An Insider’s Guide To Magic Fashion Show

About MAGIC

After years of students, retailers and new designers asking me, “are the Las Vegas tradeshows important.” Instead of trying to describe it, I thought I’d show them what it’s like.

We put together this video to give you a very general overview of the tradeshows. It’s exhausting, invigorating, amazing, disappointing and everything else in between.

This 10 minute clip is over 6 hours of tape that spans 2 months. Some of the things we just couldn’t cover were how much prep work is needed to have a successful show.

For Exhibitors

If you are exhibiting you need to make sure you are in the right show in the “right” location of that show. You need to send out postcards, make phone calls, and somehow get your name in front of the buyers.

Buyers buy in this pattern: first the brands they already buy from and make money on, then the vendors they heard of (that’s why the brand recognition is so important) and last… the new guy.

The problem is they never have money, time or energy left for the new guy. That’s why the prep work before the show and the follow up are so important.

As a new designer you have 3 objectives at the shows:

1. Sell - You are not there to party you have to be the first guy at the booth and the last to leave!
2. Network - get business cards from every buyer that walk passed your booth
3. Look good! - so that the rep’s that are walking the show like you and make you an offer to be represented in there showroom.

For Buyers

As buyers, I tell my new stores ideally we should be able to wear roller skates, but for time management we wear Depends and carry power bars. No bathroom or food breaks (you know I am joking right?)

It’s important to start with a plan before attending any tradeshow. What do we need? What is selling? What are the customers asking for? We need to up date our OTB (your buying plan).

But at the end of the day it is important to walk every single aisle of the show. How else will you find out what trends are selling or that next hot line that you are the first to find?

It’s important as buyers to set a goal of finding at least 5 new vendors. You don’t have to buy from all of them but make the notes! Something that most buyers don’t take the time to do is network with other stores!

Don’t Forget

I love riding the MAGIC bus to the shows from the hotel…I have met some of the most interesting people on that bus!

So I hope you joy this little insider glimpse of what happens in Vegas doing the tradeshows…in this case what happens in Vegas becomes a trend.