California Apparel News

B2B wholesale marketplace FashionGo debuted FashionGo Week Palm Springs at the Palm Springs Convention Center May 3–5, the first in-person trade event for the company. FashionGo held virtual events during the pandemic but aims to bring the trade-show experience into the new digital age by adding in the speed, convenience and efficiency of FashionGo’s technologies and tools.

“The concept of merging both physical and digital markets into one impactful marketplace experience was both ambitious and new to our community that we are proud to have executed successfully,” said Tom Nastos, co-founder of FG Events, a division of FashionGO. “It connects and creates relationships that continue beyond the show regardless of location and time, which has tremendous value. We now know our model for this show works, and we plan to showcase further what FashionGo Week has in store as we continue to expand our regional presence and tailor it to the needs that best fit our vendors and buyers both on-site and online.” FG Events is dedicated to managing FashionGo Week and was founded by BluEnsign co-founders Nastos and Scott Chowan, who bring years of experience building and organizing fashion trade shows.

In addition, unique QR codes linked to each attendee’s FashionGo account made the order process easy and the payment process safe and secure. Exhibitors would scan the QR code and attendees would confirm the order in their app, where it was able to be fully managed and tracked, simplifying the process of managing multiple orders at the show.

FashionGo Week Palm Springs ran concurrently with FashionGo Week online and offered the same digital benefits and promotions so that those who couldn’t attend the Palm Springs event were able to enjoy and participate in it nonetheless. Attendees were also able to make use of FashionGo’s Style Match+ digital tool and the FashionGo app, which allowed buyers to expand their discovery of the brands exhibiting at the show beyond a booth interaction.

“We are extremely excited to have successfully introduced a true omni-channel market experience, infusing technology with a physical market to progress the industry forward and reshape how B2B wholesale connects. With positive feedback from our attending retailers, we are ever excited to optimize, improve and add new features to the FashionGo app, which serves as the bridge for an online and in-person trade event,” said Paul Lee, CEO of NHN Global, the parent company of FashionGo.

Caleb Westbay, owner of the Westbay Showroom, which represents the Los Angeles–based Prince Peter Collection, thought the event was a success, with an attentive staff catering to both the retailers’ and exhibitors’ best interests. Westbay noted that buyers enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere, with a lot of buyers coming from out of state and having a chance to “get away” to the warmer weather while also being able to take in what the show had to offer.

“The presentation of the show was elevated and impressive. The vibe was very ‘Palm Springs’ and had a relaxing yet professional and engaging atmosphere. We saw retailers we already work with but also met with many new stores we had not previously sold to in our own ‘backyard,’ which was so exciting! We also wrote a handful of great new accounts from Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oregon, New Hampshire and Montreal.”

Katie Apple, owner of Apple Blvd in Frisco, Texas, made it out to Palm Springs to meet some of the boutique’s top vendors in addition to finding a few new vendors.

“We were looking for in-stock items to fill in the holes we needed for summer. We wrote deep orders with 10 vendors. We loved how it was an intimate market so we could work one on one with vendors and be able to really get good work done and do live selling! Game-changer for us,” Apple said. “As a boutique owner who buys from hundreds of vendors at markets across the country, it was so nice to have my order in the FashionGo back office. Organizing orders is one of the hardest parts of boutique buying, and the FashionGo system made it seamless.”

Shopping for the Polkadot Alley Boutique in Lubbock, Texas, Ashley White echoed the sentiments of others at the show that it felt like a natural and perfect fit for an industry that is transforming how it does business.

“I have been attending markets for close to 15 years as a buyer. Going to the first market put on by anyone is expected to be a ‘trial’ market of sorts. That is not what we found when we walked into the doors of the first market by FashionGo. Every minute of this market was well thought out, executed to a T and topnotch. I was impressed from start to finish,” White said. “The buyers and vendors were treated as equals—partners in business—as it should be. The location was pure heaven on earth. I have never left a market finding so many new lines and feeling so much excitement for what I do.”

FashionGo is set to hold the second FashionGo Week Palm Springs July 26–28 followed by an event in New York Nov. 6–8.

Photos courtesy of FashionGo.