Strong Startfor MAGIC,Satellite Shows
Business got off to a brisk start, according to exhibitors at the Feb. 19–22 run of MAGIC International and several concurrent satellite shows in Las Vegas.
Exhibitors and organizers at Womenswear in Nevada (WWIN) at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino were pleased with buyer traffic, as were exhibitors at three shows that debuted this season. West Coast Collective, an upscale men’s show based in Los Angeles, held its first Las Vegas show at the Palm Resort. POOL, an alternative men’s and women’s show, bowed at the Stratosphere. And ASAP, a global sourcing show sponsored by Pasadena, Calif.-based technology company Cyber Merchants Exchange (c-me.com), held its launch show at the Mirage.
The four satellite shows opened on Feb. 18 and seemed to benefit from the one day without MAGIC’s competition for buyers’ attention. Traffic dropped off slightly on Feb. 19, when MAGIC opened at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and the Sands Expo & Convention Center.
MAGIC underwent several changes for its latest run. The trade show consolidated its men’s categories into one venue at the LVCC thanks to an expansion of the facility that added 918,000 square feet of exhibition space to the facility. The LVCC’s total square footage is now approximately 2 million square feet.
The new LVCC wing housed the Streetwear, Boardsports, Young Men’s, the edge and the Outer Limits categories.
MAGIC also brought its MAGICkids show to the LVCC from its previous location at the Las Vegas Hilton.
At the Sands Expo, MAGIC leased the space formerly occupied by the edge, the Outer Limits, casual lifestyle and the licensing and active sections to the Off-Price Specialist Show. The show, which previously showed in a temporary tented location at the Rio, occupied most of the first floor of the hall, while WWDMAGIC, MAGIC’s junior, women’s and accessories show, remained on the second floor.
Complete coverage of MAGIC, West Coast Collective, WWIN, POOL, ASAP and the Off-Price Specialist Show will appear in the March 1 issue of California Apparel News.
