Somber Tone at Project N.Y.
For the past five years, the Project Global Trade Show has been one of the most popular events on the trade-show calendar and has been considered a pioneer of the premium and contemporary streetwear markets. However, the weak economy took some of the sizzle out of the most recent Project, held Jan 18–20 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.
Project founder and President Sam Ben Avraham said the feeling at the typically festive trade event was “sobering” during its most recent run. “Project New York was probably the first time that buyers left their offices and stores since the retail crisis really started,” Ben Avraham said. “There was far less socializing and so much more business taking place.”
The show hosted 250 vendors, a number that was slightly down compared with the same show in the previous year, according to Ben Avraham, who declined to give buyer attendance for the show. Project vendors said the show was slower in the past; however, business was still being conducted, and orders for new fashions were being written.
“It wasn’t busy, but there was a steady flow of buyers,” said Kurt Schroeder, a sales manager for Los Angeles–based fashion label Ever. He estimated traffic declined 5 percent compared with the same show in the previous year.
For Steeve Bohbot, president of the Connected International Sales showroom in Los Angeles, it was worth it to take the trip to Project because important buyers still showed up and wrote orders. He estimated that his clients’ sales climbed 10 percent compared with the 2008 Project New York show. Retailers reportedly shopping the most recent Project were Barneys New York Co-Op, Fred Segal Santa Monica and Fred Segal Ron Herman Melrose, and Nordstrom. Also shopping were Chicago boutique Guise and Miami-based boutique Base.
High-profile West Hollywood, Calif., store LASC also browsed the show. LASC buyer Alfredo Izaguirre said he was saving his dollars for the upcoming Project Las Vegas and other Los Vegas trade shows in February. However, he also did not see much that encouraged him to spend. “There was no evolution. It was like I was looking at Fall of 2008 collections, not Fall of 2009,” Izaguirre said. He forecast cashmere sweaters for men and woven shirts would be strong sellers in the upcoming year.
Schroeder, Ever’s sales manager, said 2009 probably will not be remembered as a fashion-forward year. “[Retailers] were not looking for new brands. They were there to work with their existing brands,” Schroeder said. He also said it was just important to appear at the high-profile show. “It was important to say, ’We’re still here,’” he said. “Meeting and greeting is important.”
Bohbot, Connected International’s showroom manager, said new fashions and looks were not as important at this show as they have been in the past but were still on retailers’ and vendors’ minds. “People are going to put most of their dollars on a sure thing,” Bohbot said. “But any good retailer will want to keep their eye on the tiger and get something new for their stores. But they are not going to put their bank on it.” —Andrew Asch
