ENK to Launch Show in China in 2011
ENK International—the New York–based producer of Coterie, Designers Collective, ENK Vegas, Intermezzo Collections and WSA—is taking its show to China.
Held as a show within a show, ENKChina will take place in a dedicated pavilion during the March 28–31 run of the China International Clothing and Accessories Fair (CHIC) in Beijing.
“China is not only an emerging market, it’s quite rapidly becoming the largest marketplace in the world, and we feel the time is right,” said Tom Nastos, ENK president.
The new show will attempt to capitalize on the fashion demand from China’s growing middle class, which now numbers more than 300 million, according to ENK. The show will feature women’s collections, men’s collections, children’s collections, footwear and accessories.
“We’re trying to create a forum for fashion brands to do business,” said Courtney Harold, director of business development for ENK. “We’re going to bring brands directly to Chinese regional and national distributors.”
China does not have a multi-brand retailer concept like the United States and Europe, Harold explained. “Just because somebody has their brand in Lane Crawford in Hong Kong doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in mainland China.”
Founded in 1993, the CHIC show typically draws more than 100,000 attendees to the nearly 330,000-square-foot New China International Exhibition Center. Attendees include distributors and companies looking for joint-venture opportunities. The show features fashion shows and seminars, as well as more than 600 Chinese brands and more than 300 international brands from more than 21 countries, according to the CHIC website. At the last show, in March, the overseas hall grew by 15 percent to cover more than 65,600 square meters, according to CHIC organizers.
“CHIC has brand recognition over there,” Harold said. “What ENK is going to do is bring the fashion brands and the fashion essence of ENK to the CHIC show. So it’s a great partnership.”
ENK is so bullish on the new show that it struck an exclusive agreement with the Chinese show to be the only American trade show in the international pavilion.
Using CHIC’s VIP-exhibitor database, ENK is already getting the word out about ENKChina to Chinese distributors.
“As brands sign on [to show at ENKChina], we will do individual promotion for those brands to that database,” Harold said. “So, the sooner you sign up, the more direct marketing you’re going to get.”
There will be translators, representatives from a Chinese business consultancy in the United States, and a public relations and media center in the ENKChina pavilion. Each ENKChina exhibitor will also get a distributor-guideline booklet created by ENK to help exhibitors prepare to distribute goods in China. Information in the booklet includes guidelines on interviewing a potential distributor and advice to help companies determine which distributor model is right for his or her business.
“For us, we’re B2B; we get buyers and sellers together,” Nastos said.
ENK recently hosted an informational seminar about the event in New York, where about 150 representatives from apparel companies turned out. There are plans to host a West Coast version in the future, although a date has not yet been set.
“We have a lot of small- to mid-sized brands ready to go because they realize there’s a lot of opportunity over there,” Harold said. “You look at Beijing and there are 22 million people—and that’s one of 45 [large] cities in China. You can open up two retail outlets there and be successful. You can go to a [smaller] city [in China] that has 5 million people and still be successful. There’s an opportunity for everyone.” End of Brighte
The news about ENKChina comes on the heels of ENK’s decision to shutter its Brighte show in Los Angeles. Launched in 2003 as Brighte Cos., the show was held five times annually in the Fashion Theater at the California Market Center.
With the closure of Brighte, ENK’s only trade shows in the western United States will be ENK Vegas and the WSA shoe show, both held in Las Vegas.
ENK confirmed it has canceled Brighte shows throughout 2011 but did not rule out future trade shows on the West Coast. Organizers credit Brighte with helping to shape Los Angeles Fashion Week. “ENK is considering its role on the West Coast and respects its sheer value as a marketplace,” said Elyse Kroll, chairman of ENK International. “ENK is analyzing how to move forward within it.”
