issue 06

ISSUE 06
ORGANISED BY:
SUMMARY
ISSUE 06
03
EDITORIAL
AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE OF FASHION
04
TRADE FAIRS
FASHION TRADE FAIRS: A VERITABLE MUST
Visiting the leading trade fairs and exhibiting at these
events has become a veritable must for brands and
retailers, due to the different advantages that they are
able to offer members of the industry.
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TRADE FAIRS
WELCOME TO MOMAD METROPOLIS
The final preparations are being made for the staging
of the first MOMAD METROPOLIS, which will open its
doors at Ifema next 6th September.
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INTERVIEW
BORJA ORIA
The President of Acotex, the leading Spanish trade
association for the fashion sector, offers his views
regarding the present situation within the industry and
the challenges faced by the multi-brand trade.
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EDITORIAL
AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE
OF FASHION
Welcome to the sixth issue of MOMAD MAGAZINE. Due to its proximity
to the first staging of MOMAD METROPOLIS, we have decided to focus
this issue on the world of trade fairs, whilst providing an extensive preview
of how MOMAD METROPOLIS is likely to shape up at its first event. Thus,
over the next few pages we shall outline some of the main reasons why
exhibiting companies and retailers take part at fashion trade shows,
effectively reflecting the vital importance of trade events in their capacity
as indispensable marketing tools for the business sector.
We shall also review some of the latest new developments at MOMAD
METROPOLIS, which will open its doors next 6th September as the only
multi-sector event in Spain aimed at the fashion trade and the most
important show of its kind on the Iberian Peninsula. The striking and
innovative decoration of Halls 4, 12 and 14 (as shown in the photos)
reflects the fact that this new event represents much more than the simple
integration of SIMM and MODACALZADO+IBERPIEL: the new MOMAD
METROPOLIS is a visible example of the new approach that has been
adopted by Ifema's fashion events, based on a more up-to-date and
modern appeal and inspired by the latest trends on the international trade
fair circuit.
The decision that has been taken by the international Bestseller Group,
which owns labels as prestigious as Jack&Jones and Vero Moda and
which habitually attends the most important international trade shows, to
take part at MOMAD METROPOLIS with a space measuring some 600
square metres, provides ample proof of the fact that the event's new
approach is a success.
We cannot overlook the opinion of visitors either in this special issue
devoted to trade fairs. In this sense, we have interviewed one of the most
renowned figures within the industry in Spain: Borja Oria, President of the
Business Association for the Textile and Accessories Trade (ACOTEX), will
offer us his views regarding the new trade show and the current state of
the fashion industry.
We look forward to greeting you at MOMAD METROPOLIS!!!
MOMAD MAGAZINE
CONTACT: [email protected]
PUBLISHED BY: Ripley Gestora de Contenidos // CIF: B 62014204 // Pelayo, 12, 1º 1ª, 08001 – BCN
DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Talking Design Studio // Amigó 47, entlo. 3a, 08021- Barcelona
Further information: www.ifema.es
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TRADE FAIRS
FASHION TRADE
FAIRS: A VERITABLE
MUST
WHY VISIT OR EXHIBIT AT SPECIALISED TRADE FAIRS?
Much has been said and will continue to be
said about the role that trade fairs play within
the world of business. During their staging they
provide a focal-point for intensive trade activity, which provides a boost for the economic
development of brands and retailers who wish
to keep up with the latest trends and offer their
customers added value. The expectations regarding these events vary, depending on whether
we are dealing with exhibitors or visitors, being
as diverse as the range of people who attend
them. In this respect, it is easy to find professionals who make use of trade fairs in order
to hold their meetings, discover new brands,
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link up with representatives of brands based
in different geographical locations, gain an
overview of the market and the latest trends and
even learn first-hand how to sell their products
from the lips of leading experts. At the same
time, other brands decide to attend trade shows
in order to surprise their customers with their
new collections, attract new customers and
arouse media interest in their products ..., etc.
In short, we come across diverse views and
expectations, all of which confirm the role that
trade fairs play as an effective and currently
indispensable marketing tool for companies.
Brands and Retailers
In the case of brands, taking part at a trade
show constitutes a unique opportunity to form
part of a grand event. This ensures maximum
visibility and a wide-ranging audience, aspects that also apply in relation to the general
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and specialised media covering the event. In
effect, brands are able to generate a degree
of awareness that is difficult to achieve with a
single showroom. Trade shows thus serve as a
highly effective showcase for members of the
trade, promoting and boosting the visibility of
participating companies and brands twice a
year, as well as facilitating promotion through
the media.
In addition, the very structure of the event, in
which brands share the limelight with other similar
brands according to concept, range or moment
of use, effectively maximises these opportunities
and facilitates the visit of target groups that are
interested in the segment in question.
