OffPrice Bustles With Early Opening Date
LAS VEGAS—The aisles of the OffPrice show at the Sands Expo and Convention Center were bustling with buyers on the opening day of the Aug. 19–22 show.“I had more orders in four or five hours than I’ve ever done,” said Eli Pirian of Los Angeles–based Bacci, which sells on-trend items from China. Buyers were interested in novelty items, angora sweaters, sequin dresses and embellished faux-fur vests. “Our strongest fabrication is crochet,” Pirian said.Returning exhibitor Eileen Burke was showing her Encinitas, Calif.–based Bali Queen collection of imported accessories from Bali in the show’s bustling cash-and-carry section.“It’s been insane,” Burke said on opening day. One of her key sellers, a beaded belt, sold out quickly. “I must have brought 400 of these belts. And now I’m only doing orders.”It was a similar story at Bermo Enterprises, said President Ed Bernard.“We were mobbed here,” he said on opening day, “You couldn’t walk through the booth this morning.”
Bernard said part of the reason for the strong start was timing. Typically, OffPrice opens several days before the MAGIC show, but this season, the show opened one day before MAGIC Menswear and Project opened. (WWDMAGIC opened a day later.) “There’s a sense of urgency,” he said.
Another reason for the rush is retailers need merchandise, Bernard said. “We’ll take an order for someone, and they’ll say, ‘Can you get it out this week?’ They’ve underutilized the amount of inventory that’s out there. We’re sold out of I don’t know how many categories. They are buying heavy and at-once orders.”For longtime OffPrice exhibitor Frank Kashani, owner of Los Angeles–based Impulse, the timing affected traffic. Kashani said he prefers the show to open on Friday so buyers have two weekend days to shop.“The economy has had a big effect on our business, as well,” he said. “It’s getting tougher and tougher. This show is our bread and butter.”
Kashani said the show’s proximity to MAGIC has little impact on his business, which is strictly close-out merchandise for larger retailers with several stores.“People come here for close-outs,” he said. “They have the opportunity to have 500 vendors at the same time.”
The show’s timing—and the location on the Sands’ lower level—were due to conflicts on the trade show calendar.David Lapidos, executive vice president, said show organizers prefer to be open two days before MAGIC opens, but shifting schedules limited the show’s options this season.And while OffPrice was originally founded as strictly a close-out show, in recent years the exhibitor base has broadened to include manufacturers and importers. “We have been evolving,” Lapidos said. “Buyers want to see everything. Buyers write here.”
Next season, OffPrice will move back to the upper level of the Sands.—A.A.N.
