TRADE SHOW
Project: A Giant at MAGIC
Project is one of the giants of MAGIC Market Week.
With 1,500 brands, the show took up more than half the space of the gargantuan Mandalay Bay’s South Convention Center. Project exhibited a wide and diverse array of contemporary fashion labels. Vendors ranged from tops brand Love Nail Tree, which sports streetwear graphics, to Moods of Norway, which offers suits with bold and sometimes outré colors, to outdoors brand Fjallraven and Alternative, a basics and contemporary brand that offers styles made with sustainable fabrics.
Vendors found the sprawl of the show to help and hinder sales.
“They did a good job of getting buyers into the show,” said Matt Bloomingdale, who represents Japanese brand Azul by Moussy. “My booth was never empty.” (Bloomingdale is of no relation to the family that founded the prominent Bloomingdale’s chain of department stores.)
While 50 percent of retailers who visited the Azul by Moussy booth made orders, Bloomingdale thought that the label could have made more sales if the size of the show had been more manageable. “If you’re a buyer walking to an appointment, there’s a million brands that can sidetrack you. The size of the show can make a big difference.”
Mac Beu, president of Katin Men’s Licensing USA, said his sales were good, but he thought the show could have been organized better. “To be honest, I think it was a bit hodgepodge. I would have liked to see more like-minded brands together instead of spread out. I thought Project in August 2013 was better merchandised.”
The bustle of the show demonstrated that the economy was improving, said Don Zuidema, co-founder of boutique LASC. “The show had good attendance,” he said. “All of the vendors felt like there was a good group of retailers there. They seemed to feel that traffic was up and that orders were up, and maybe we were coming up from the difficult years that we faced on both sides of the fence.”
LASC’s budget for the show had increased more than 5 percent over last February’s show. However, Zuidema was seeking Spring and Summer items such as shorts and T-shirts at the Fall show.
Boutique owner Mia Peterson of boutique chain Flirt in Washington state shopped Project and said that trends were becoming less important. “My customers are not following trends as much as they want great basics, easy fits and timeless looks that will work into their wardrobe for years. I’m finding more basics at each show and more straightforward fits that have both quality and a good price,” she said.