Fashion trade shows also offer brands other key
advantages, such as the opportunity to establish
effective contacts, organise appointments, carry
out pre-selection and ordering processes with
customers, attract new customers and take part
in a schedule of meetings with foreign and
domestic buyers of considerable interest. To
all this we must add the facilities and services
offered by fairgrounds and the information that
professionals are furnished with before they
attend the event itself, which enables them to
organise their visit in advance in order to suit
their interests.
Finally, the activities that are organised to coincide with the exhibition constitute an asset of
considerable importance to both brands and
retailers taking part at fashion trade shows.
Different activities, courses and forums, not to
mention relaxation areas and catering facilities, provide the best setting for doing business
and discovering the opinions of leading experts
from the industry at first hand. Participants can
also form part of debates on problems and
opportunities relating to the multi-brand sector,
discover the latest trends in e-commerce and
new technologies and extend their network of
high-quality contacts within the industry.
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TRADE FAIRS
WELCOME TO
MOMAD METROPOLIS
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW MULTI-SECTOR FASHION TRADE FAIR,
THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT OF ITS KIND ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA
The final preparations are being made for the imminent inauguration of the largest fashion trade show
in Spain and the leading multi-sector fashion event
on the Iberian Peninsula. MOMAD METROPOLIS,
the new fashion trade fair organised by IFEMA,
is based on the fusion of the Madrid International
Fashion Fair (SIMM) and MODACALZADO+IBERPIEL.
Between 6th and 8th September all fashion profes-
sionals have a date with MOMAD METROPOLIS,
an event based on a renewed and up-to-date trade
fair format that has attracted the participation of
more than 1,100 brands.
When they arrive at the Feria de Madrid fairground,
visitors and exhibitors will be met by the striking
exterior decoration of Halls 4, 12 and 14, created by a series of renowned urban artists. This will
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Three wide-ranging sections,
METRO, COSMO and READY, will
bring together the products and
services of more than 1,100 exhibiting
brands at the trade show, based on
their positioning within the market
and their moment of use, all within
an exhibition area measuring
some 16,000 square metres
immediately alert visitors to the fact that they are
attending a new type of trade fair, one based on
the latest market trends.
Inside the halls themselves, the exhibition will be
structured around market segment, style and moment of use, based on three wide-ranging sections
(METRO, COSMO and READY), effectively making
up an exhibition area that measures 16,000 square metres. This exhibition will encompass clothing
companies, footwear companies and suppliers of
children's fashion and accessories, making up a
fashion event that is quite unprecedented in Spain.
In the METRO section, located in Hall 12, visitors to
MOMAD METROPOLIS will be able to discover the
wide-ranging representation of progressive urban
fashion companies, whilst COSMO in Hall 14 and
part of Hall 12 will focus on contemporary fashion
labels. In turn, READY will be located in Hall 4,
featuring a wide-ranging exhibition of ready-to-wear
fashion and the most youthful urban fashion ideas.
For their part, the IFEMA Showrooms will be located
at a new venue, Hall 14.1, which habitually hosts
the staging of the fashion shows at Mercedes Benz
Fashion Week Madrid.
Spaces and Brands
Amongst the fashion labels, the exhibition will showcase the collections of brands such as Velatti, Almatrichi, Bestseller, Play Star 42, Strena, Cambio, Max
Volmary, Leidiró-Mac, Frieda&Freddies, Margittes,
Rosemunde, Mamatayoe, Eliza Cavaletti, Angels
Never Die, No Secrets World, Malvin, Beaumont,
Leo Guy, Luckylu, Cristina Sanchez, Escolá, Best
Mountain, Berlin 1927, Charo Ruiz Ibiza, Ada
Gatti, Sidecar, Guillen Y Bayona, Hector Cubas,
El Armario De Lulu, Cheyenne, Goes, Yogo, Jac
Dismoda, Lauren Vidal, Juan Carlos Armas, Deby
Debo, Laga, Brigitte Bardot, Lentejita, Maria Coca,
Lollipops, Steilmann, Noa, Signal, Mex, Plural, Pe
De Chumbo, Rene Derhy, Pause Café, Smash!, Tartaruga, Veneno En La Piel, Vilagallo and Viriato.
Some of the most outstanding names amongst the
footwear fashion labels include Pons Quintana,
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Robert Clergerie, Studio Mihara, Plummers, Lola
Cruz, Menbur, Hispanitas, Nero Giardini, Albión
1879 (Ted Baker, Jessica Simpson, Vince Camuto,
Frank Wright), Desigual, Kangaroos, Sendra Boots,
Vidorreta, Exé, Buffalo, grupo Mtng (Mustang, María
Mare, Sixtyseven, Cheiw, Estefanía Marco), XTi,
Chka10, Raider-Ipanema, Dupé, Gioseppo, Victoria
and Coolway.
