Brands champion consumers over trade

NATIONAL: Prominent apparel and accessory suppliers Diesel, Champion and Oroton have signed up for one of Australia's largest menswear consumer initiatives, citing traditional trade showcases as less profitable.

The three brands, along with Esprit, Academee, Essential Man, Armani Exchange, Guess and Ben Sherman will present their collections as part of an initiative dubbed '30 Days of Fashion & Beauty: The Ultimate Men's Runway Show'.

Staged by the men's lifestyle arm of ACP Publishing, the package will offer each brand a catwalk show along with advertising, advertorial and editorial support across Ralph, FHM and Men's Style magazines.

Diesel marketing and communications manager Helen Robbins said the consumer based-event made good business sense in a tough economic climate.

"Involvement within a menswear event that was consumer based made sense for us in order to reach a broader target audience and drive increased impact on retail sales. The ACP menswear event offers additional opportunities to drive and extend brand awareness through a multimedia platform – in magazine and web content, promotions and editorial coverage."

Robbins said Australian trade shows did not suit sell-in times for the international brand, which operated twelve months in advance. "We see very little relevance in spending marketing dollars to talk to the industry or trade."

Richards Marketing Group, which heads up Australian operations for sportswear brand Champion, will also bypass the traditional trade show circuit when it previews a new streetwear brand at the consumer event. Marketing executive Heely Sevel said the company plans to launch the label into Australian retailers next winter.

Luxury accessory and intimate apparel supplier Oroton confirmed it had not taken part in a trade event since Australian Fashion Week was sponsored by Mercedes Benz. The Sydney-headquartered company will use the ACP event to increase awareness of it's men's accessories and underwear range.

Marketing manager said the company invested a "significant" amount in below the line marketing events.
"The rate of return [for consumer shows] is very difficult to measure as the benefits are never just financial. We participate in these types of events more from a branding perspective, rather than taking a financial view."

The '30 Days of Fashion & Beauty: The Ultimate Men's Runway Show' will be staged at Sydney's CarriageWorks complex on September 9.

By Assia Benmedjdoub