STYL and KABO confirmed the stabilization of the fashion market

For three days, Brno became a crossroads of the fashion industry and an indicator of new trends. The 46^th issue of the STYL and KABO trade fairs introduced collections for the Spring and Summer 2016 and as the only international B2B presentation of the field on the Czech and Slovak market it, as expected, attracted five thousand professional visitors, traders, and buyers to the Brno Exhibition Centre. “The trade fairs have stabilized and are slightly on the rise. Dozens of new brands were presented here and, for example, the footwear section at the KABO trade fair was completely sold out,” said the director of the trade fairs Gabriela Císařová.

Expositions of 239 exhibiting companies from 17 countries occupied the pavilions P and F. 633 fashion brands presented themselves at the trade fairs and the share of foreign participants reached 28 %; the majority of them came from Poland, Germany, and Slovakia. Importers again prevailed among the Czech exhibitors, but there were also 75 Czech manufacturers present, 57 of them at the STYL trade fair and 18 at the KABO trade fair. A total of 29 companies exhibited at the Brno fashion trade fairs for the first time; the newcomers included extensive collective participation of producers from Vietnam and Serbia.61 representatives of media from the Czech Republic and Slovakia were accredited in the Press Centre.

The interest in the STYL and KABO trade fairs reflects the situation in the domestic textile, clothing, leatherwear, and footwear industry. As is apparent from the current data of the trade fair partner ATOK (The Association of Textile, Clothing, and Leatherwear Industry), in the first half of the year 2015 textile producers retained the increases from recent years and revenues in the clothing industry grew by 9.7 %. At the same time retail, the positive results of which reflected the more optimistic consumer sentiment, flourished.

Novelties and trends for the Spring and Summer 2016 were viewed by the exhibitors not only on stands, but also at fashion shows. Every day four contractual fashion shows of swimwear, lingerie, and women’s and men’s fashion, in which the collections of two dozen fashion brands presented themselves, took place. In addition, there were two special fashion shows: the Saturday lingerie presentation of the company LISCA, honouring the 60^th anniversary of the founding of the company, and the Sunday LUXURY SUMMER, a fashion show presenting ladies’ evening dresses and men’s beachwear by the world’s leading brands.

For the first time during the trade fairs, there were two lectures on trends. The Dutch fashion expert Ellen Haeser introduced the dealers to women’s and men’s fashion trends for the Spring and Summer 2016. It was the only trend seminar in the Czech Republic led by a foreign lecturer – moreover, this time directly connected to the trade fair: the trends in accessories were documented by handbags by exhibitors from the pavilion F. An absolute novelty was the lecture on trends in lingerie, swimwear, and accessories, which presented not only fashion for the following Spring and Summer, but also material samples for the year 2017.

The Exhibition Centre became the scene of several award ceremonies. Yound footwear and leatherwear designers competed for the ninth time for the Jan Pivečka Foundation Award, which was awarded in three age categories. Three companies were given the permission to use the brand “Žirafa” (Giraffe) and “Česká kvalita” (Czech Quality), which declare quality and harmless-to-health children’s footwear.

Supporting programme prepared by expert guarantors of the trade fairs ATOK and ČOKA was a part of the trade fairs. The seminar introduced businessmen in the field with the possibility of drawing grants from the OPPIK for the 2014 – 2020 timeframe.

What they said about the trade fairs

Tina Jan, Chief Executive Officer of the company LISCA:
We are proud that we were able to organise the special fashion show LISCA LINGERIE SHOW honouring the 60^th anniversary of the founding of the company. The firs reactions have been very positive, and therefore we hope that this will be reflected in the interest in our brand. We brought our Spring and Sumer collection to Brno, which is one of the best that our company has presented to the market in recent years, and in which every woman can find something for herself.

Jiřina Matoušková, owner of the company Werso:
We present here our new collection, in which we respond to our customers’ wishes as well as to what is sold the most and what is lacking elsewhere on the market. The new models are presented both at our stand and in the LINGERIE SHOW. I’m satisfied with the trade fair. Fortunately, the situation from the previous year is repeating and therefore there is always a queue at our stand. Hopefully it’s because the customers like us and like to come back.

Robert Nejedlý, owner of the company JTX:
At the trade fair we meet with our regular customers, and because we have our own retail network, we try to bring to Brno our entire collection to a broader group of medium-sized retail stores, so that they have the opportunity to order our goods directly. Every time we gain a few new customers, who don’t know us yet or are themselves starting their businesses. So it is for this reason that we present our company in Brno. As long as we have the same trade balance here, the trade fair will continue to be a good opportunity for us.

Marek Zádrapa, Managing Director of the company Soft Cotton:
At the Czech, Slovak, and Polish market, we represent a French manufacturer of terrycloth and an Italian manufacturer of nightwear. It is high-quality goods, which we sell mainly through our e-shop directly to end customers. This is our first time at the trade fair, and we are here because we want to strengthen our position in the B2B area and increase our sales in physical stores.

Eva Kollmanová, Managing Director of the company Pletex:
We have been on the market since 1993 and the trade fair STYL is our regular stop twice a year. We are being visited by merchants, who we supply. We send everyone our catalogues in advance and some of the businessmen come with an already prepared order. Some want to see the goods first and they decide what to buy on the spot at our stand. But we always find new customers. The trade fair is about meeting customers and feedback is very important as it gives us some idea what the customers like the most and what are the most sought out items in stores.

Nikolaj Stěpanov, the company Topshelf, distributor of footwear by the brand Inkkas:
We represent a new worldwide brand of original, colourful and ethical footwear. We started offering shoes via an e-shop this winter and our shoes are very popular, but the problem with selling shoes on the internet is that people want to try them out. That is why we decided to visit KABO and make contact with physical stores.

Michaela Verbeek, owner of the boutique Soline:
We brought about 30 clothes models by 20 brands to the fashion show Luxury Summer, and I am very satisfied with the result. We don’t do similar shows regularly, it was an exclusive event, and the trade fair offered the right environment and clientele. I liked the atmosphere and the models looked very nice in the clothes, the dresses fit them perfectly and they looked really beautiful.

Barbora Augustínová, winner of the Jan Pivečka Foundation Award in the category Professional View:
The thing that interests me the most about KABO is Czech goods, which cannot be seen much  in stores, so I am always curious what companies I will find here. It is a pity that some companies in our field barricade themselves from the outside world, but the time is changing and people are willing to pay for hand-made products, quality, and originality. For example, hand-made shoes are once again very sought after items. It is most desirable that we have a footwear focused trade fair, and shoe designer competitions are very important and more people should get involved in them.

The 47^th International Fashion and Footwear Trade Fairs STYL and KABO will take place from the 20^th to the 22^nd of February 2016.