Fashion brands have reported mixed success at Australian spring/summer trade fair shows this year. Experienced agent Phoebe Garland, co-founder of Garland & Garland Fashions, offers her tips for standing out.
The four P’s for exhibiting at a trade fair: Position, Price, Presentation and Product
It’s no secret that exhibiting at a trade fair can be very beneficial for launching a brand into the market and putting your label in front of a large number of retailers. But there are some fundamental things you need to do to ensure you are getting your money’s worth.
Understanding the type of buyer who is attending is critical. Also ensuring your product is priced to suit this buyer and that your product is commercial with modern design, yet has a point of difference is mandatory to good sales.
Do your research before you go, visit the trade show a season before exhibiting and really have a look at the exhibitors who are really busy, and find out why they are doing the business. Have a good look at what’s already exhibiting and ensure you are not duplicating. Find out as much about your competitors to ensure you have an edge when you exhibit.
It will also help you find where the volume of sales are heading and at which price points. Getting feedback from buyers as to what is missing in the market is very valuable and you may be able to fill that void in your ranges. Spending the money on a decent stand with strong signage and good positioning is well worth the money and it makes all the difference.
Too often exhibitors have scrimped on a small stand and have spent very little time merchandising and offering good marketing materials in the way of look books etc. The stand is essentially a sales tool, so make sure it looks engaging and presentable. Presentation of your ranges is also vital to good sales. Merchandising your stand is imperative.
Treat your stand like a proper showroom or shop window by having something unique, which can entice people over. If you have a small range of garments which are mainly items and not clear stories, look to sampling in multiple colour ways to exhibit, so you can colour block them to make the range look a lot bigger than what it is and is visually pleasing to the buyer.
It really does wonders for small ranges in giving the impression the range is more substantial. Whilst on the other hand, if you have a very large range, keep stories tight so you don’t overwhelm the buyer with too much choice. Striking that balance is very important.
And finally ensure your stand is busy through marketing to potential retail buyers by sending out look books and marketing materials prior to the trade show with invitations. Booking as many appointments with new customers at trade shows will tend to have a flow on effect, and will give the impression your stand is busy and will quite often raise the curiosity of other buyers.
Preparation is the key to success at any trade show. It’s all about engaging with your customer or in this case the buyer.