The children's fashion segment will encompass labels such as Xti Kids, Mayoral, Disney, Rachel and
Cheiw, whilst companies such as Puntotres, Drap
Difussion, Camomila Milano, Volum, Abbachino,
Robert Pietri and Anna & Robert Textil will present
their collections under the headings of handbags
and accessories.
Momad Retail Forum
As has traditionally been the case at SIMM and
MODACALZADO+IBERPIEL, MOMAD METROPOLIS
will complement its exhibition space with a packed
Activities Programme aimed at trade visitors and
exhibitors. Exhibitions, tasting sessions and competitions (such as the Best Stand Contest at the trade
fair) will be staged alongside the Momad Retail
Forum, which will take up from where Speaker's
Corner at SIMM and MODACALZADO+IBERPIEL
left off. This initiative is destined to become the best
forum in Spain for retail know-how, one that is freely
available to all visitors who attend the trade show.
Hilario Alfaro, the President of the Specialised Trade
Confederation of the Madrid Region (Cocem), will
open the Forum on Friday 6th September with a
paper entitled "Reflections on the Future of Retailing".
Isabel Mesa, the Managing Director of WGSN in
Spain, will take up the baton in the afternoon with
an analysis of the latest trends for Spring/Summer
2014 for buyers under the heading of "Season
Essentials".
On Saturday, the Momad Retail Forum will continue with a Shopprising Workshop entitled "How to
Use Technology and Customer Experiences to Make
Contact with Your Market Segments", presented by
Carlos Sánchez and José Cantero Gómez (M2M
Factoría de Innovación), and a Roundtable featuring the participation of Borja Oria (Acotex), Hugo
Mira (El Armario de Lulu) and Francesco Malatesta
(Director of Ifema Fashion Events).
On the evening of Saturday 7th September, Jaume
Rosell (Baobaz España) will deliver the conference
entitled "Electronic Commerce As a Tool for Boosting
Growth and Internationalisation at Companies". On
the morning of Sunday 8th, the Forum will host the
staging of a Conference on "Communication Via
the Social Media Applied to the Field of Fashion",
followed by the presentation of the book entitled
"History of Fashion" ("Historia de la Moda") by
Josefina Figueras.
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BORJA
ORIA
PRESIDENT OF ACOTEX
Borja Oria is the President of the Business Association for the Textile and Accessories Trade (ACOTEX) and an expert on the fashion industry. In this interview he offers us his views on the future of the multi-brand trade and the key
role played by fashion trade shows, as well as analysing the Government's
recent decisions regarding fiscal and financial matters.
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DEMAND FOR FASHION
HAS BEEN DECLINING FOR
SOME YEARS NOW. HAS IT
NOW HIT ROCK BOTTOM?
We do not know for sure whether
demand has really hit rock bottom,
but what we do believe at Acotex
is that, if this is not the case, then it
is certainly very close to doing so.
In this sense, we are beginning to
see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The upturn may occur during the
Autumn/Winter 2014 campaign or
throughout the following season, but
at least we will not be witnessing any
more sharp declines. The industry
has already made the adjustments it
needed to make and, in this respect,
we believe the situation is going to
begin to stabilise in terms of both
shop closures and loss of employment. One suggestive figure that supports this view is as follows: since the
beginning of the crisis some 13,000
businesses have closed, but in 2012
the number came to only 230.
THE MULTI-BRAND TRADE
HAS GRADUALLY LOST
MARKET SHARE. HAS
IT NOW ACHIEVED ITS
OPTIMUM SHARE, WHEN
COMPARED WITH OTHER
COUNTRIES?
In any market, even one as highly
developed as that of the United
States, there is always space for
the multi-brand trade and for small
businesses, which contrast with the
globalised single-label chains and
offer a more intimate and local
approach. At present, this trade
accounts for around 20% of the
market in Spain. However, we do
not know exactly what market share the multi-brand trade is going to
have when it stabilises.
WHAT SHOULD THE
CHANNEL DO IN ORDER TO
SURVIVE?
I see three key factors. First of all,
customer attention must really constitute a value that sets this channel
apart from the single-brand channel,
which is moving towards the realm
of self-service. Second, the channel must invest and bring in new
technologies in order to establish
a better communication with customers and improve sales techniques
and strategies. And third, the multibrand channel must cash in on the
advantage it has in terms of being
able to change the brands it represents, always offering customers the
latest and most fashionable labels
and ideas.
IN SPITE OF THE CRISIS,
THERE ARE SOME STRIKING
MULTI-BRAND SUCCESS
STORIES IN SPAIN. WHAT
EXAMPLES PROVIDE US
WITH A MODEL THAT WE
MIGHT FOLLOW?
It is very difficult to name just one
and even more so coming from a trade sector association that represents
all members of the sector. However,
we can come across international
examples, such as Colette and 10
Corso Como, which address a medium-high or high category target,
although other neighbourhood and
day-to-day multi-brand outlets also
spring to mind.
