellers who shout into the crowd [mostly] and you're there.

About Trade Shows are fairly specific and are put on per material or production blazon. For case, Pitti Filati in Florence is a knitwear and yarn show. Everything, including the trends and exhibition areas are focused on knitwear, including the exhibitors. Bread and Butter focuses on streetwear and SMOTA is a merchandise bear witness for footwear…. although there are many more across the world.

Substantially, Trade Shows, at least in the fashion industry, are just lots and lots of fashion companies and manufacturers, trying to concenter buyers to buy their products and materials, simply like a market. It's a tad more than civilised [most of the time] just information technology'south just equally busy and manic for both visitors and sellers…..or at least they used to be.

THE Merchandise Evidence

At the offset of this post, I mentioned that I visited a Trade Show yesterday. Well, let me give you some background and describe what it was similar ii years ago, to put yesterday into context.

Nearly conference on convention centres are huge buildings with unlike floors and rooms. This one in particular is held at the Wanchai Convention Centre, which is approximately 500,000 sq metres across it's many floors and halls. In previous years, Way Access has taken up the anteroom, 3 floors. Walkway space for exhibitions and additional seminar rooms for events and talks. I would think it took up around 50,000 foursquare meters of the centre.

This year, the entire show, including talks and seminars, registration booths, trend exhibitions, seating areas, cafes and a few empty booths, was in 1 hall, which was around 10,000 square meters. I must accept walked around it in 3 hours and 45 minutes of that, was listening to Michael at Manner Snoops give his trend prediction talk.

I chatted to Michael almost his experience this year with trade shows and he confirmed my suspicion that they were condign smaller and far less relevant within the fashion industry. I had seen this happening slowly for the last few years. Many of my fashion friends had told me that they were non attention as many shows as they used to and I too had stopped making time to become. The reports for all trade shows, across the world, take revealed less and less visitor numbers attending. The reason for this is probably not what you think. Interestingly, the finish consumers are the reason why….

WHAT IS CHANGING?

If you don't remember the 80s and 90s, you may non know that mass production and huge retail chains, developed during this time. Huge retailers brought cheap appurtenances to millions of people beyond the world and expanded quickly. It was their golden era. Merely with the rising of the internet, which really exploded over the last 10 years, consumer attitudes are changing. If you throw in a few recessions in the Western world, shoppers having the option of global goods and brand loyalty loosing appeal with and so much selection, you get the situation we're in today.

In that location will always be consumers who want cheap products and the only place you can get them, is with big brands who have the manufacturing power to need cheap product. Nonetheless for the masses, with the global pick of products available, consumers are returning to individual, 'different from their friends', product choices and focus is returning to quality in order to reduce costs. It'southward longevity rather than throw away way.

Then with global choice, handmade goods for individuality and quality over quantity becoming more than relevant, is there a point to trade shows anymore? Should y'all show at one?

SHOULD I DO A Merchandise Evidence?

My curt reply is 'No'. But my answer is for many reasons.

Most suppliers, brands, manufacturers and mills accept websites. And so after you build a relationship with a buyer, their companies are happy for them to await online, rather than spend thousands on flights, nutrient and accommodation for their teams. The recession hit large companies too, so y'all have to carry that in mind.
Unless you take an established brand, people won't exist there to see y'all. Sure, you might get a bit of exposure from the odd passing heir-apparent, but generally their fourth dimension is limited and they volition want to see their established suppliers. Unless your berth literally jumps out at them, they won't notice.
Larger companies can afford larger booths in more prominent positions. As a new or small company, you'll go placed where there is infinite, usually to the back of the room. If information technology's the offset time you take exhibited with them, you also don't accept the relationship with them to command amend positioning. And then again, human foot traffic will be low.
My last point actually sums up the whole feel of a style trade show and the previous points I made in my list. Like a physical shop or website, unless there is traffic, y'all'll never get a sale and if buyers aren't coming, then the cost of doing it, actually isn't worth it.

SO WHAT Tin can I Practise?

If you were thinking that a trade show was going to exist your path to success and are now wondering what you can do instead, of course I have some helpful tips for you.

Similar a trade show, you lot need to build relationships. Whether that is with buyers or consumers directly, the advantage of the internet is that social media and websites let you lot to do just that. The other thing that trade shows exercise, is give you the opportunity to find new buyers and customers. Whether online or off, if you spend some fourth dimension focusing on finding the right people, who volition love your brand and products. So here are some tips for doing these ii things, without a trade show:

Make sure that you lot are collecting e-mail addresses or contact information [with their permission of course] of customers, then that you can tell them when you lot have promotions, events or new vesture lines available. Never buy likes, fans or email addresses. It'due south a waste of time and honestly, it's simply nasty tactics that won't help your make image.
Create or participate in events that are tailored to your customer, or buyer, by making them experience special and appreciated. This can include pop up sales, special lifestyle events or bringing your products to them.
Call back almost the lifestyle of your customer, non only the product you are trying to sell. Whether you are selling online, in a market place or at an effect, requite them an feel that they will retrieve, not a shopping trip.
Don't assume anything happens overnight. Edifice a relationship, gaining trust and creating a memorable brand, takes a long time. Y'all should be doing everything you tin, as early on as possible, even if you have nothing to sell. Think of each consumer, or heir-apparent, as a friend. Support their projects. Requite helpful advice and comments. Be happy to see them and ever ask if y'all tin do anything to help them. When it comes fourth dimension to launch a new collection, or promote your offer, then people are far more willing to help you succeed, when yous have done so much for them.

FINALLY….

Now that nosotros've talked about trade shows and their subtract in style buyers and visitor numbers; how consumer attitudes are irresolute to products and how shopping habits are changing, I call up we can safely say that trade shows are a dying promotional tool. But we've also discussed some ideas for keeping up fashion brand interest and how you can help to increase your sales.

Activity Steps:

As a final task, I want yous to accept some activeness and think virtually your brand, your customers and an event you could create, that you lot think would create interest. It can exist completely hypothetical if you haven't started your brand and even something yous think would happen in the future, when you have more funds. I want to hear what you would do, so tell me what y'all think and comment below with your ideas.