DMIx’s Post

Mandatory Founders Spotlight: Mads Petersen and Clara Leone Mads Petersen and Clara Leone are the innovators behind Copenhagen's latest buying event, Mandatory CPH, which will take place 26 - 28th June, 2024. With over three decades of combined experience in fashion trade shows like CIFF and Revolver, Petersen and Leone joined forces to redefine industry standards. Mandatory CPH offers an elevated networking environment that meets the evolving needs of the fashion sector, and will have 200 brands in attendance – including Alpha Industries, Inc., ATP Atelier, Citizens of Humanity Group, Diemme, Filson, KEEN, Les Deux, Massimo Alba norda run, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Sunspel, True Religion, Valstar, and more. On the event, Peterson and Leone said: “We don't expect everything to be perfect the first time. It's also something new, it's a new rhythm that our industry needs to start selling the collection earlier. It's always the hardest to start and then we adjust [...] For us, it's all about timing and this is the perfect moment to start.” Read the full writeup on FashionUnited here: https://hubs.la/Q02CKtsK0

BEN AND GmbH The gang! What an incredible day in Munich. Always a pleasure to visit the southern beauty! We met Ben Botas, an incredible expert in the retail fashion industry. He's built up a wonderful showroom in Munich's Schwabing, where thousands of purchasing experts gather to order the latest trends, and now, Leandro Lopes! Why did we decide to work with Ben and his team, among all the other agencies (and he doesn't like being compared to them 😉)? 🤝 It's a people's business, and we had a great connection from the first moment. 📊 He's a numbers cruncher in an emotional world. He understands how to speak a language everybody can understand and how to win the game, proving it with results. 🌐 We scale and win together with fair conditions, success-based. 🌟 He has a strong network and the right employees to maximize success for everyone - customers, retail partners, and manufacturers. We love win-win setups! 🔮 What can you expect? More retailers listing LL in Germany, and in the near future: also in Austria and Switzerland (and more to come) Don't be late; the hottest pieces are always sold out very fast! Where do you want to buy your next pair of Leandro Lopes sneakers? #fashionretail #agencylife #showroom

Chicago for the mens trade show - why? Do you go to Atlanta for the best Philly Cheese steak sandwich ? No ,you go to Philly. Do you get the best Po boy sandwich in Denver ? No ,you go to New Orleans . Not sure why you would go to Chicago instead of NY to buy Mens fashion apparel…. As a new comer on the wholesale side of things I was told that you had to go to Chicago as this was “the show” . So I tried three times & was denied again. I even read the last time about how the show closed off a bathroom entrance to get another exhibitor at the show …but I was passed over. Not sure if I stink as my brands would add value to the show . So now I am questioning this phenomenon. Doesn’t make any sense. All of this made me think and question - why Chicago? While I give the Chicago show folks kudos on building their show it makes zero sense for it to be more than a regional show . Here’s why. 1.As a shopkeeper a trip to New York will allow you to shop the best brands own stores & the best flagships arguably in the world . You learn by looking & seeing . 2. 95% of the brands have a NY showroom & you will benefit from “working “ the line in the showroom. Complete collections , samples , & people don’t all pack up and go to Chicago. Your chance for better , exclusive products & learning from your brands is so limited in Chicago. 3. I don’t know how many local stores travel to Chicago . Crazy expense for the brands & people to cart off to Chicago. 4. We have some people challenges in NYC but nothing like Chicago & our winters are nothing compared to Chicago. Kinda like leaders and followers no? If you ask someone in our industry “why do you go to Chicago “ they will say cuz everyone else does . Aren’t we smarter than that? Regional show yes - “the show “ no. Over the next weeks I will review further thoughts on this . Leaders and followers #retail #fashion #nyfashion #leader #follow

My new article on SHOPenauer!

K3's Dallas Horne recently attended the latest edition of Outdoor Retailer Winter at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. With more than 200 exhibitors – from industry giants to emerging brands – Outdoor Retailer provided a platform for retailers and stores specialising in outdoor apparel and merchandise to come together. Despite some major retailers boycotting the event due to Utah's stance on national monuments, this created a unique opportunity for nimble and emerging brands to take the spotlight. Their agility to adapt to market dynamics allowed them to seize opportunities that may have been overshadowed under different circumstances. Dallas had a fantastic time at the event, connecting with various brands face-to-face to discuss the industry's biggest challenges. A prevailing concern that emerged throughout the event was centred on the strength of retailers' inventory positions; however, a positive shift was noted as more retailers claimed a neutral inventory stance. The uptick in consumers' disposable income for recreational activities has also further alleviated these concerns for outdoor brands and retailers. Did you attend Outdoor Retailer this year? What are your thoughts on the strength of retailers' inventory positions? Let us know your thoughts down below: #fashion #apparel #outdoor #retailer #inventory

