Pure London closed its doors on Tuesday night with a 9%* rise in visitor numbers making it the highest attended Spring/Summer show ever. The opening day saw attendance up by 11%*, followed by 4.6%* on Monday and 27%* on Tuesday. The mood among retailers and brands at the event was positive, with many saying that they were optimistic about the outlook for Spring/Summer 2010.
The number of buyers who returned to spend more than one day at Pure London increased by a significant 21%* confirming buyers saw real value in visiting. With over 900 brands exhibiting, over 12,000 sqm, including the biggest offering of Accessories and Footwear in the UK; buyers were able to see established brands as well as view over 270 new collections to this Pure London.
Jan Shutt of Sunday Best commented ‘The show was absolutely fantastic! I spent the whole of Sunday and Monday at Pure London and could have easily come back for a third day. The Spirit section is brilliant, a very strong selection of young brands. I discovered some great new labels there. Lauren Vidal and Mais il est ou le soeil? were fantastic collections in Studio and the Accessory and Footwear sections were just mind blowing, I found and bought Tamara Fogal and Big Metal which is knock out. Pure London is a show not to be missed’
Attendance from UK buyers was up by 9%* with all the key UK Stores attending, including Fenwick, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, ASOS, Selfridges, House of Fraser, John Lewis, Debenhams and McElhinneys from Ireland, as well as key independent retailers such as Flow, Psyche, Stone, Richmond Classics and Stuff. International attendance increased by 3.5%* with attendance from Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece as well as the Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Janet Desplaces owner of L’attire in Mallorca commented ‘I have really enjoyed the show however I need two days to look around. I am here looking at natural fabrics and have found what I am looking for, the ethical brands are great! I was surprised at the number of stands in the current climate. I will definitely be coming back next season’
In addition to an excellent attendance, exhibitors confirmed that they were seeing quality buyers who were writing strong orders at the show as well as making a lot of new contacts.
‘This is our first time showing at Pure London and it has been a great success. We have opened new accounts with top retailers.’ Commented Kate McDonald from SuperTrash.
The Spirit section was a huge success with an increase in amazing new brands. London based label Arrogant Cat returned to Pure London after missing a few seasons. Laura Galligan, PR manager said ‘The show has been really good for us. It has got our name out there again with our customers. The feedback we have had from our collection being on the catwalk is fantastic. It’s been a really good show.’
An even stronger line up of Ethical exhibitors were back with over 50 ethical brands edited into the show by price point and style including People Tree, Jackpot Organic, Miksani, Komodo, Wellicious and Monkee Genes. Ethical seminars and walks were hosted on Sunday and Monday educating visitors and communicating the stories behind some of the top ethical brands at Pure London.
Tamsin Davies director of Nancy Dee commented ‘From signing up to Pure London to being at the show I never thought we would have seen this many customers. I couldn’t have achieved this success without being at the show. Pure London gives us the credibility and gets our name out there.’
Helping buyers plan ahead for the season, the Pure Catwalk showcased dedicated scenes from Mina, Lauren Vidal, Mais il est ou le soeil?, Aftershock and Anoushka G as well as scenes from ethical exhibitors and new brands to Pure London. Whilst the new style catwalk show in the Spirit section provided an upbeat visual aid for visitors with scenes from Desigual, Boo-Teek, Forever Unique, Hippi Chic London, Motel, Punkyfish and Yumi, along with a scene dedicated to new brands.
More information than ever was available at the show with trend presentations and seminars on topics such as how to negotiate better rent deals from landlords; how to maximise online sales; understanding your customers' shopping habits, how to buy into the right trend and turn collections into commercial reality, hosted by Drapers and the WGSN.
Steve Newbold, Managing Director of Pure London commented ‘The attendance was significantly up year on year and the visitor profile was of a very high quality. Feedback from exhibitors was incredibly positive with many having their best ever show. This bodes well for the industry and proves that good businesses can flourish in a difficult economic environment. Pure London has cemented its position as Europe's leading fashion trade event for directional womenswear, boutique fashion, accessories, footwear and young fashion for men and women..’
The dates for next season’s Pure London are 14, 15, 16 February 2010, at Olympia, London.
www.purewomenswear.co.uk
