Improved Traffic Flow at Pool
Booth space for Pooltradeshow was sold out during its most recent run Feb. 14–16 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. More than 203 emerging and art-driven fashion brands exhibited, according to Lara Matthews, the show director.
The show also marked the first time Matthews helmed the trade event. One of the first acts of her administration was to tear down the wall separating Pool from the rest of MAGIC.
In previous Pooltradeshows, the show was isolated from the rest of MAGIC by a curtain or temporary wall. Without the wall, buyers could walk freely from Pool to MAGIC Menswear.
The open-borders policy got high marks from Freddie Rojas, founder and designer of Los Angeles–based brand Rojas, which has been exhibiting at Pool since it began in 2001.
“There was more traffic at this show,” Rojas said. “It was a lot more accessible to buyers.”
Urban Outfitters and Forever 21 visited the show along with boutiques such as Clover from Los Angeles; Map from Provincetown, Mass.; Lemur from Mexico City; and Delta from Japan.
Rojas said his booth’s traffic was even with the February 2010 Pool. However, most of his East Coast accounts did not make the show.
“Buyers have cut back on traveling,” he said. “They’re deciding between Vegas or New York City.”
For Los Angeles–label Blood Is the New Black, sales declined 50 percent compared with the February 2010 Pool because buyers were traveling less. Label founder Mitra Khayyam said attendance suffered from buyers preferring to do business online. “We waited for that busy day, but we never saw that busy day,” she said of the trade show.—Andrew Asch
