Saturday, September 17, 2011

France:Five tradeshows found real success

France:Five tradeshows found real success

 


France:Five tradeshows found real success

September 2011 trade shows report for WHO’S NEXT – PREMIERE CLASSE – PRÊT-A-PORTER PARIS - MESS AROUND – SIXTY DAYS announced.

WHO’S NEXT & PREMIERE CLASSE
Both trade shows have ended on a very positive note with a 6% rise in the number of visitors compared with September 2010, i.e. 48,778 buyers. If French customers, especially from the Paris region, have leaped by 11%, the number of foreign buyers (32%) has dropped by 2%, with especially –28.2% for the United States and –33.5% for Germany. Italy, Spain and Belgium are the three most represented countries. Atmosphere wise, all the fashion professionals showed a lot of enthusiasm purchasing their last SS 2012 items. They all praise the clear offer and the quality of the selection.

PRÊT-A-PORTER PARIS
PRET A PORTER PARIS closed its latest edition on a good business atmosphere, after four days of SS 2012 collection presentation. Exhibitors and buyers noted and appreciated the nicely spaced-out and clear space design as well as the very sharp brand selection. With 58 % buyers from France and 42 % from the rest of the world, PRET A PORTER PARIS registers a slight raise in the number of visitors. The 5 most represented foreign countries: Italy, Spain, U.K., Japan and Germany. Also worth noticing: countries from the Middle East and Northern Europe.

MESS AROUND
Although the number of visitors showed a slight drop (4%), the September 2011 MESS AROUND was a success business-wise. “Our sales on MESS AROUND are in constant progress”, says OXYGENE’s Julien HUMEAU, “For a first time, the result is very promising” confirms SNIPE’s Thomas KRESS. With more than 70 new brands, the consistency and relevance of the MESS AROUND areas have drawn the attention of buyers such as Jean Pierre TURRI from Paray-le-Monial: “The MESS AROUND areas are a lot clearer”. The fashion lounge, LABOCUIR, Playground, Step by Step and Coming Soon were a real a success. The session was also punctuated with fun parties in a good mood.

SIXTY DAYS
Pre-registration figures spoke for a strong attendance, and indeed more than 3,000 visitors entered hall 3.1. Most exhibitors made the most of this first edition of SIXTY DAYS, the new meeting point initiated by EUROVET and WSN DEVELOPPEMENT. Department stores, boutiques and independent groups showed they still had a budget to place restocking orders for the current season. With an educational approach, the trade show gathering 78 “fast fashion” collections took advantage of a very clear and spaced out selection, featured a trend forum presenting the season’s hit products as well as debates organized by the National Federation for Clothing and Boutique de Mode. The organizing team will draw a lesson from this first session so the event matches the changes announced for 2012.

The five trade shows were featuring their last September session before they are all brought together next January, with a unique and common event: WHO’S NEXT Prêt-à-Porter Paris. The very clearly conveyed objective of this first session is to create an international center of attraction to reach 50% international buyers within two years, with the rescheduling of the September trade shows in June starting in 2012. All the professionals seem to look forward to this change!

Upcoming events:
1st session:
Fall-Winter collections: 21-24 January 2012
Spring-Summer collections: 30 June-3 July 2012

2nd session:
Fall-Winter collections: 2-5 March 2012
Spring-Summer collections: 28 September–1st October 2012

For "The new face of Paris fashion shows in 2012", Click here .