 The first sign of returning retail confidence came from Pure London, who saw a record breaking 24% increase in visitor numbers this season. International visitor numbers were up by 27% with more buyers from Europe and as far afield as Canada, USA, Japan,
Lebanon and Russia, the tradeshow organisation stated.
“We have been incredibly busy and we’ve written a lot of orders, we always see international buyers and this season a store in Japan has bought the collection for ten of its stores, it was a huge order,” said Desmond Wong from Almost Famous. As well as being the largest ever Spring/Summer show in Pure’s history, there was also a significant increase in buyers spending longer at the show, with revisits over a second and third day up by 37 per cent.
 Anne Furbank owner of Anne Furbank in Cambridge said: “I have been visiting Pure for several years and know the show inside out. I sent down my key buyers yesterday to source new brands and scope out the show as it has expanded so much in recent years it takes more than one day to look around.”
Pure London offered the most inspirational line up of content to date, including insights from leading fashion gurus from the world of TV, online, high street and independent retailing. WGSN, Drapers, Kurt Salmon and London College of Fashion ran seminars on topics such as buying advice, future trends, localisation and visual merchandising. Jessica Brown and Laura Weir from Drapers, GMTV’s Mark Heyes, ASOS’s Jo Hunt, Cosmopolitan’s Fashion Director, Shelly Vella , Khabi Mirza for Pure London and Manchester Fashion Network’s Dale Hicks, all offered expert advice across the two stages.
“In the 13 year history of Pure London this August show has delivered the most buyers and exhibitors. The launch of Pure Premium was a huge success, and the Young Fashion Hall was bursting at the seams, both are expected to see growth for February 2011,” concluded Event Director Samantha Bleasby.
The next edition of Pure London will take place on 13-15 February 2011, which will simultaneously be the launch of Pure Spirit. Pure is investing £1 million in a new event dedicated to the young fashion industry. The show will run simultaneously to Pure London to attract more diverse buyers.
Image: Pure catwalk
|