MSCHF x Crocs Big Yellow Boot, modelled by Paris Hilton. Seriously sliving... Amplify Trends Editor Seun Areoye shares his thoughts on MSCHF’s newest collaboration. MSCHF are back again, this time with a second version of their Big Red* Boot. Enlisting Paris Hilton as the face of the ‘campaign’, the Big Red Boot on sale is in fact…yellow and is currently being sold on the StockX market for anything between $1,000 and $5,000 dollars. With MSCHF continuing to operate as a case study, their latest drop reiterates the importance of attention, bringing on board one of the most ‘watched’ icons for their Gen Z/Millennial audience. Additionally, the endorsement of Paris Hilton places the Big Red Boot exactly where it belongs. It’s high fashion, it’s outrageously addictive and it turns heads - something Hilton has been familiar with doing all our life. It’s not exactly a brand collab we saw coming, but it’s one that makes perfect sense. #trends #fashionindustry #brands #endorsement #partnership

ICYMI👀 To create an appealing exhibit environment, smart brands think like retailers. Ready to buy in and start applying merchandising magic? Check out these design trends and tips from Freeman Company on National Retail Federation and Retail’s Big Show. #exhibits #Eventprofs #Tradeshows

What are branded apparel solutions for summer corporate events? These are for theme park visits, retreats, and wellness events. It’s great to be outside, especially in the north. We celebrate our short 3 1/2-month window very well. We get a lot done in three months. There are distilleries all up and down the Lake Michigan corridor. They're all fighting for exposure. You leave with the taste of their beer, but they really want you to leave wearing a T-shirt because that's going to get you and their brand more recognition. If it's an internal event spend the extra couple dollars on a premium T-shirt. You want your people to be proud and comfortable with what they're wearing and then continue to wear because it's advertising, free advertising for your company. Learn more about maximizing summertime with apparel redefined: https://lnkd.in/ebhjpH78 Learn more about retail solutions: https://lnkd.in/ejJdWWQN Learn more about contract services: https://lnkd.in/eywvWwpg Learn more about print on demand: https://lnkd.in/eFGjiabY #printondemandapparel #Justintimeapparel #digitalshirtprinting #printondemand #digitalprinted

Reflections on my first trade show for if you're thinking of attending your first and for myself (before attending my second). I attended JCK in Las Vegas over the weekend, "The jewelry trade’s most important global gathering". First of all, nobody ever explained what the acronym for the tradeshow meant but Google says "Jewelers Circular Keystone". It was much more like a maze than circular, but everything went well. From the opening minute I focused on key booths in the technology and then jewelry product sections based on prior research before deciding to roam around. That research paid dividends, I had context for who were the other companies (founders and executives) I was speaking to and I got there while we were both fresh in our minds and in the busy day. I had a venue map on my phone with highlighted booths so there wasn't much time wasted searching around in my initial focused phase, although I did let 3 people pull me into their sales pitch: Only one of which was a "waste of time". Cutting to the roaming around part, this was more of a "mission successful BUT is there more?" approach, and there was more. I discovered many booths were themselves resellers of another manufacturer-wholesaler that was on-site. These resellers were also the booths with nobody viewing their product. I suppose I wasn't the only one that recognized this. Imagine paying $40,000.00 for a booth to get like $3,000.00 in sales. 👀 Anyway, I found multiple wholesalers with a great selection and pricing that had went under the radar from our initial research. In most of these cases it was because they weren't technical enough to have a decent website which surprised me. It's 2024, pay $1000 for a basic Shopify store at least! In other cases they were companies behind a registration wall or other guise which caused us not to research deep enough since they were listed amongst thousands of other booths. TL;DR Takeaways: 👉 Arrive on day 1, focus on your primary goals. 👉 Make a plan for "must visits" ahead of time with the exhibitor directory. 👉 Make a map if it's a large venue. 👉 Have extra time to browse: There are hidden gems, I'm sure this is true outside of jewelry specific trade shows 😉 🍸 Now for a failure: My wife and I went to Cut by Wolfgang Puck and ordered wagyu steak tips but we were already aaabsolutely wasted from our 1 cocktail each (yes 1, we don't usually drink so no tolerance). We couldn't eat our food nor drink the 2nd cocktails we ordered so we had to take it to go but went straight to sleep anyway. -$407.00 ❌😂 At least we didn't gamble!