WHAT ROLE DO FASHION
TRADE SHOWS PLAY
WITHIN THE SECTOR?
A very important one. For owners of
multi-brand establishments, having
to search for new brands and new
ideas entails a considerable effort.
And this is precisely where trade
fairs come into their own, bringing
together all of the fashion options
and ideas together over a period
of two or three days, thus enabling
shop-owners to discover hundreds
of brands.
HOW DO YOU RATE THE
NEW EVENT, MOMAD
METROPOLIS, AND THE
FUSION OF SIMM AND
MODACALZADO?
We consider the new trade show to
be a brave initiative and we wish it
all the success in the world. We have
participated in the development of
this new event, given that we form
part of the trade fair's Organising
Committee. We believe this new
approach was a necessary measure, given that the fashion world
has become increasingly global and
comprehensive, something we have
been pointing out for years now.
Shops that do not sell clothing, footwear and accessories all together
have now become an anomaly. In
this respect, we believe the decision
to unite the exhibitions at SIMM and
MODACALZADO+Iberpiel is the
right one. In fact, the event should
continue to incorporate other sectors, such as accessories and fashion
jewellery, at future editions.
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HOW IMPORTANT IS
TOURISM TO THE FASHION
TRADE IN SPAIN?
The impact of tourism on the fashion
trade is very high. Tourism is becoming increasingly important, given
that Spain is lucky enough to attract
almost 60 million foreign tourists a
year. In the case of luxury brands,
more than half of all sales correspond to non-Spanish customers. We
must continue promoting this trend
and must work alongside ministries,
regional government and local councils to boost shopping-based tourism
and ensure that the shopping opportunities throughout the country are
as attractive as the cultural, culinary
and leisure opportunities.
SPAIN CONTINUES TO
ATTRACT INTERNATIONAL
BRANDS. WHY DOES SPAIN
PROVIDE SUCH AS INTERESTING MARKET IN THIS
RESPECT?
In Spain there is an obviously strong
interest in fashion, one that is promoted and encouraged by the large
Spanish retailers, who are world leaders in their own right. Spaniards
have always shown a considerable
interest in keeping up with the latest fashions and, in this sense, we
constitute one of the most important
markets in Europe. This generates
demand and the big international
brands are well aware of this fact. If
to this we add the fact that today there are some excellent opportunities
available in terms of shop locations
and prices, we might say that now
is an especially interesting time for
foreign brands to secure a strong
positioning in Spain.
HAVE RECENT TAX INCREASES, SUCH AS THE RISE IN
VAT, EFFECTIVELY FINISHED
OFF THE INDUSTRY?
We were extremely critical and continue to be so - of the increase
in VAT. At the time, the Minister for
Taxation and Public Administration,
Cristóbal Montoro, stated that the
rise would be temporary. In this
sense, we hope that this temporary
measure will soon come to an end
and that we will return to a VAT rate
of 16% or 18%. This tax increase
has had a tremendously negative
effect on the fashion industry. It has
not only affected prices (although in
our industry the increase has been
absorbed by companies or traders,
who have reduced their profit margins), but has also had an effect on
consumers' disposable income. In
this sense, we believe this measure is
mistaken. Proof of this is provided by
the fact that, since the increase was
introduced in September 2012, we
have witnessed various months of
ongoing decreases regarding our
sales figures.
FINANCING RESTRICTIONS
HAVE HAD A DAMAGING
EFFECT ON THE MULTIBRAND CHANNEL. ARE
THESE BUSINESS CREDIT
RESTRICTIONS BEGINNING
TO BE LOOSENED?
You could say that we are still going
through a "transitional" period. We
are beginning to see a greater de-
gree of accessibility to credit, but the
effects have yet to be observed. We
are also beginning to see new forms
of financing on the market, such as
the alternative fixed income market.
WHAT IS YOUR VIEW OF
THE LIBERALISATION OF
SPECIAL SALES CAMPAIGNS?
It is still difficult to see what the real
impact will be, given that the season
has not concluded yet. However,
one initial consequence of the liberalisation is that the previously profound impact of the sales season has
been effectively diluted, given that
businesses have announced their
sales at different times.
WHAT MEASURES WOULD
YOU CALL ON THE GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE?
A return to 16% VAT and ongoing
support in terms of boosting shopping-based tourism.
AND WHAT WOULD YOU
ENCOURAGE BUSINESSMEN
TO DO?
Rather than calling on businessmen
to do anything, I would like to praise
the efforts they have made in recent years to stay afloat in spite of
the adverse climate, and I would
encourage them to hold on a little
longer, because we are now beginning to see the light. The businesses
that have survived this long will be
perfectly prepared for when the
situation changes.
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ORGANISED BY: