British summer trade fairs hang tough

By

Anaïs Lerévérend

Published
Aug 29, 2012

In a gloomy climate for European trade fairs, organizers in Britain feared that the London Olympics would hamper their efforts even more and discourage potential visitors. While the trade show Moda, held in Birmingham, was somewhat more shielded from all the commotion, Pure London had to postpone its dates two weeks. The final tally of the two fairs shows satisfactory results in resisting any negative impact from this one-off situation.

Having postponed its dates to 19 - 21 August for this year only, Pure London announced stable visitor attendance numbers for the 2012 edition. The fair chose to launch several new products, such as the Pure Kids and Pure Body (lingerie) areas, bringing the exhibitor count to one thousand, a fourth of which were newcomers. However, the show still only managed to deliver neutral results. Even though buyers understood the constraints that pushed the date back, they were likely a little confused by this belated timeline.

Moda in Birmingham, far away from the bustle of London, was logically less impacted. While the fair started on the last day of the Olympic competition, August 12, Great Britain’s other comprehensive fashion trade show grew its attendance by 3%, or about 12,000 visitors. It should be noted that this show is less international than Pure London, and therefore less handicapped by issues of international travel and accommodations.

For next winter, everyone will resume their usual places. Pure London will again convene the ball from 10 to 12 February, and Moda will close it from 17 to 19 February.