TRADE SHOWS
The Tents Attracts Major Buyers to the Boutique-Style Show
Veterans and new vendors exhibited at The Tents, which is devoted to designer and contemporary men’s styles, cultivating a boutique environment with white-walled booths.
Several topnotch retailers including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue shopped the trade show, held Feb. 5–7 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
This was the first time at the show for Peruvian menswear label Juan Arias, which showed hoodies and sweats made out of Pima cotton grown in Peru. Designer Juan Arias, the label’s namesake, was happy with the show, saying the location of his booth contributed to the success of his inaugural run. “Being located in the corner really helped,” Arias said, noting there was lots of foot traffic going by. “I got five orders and a lot of opportunities for networking.”
This was the fourth time that Sol Angeles was at the show. Eli Myers, the co-owner of the Los Angeles label, which makes comfortable casual wear, said that buyer traffic was good the first two days of the show but quiet the third day. “A lot of the traffic dried up,” he said.
Myers said expenses to cover exhibiting at the show totaled more than $20,000, which included the trade-show booth, hotel rooms and meals for the six people on the Sol Angeles team.
To increase traffic at The Tents, Myers suggested developing more experiences to build bridges between vendors and attendees. In previous years, the Project show had ping-pong tables on the show floor, which Myers said contributed to more camaraderie between buyers and exhibitors. “A little added value goes a long way to bonding with stores,” Myers said.
The show’s directors held one seminar during the event. Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for market research company The NPD Group, gave a talk on Feb. 5 about “Retail Realities—Specialty and Beyond.”
