Fun at the fair
The twice-yearly instalment of Fashion Exposed offers fashion retailers, agents, wholesalers and distributors almost unparalleled access to a host of new and established labels. But can one event really satisfy everyone? Tracey McEldowney reports.
On the face of it all the odds were against them.
Tough retail trading conditions, a tyYet despite this rather daunting prospect it appears the organisers behind Fashion Exposed's (FEX) second annual Spring/Summer event, Australian Exhibitions & Conferences (AEC), managed to pull one out of the bag yet again.
While slightly shy of the success of the inaugural Spring/Summer event last year, the numbers being bandied about for this year's incarnation, staged in Darling Harbour, were still pretty impressive.
In all, 650 exhibitors occupying around 3000 metres of floor space across six exhibition halls, were visited by 10,500-plus visitors - nearly 500 of which call a country, other than Australia, home.
Government trade authority Austrade also lent its support to the party, not only taking a stand for the first time but hosting a delegation of around 35 international guests - including buyers from Malaysian department store chain Parkson Grand and its Manilla-based equivalent Crossings, as well as PT Point Break department store buyers from Indonesia and Thai Roong Inter Biz buyers from Thailand.
TyOn a local level, the event was also well supported.
AEC managing director Marie Kinsella admits while the Queensland presence was noticeably stronger among this year's visitors and the Victorian representation faltered.
"We had a total of 10,500 visitors through the doors - 1,000 more than FEX in Melbourne last year - but still down on the last event in Sydney by about 1,000 people. We had an absolutely incredible first day, the queues were enormous. Eighteen hundred passed through the turnstiles in the first half hour of the first day.
"That said, our Victorian numbers were less than anticipated. Our registrations were well up but it appears the Commonwealth Games had some impact. I think people registered for the event and then worried about being able to get back into the city with the games on."
While at the time of press her organisation was still busy surveying exhibitors to tally exact figures, Kinsella estimates more than $10 million of trading was done over the three-day duration of the event.
Kinsella says exhibitor demand for space forced AEC to add an additional hall to this year's proceedings. A move she says paid off for both exhibitors and buyers.
"We still had a waiting list - there were more than 150 accessory labels on it alone. I think certain areas worked better than others. Childrenswear went really well, it is an area we have been working on. We didn't have childrenswear when we started the show and this year we had almost enough to fill a hall itself. We had a lot of positive feedback from traditional menswear suppliers as well - they really liked the expanded menswear area."
First time exhibitor Justin Marmot, of Jensen Shirts & Ties, claims the show "exceeded all expectations".
Mermot admits attending the fair was a gamble.
"I was nervous I would be sitting here on my own and nobody would visit my stall but that hasn't been the case at all. I've written eight or nine new orders and gotten lots of new leads which I am hoping I can convert into sales."
Veteran exhibitor Fanny Lam, of womenswear label Fanny Lam, was another of those benefiting from enthusiastic buyers.
Lam, who sold mostly to her existing clients but also "I did $100,000 worth of business the first day and $80,000 the second day - 30 per cent of that would have been from new customers. My existing clients know me and know I'm here so wait until now to do their buying. I definitely did better here than I do [at the] Melbourne [autumn/winter] show. Queenslanders won't fly to Victoria to do their buying."
Chantelle Conti, of new womenswear label Lil Mama, claims to have had the opposite experience.
While she could not fault organiser support, Conti says she was disappointed the stand was "no where near as busy" as she had expected.
Conti, who says she exhibited mainly to gain exposure for her label, admits the event proved beneficial for interacting with other stallholders and general industry networking.
"From that perspective it was really good, I was just expecting it to be a lot busier. I'd like to do Melbourne but I'm not sure I could justify the cost."
Philosophy director Peter Wood, who had a six by three metre self-designed stall last year and a 10 by three metre stall designed by professional stall designers this year, says his first day's trading was by far the best.
"I got five new accounts in Victoria that day. On the Monday [the second day] it was more existing account holders coming through. I haven't even added up my orders yet but our main objective is to try and get new accounts. The budget I had in mind was modest but we don't encourage visitors to buy here - we'd rather they go to our Surry Hills showroom."
Wood says while this year's event saw the label's best performance to date, he also encountered unexpected problems.
"It's been the best probably because the stand is attracting so much attention. The difficulty I've had this year has been with account conflicts - we do offer exclusives to different areas."
Diane Macrae Moses, a buyer from New Zealand womenswear retailer Diane's, admits to spending a lot of money, but was reluctant to confirm exact figures.
"I don't really work on budgets per se - if I want, I buy. The labels I was interested in included Fanny Lam, Philosophy and Edge Emporium. There is half a dozen more that if I don't get around to visiting I will make sure I will get in touch with upon my return."
Macrae Moses says like most New Zealand attendees she was "very impressed" with the show and intends visiting FEX Melbourne later this year as well.
"The quality here is very good and the sizing is great. I will definitely be back here and I will definitely head to the Melbourne version as well."
Slingflings designer Rachel Bending, whose only outlay was for the range on display after winning one of 20 spots on offer in the fair's debut section for emerging designers, says she met her $10,000 sales target the first morning of the show.
Bending, who also has a retail outlet in Byron Bay, says she was thrilled with the response to her label and depending on finances was keen to show again at a future FEX fair.
Kinsella says introducing the debut section to the fair had added a new dimension to the show and was now likely become a permanent fixture of the event.
"From our point of view, we're pleased with what was presented. We do want to focus on emerging designers that have started on the road, rather than those just out of university. We must put them in a business environment to help them on their way."
Owing to the success of this year's event, as well as the increased support from Austrade, Kinsella says AEC will look to gain more commercial support for the next event, either in the form of funding from the state government or via other tie ins with local tourism businesses.
"We always maintain Sydney is great for Fashion Exposed while Fashion Exposed is great for Sydney."