California Apparel News

The California-based International Swimwear/Activewear Market (ISAM) trade show will join the Aug. 29–Sept. 1 run of the MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas.

ISAM will host a swimwear pavilion featuring an estimated 100 to 150 exhibitors in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, according to MAGIC executives.

The ISAM Pavilion will have its own separate trade show directory, although ISAM exhibitors will also be listed in the main show directory.

The deal comes after ISAM hosted three annual shows at various venues in Las Vegas, most recently at Caesars Palace, and was prompted by buyers’ requests to consolidate venues, according to MAGIC and ISAM executives.

“It was so difficult for the retailers getting back and forth between our show and their show,” said Barbara Brady, director of ISAM. “This seemed to be the solution.”

The move will also allow ISAM exhibitors to put their merchandise in front of MAGIC’s vast buyer base.

“It’s going to benefit the buyer, and it’s going to benefit the exhibitor due to the fact that the buyers want to be able to access additional resources and the exhibitor wants to be able to cross over into additional resource channels,” said Camille Candella, marketing director for Woodland Hills, Calif.–based MAGIC International.

To show in the ISAM Pavilion, a company must be a member of ISAM. Companies that have multiple divisions can determine whether to show their swim collections in ISAM and their other divisions elsewhere in the show or to keep all their collections together in a booth in another part of the show. “It’s really their choice—whatever is best for their business,” Candella said.

Brady credited Peter Rubin, president of New York–based Mainstream and Caribbean Joe, with helping to hammer out the details of ISAM’s deal with MAGIC.

“There was a lot of negotiating between ISAM and Magic, and it went on for months and months,” she said. “Peter did an incredibly good job. He devoted an incredible amount of time and energy to it. This probably wouldn’t have happened without his help.”

The deal should have no effect on ISAM’s plans to stage a Los Angeles show in October at the California Market Center, Brady said. Although some swimwear makers will opt to show in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles, she said, some will simply choose the show with the best timing for their business.

Swim follows accessories

MAGIC’s ISAM deal follows on the heels of its announced partnership with the JCK Show, a jewelry trade show under the Reed Exhibition umbrella.

At the August show, MAGIC will kick off the biannual JCK Pavilion at the Las Vegas Hilton, which is adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“Part of the reason the accessories [deal] came to light is over the last year and a half to two years, we’ve seen a 20 percent increase in the number of buyers who say they purchase accessories, particularly women’s accessories,” Candella said. “We’ve also seen growth on our show floor, close to a 25 percent increase in the number of exhibiting companies that participate in accessories. So women’s accessories are hot right now. It’s what the market wants, and the buyers are looking for more resources.”

Candella said the trade show regularly surveys its buyers about what categories they would like to see and what changes they would recommend for the show.

“We capture survey data every show from our pre-registration,” she said. “We are constantly working to determine what we can do to meet the needs of our retailers and our buyers, and, in turn, that’s going to meet the needs of manufacturers in the market.”