Las Vegas, NV – Major trade shows scheduled for the dog days of August promise to be anything but slow-moving this year thanks to projections of solid attendance and exhibit sales.
Key events with heavy retail-sector influences, including MAGIC, Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2010, ASD Las Vegas 2010 and the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) were bullish about their prospects in the weeks leading up to their respective runs.
“The (fashion) industry is enjoying a solid revival. The brands and buyers are once again confirming that MAGIC is the place to be,” said Chris DeMoulin, president of MAGIC International and executive vice president of Advanstar Communications’ Fashion Group.
MAGIC and its co-located events, which are ranked No. 14 on the Trade Show Executive Gold 100 roster of largest exhibitions, predicted a 25% increase in retailer attendance. DeMoulin added that the August 17-19 show in Las Vegas would include “significantly increased square footage and hundreds of new stores planning to attend.”
Las Vegas is famous for its title fights, and this year the glitzy, brawling world of mixed martial arts (MMA) is being heavily incorporated into the never-sedate fashion scene at MAGIC. Some of the several fledgling MMA clothing lines in the market will be featured in the show’s Street Unlimited section. In addition, actual MMA fighters will spar in a ring set up on the show floor, and a World Extreme Cagefighting title bout takes place in conjunction with the show at The Palms Casino Resort August 18.
ASD Las Vegas 2010: The wide-ranging discount and general merchandise show, which ranked No. 17 on the Gold 100, will take place August 8-11 under one roof at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Nielsen Business Media expects around 50,000 attendees and more than 3,000 exhibitors. The 2009 show covered 630,000 nsf. “Exhibit space is 9% ahead of last year’s total with three weeks still to go,” said Christopher McCabe, vice president, Nielsen Business Media Merchandise Group. “Attendance is something you can’t determine until the show date actually arrives, but our buyer pre-registration is up 19%, and our store-front pre-registration is up 16%.”
“All in all, we’re very happy with the progress and anticipate a great show,” McCabe said. “We’ll be utilizing the entire LVCC; the North, Central and South Halls.
New York International Gift Fair: Show organizers at GLM projected 35,000 attendees from around the world, 2,800 exhibitors and 538,000 nsf of exhibit space. All three projections were above the numbers seen last year when the NYIGF was 29th on the Gold 100 at 511,000 nsf. The August 14-19 show has a sizable international contingent, many of them participating in 16 national pavilions. Four nations will sponsor pavilions for the first time.
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2010: Nielsen Business Media said the August 3-6 event at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City was sold out at 409,000 nsf compared to 398,000 nsf last year.
The increases were fueled by 170 new exhibitors, which raised the total number of exhibitors to 1,040. Nielsen said that translates to a 48% increase in the number of new exhibitors and a 12% increase in total exhibitors. “There has been a sense of momentum in specialty retail and an uptick in active outdoor sports participation,” said Group Show Director Kenji Haroutunian.
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2009 was 36th on the Gold 100.
Reach: Chris DeMoulin at (818) 227-4432 or cdemoulin@magiconline.com; Kenji Haroutunian at (949) 226-5794 or kenji.haroutunian@nielsen.com; Christopher McCabe, at (310) 481-7336 or christopher.mccabe@nielsen.com; Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF show director and senior vice president of GLM, at (914) 421-3345 or dbelshaw@glmshows.com
