Bread and Butter expands in Barcelona

Frantic pace and three days to visit one hundred thousand square meters of one of the biggest fashion fairs (and the one that generates the most revenues). During the duration of the fair, hotels, taxis and restaurants in the city were fully booked. The event is much more than a fashion fair. Next year it will be even bigger and better, partly due to the plans to extend the fair up to the Palau Nacional (approximately 60 thousand square meters more). The numbers speak for themselves; approximately one hundred thousand visitors, and more than one thousand exhibitors.

Bread & Butter is divided into five differentiated zones, four for the exhibition of brands and one dedicated to leisure. One of the highlights this season has been Studio V, a space where young designers and new talents showed their collections. This section has been extended to include 40 international designers. There has also been a calendar full of official parties throughout the city.

The exhibitors have paid a great deal to participate in Bread and Butter, between €300-500 per square meter (not including the costs of the stands). Nonetheless, it is worth it. This is a fair for making and maintaining contacts, where the brands look for business and the need to be present is increasingly important.

The Bread and Butter is known for organizing many events, which complement the visits to the stands. Of the fashion shows that take place every edition, one of the highlights was the G-Star Raw show, which was busily attended. The brand has perfected the formula and presented another elaborate stage production this season. The Italian denim brand, Freesoul, created a different concept to show their collection. Employing the title “On the surface of things”, videos and professional dancers presented the new ideas of the brand. Wrangler created a ‘monument' based on creativity. Their convoy of trucks was continually full in the Luna Park. One of the most advertised collaborations during the event was with a fashion school in Barcelona. 38 students of the Felicidad Ducce presented "Graduation Tour", which was attended by the Mayor of Barcelona and Kart Heinz Müller.

The students also wanted to represent the artistic aspect of this fair, and they did, with the exhibition "Dust" located in " Superior Area ". This impressive exhibition's elaborate setting really stood out. Meanwhile, Swarovski's "White Cube" exhibition in the Luna Park was one of most visited. The brand fused the concepts of art and fashion in their "Crystallized"collection.

10 July 2007

B&B Barcelona exceeds expectations

Last week's winter edition of Bread&Butter in Barcelona has proved to be a great success. The three-day fashion trade fair registered 82,837 visits. Last season the amount registered was 53,774. The organisation had initially expected at least 60.000 visitors. The registered amount represents the amount of times people were admitted to the trade fair. “This means that people returning for a second or third visit were registered as first time visitors,” said Danielle De Bie, communications director of Bread&Butter. “It is impossible to find out exactly how many individual visitors there were because admittance was free.” Nevertheless, the success of the event is undeniable. Karl-Heinz Müller: “After the latest developments we had expected an increase indeed but the final figures exceeded all expectations, we are very happy.”

Visitors' numbers from North European countries increased particularly. “We are very happy that many German retailers and buyers came to Barcelona , numbers nearly doubled compared to the fall/winter season 2006.” The majority visitors came from Spain , Portugal and Italy .

According to the organisation, the success of the event was partly due to AGM (Active Guest Management). This branch of Bread&Butter was launched to assist international visitors in their mother tongue, both in the run up to and during the trade show. The initiative has already provoked numerous positive responses. “Many exhibitors have used AGM actively and visitors were grateful and happy about the personal support,” said Müller .

The next Bread&Butter Barcelona will take place from 4 to 6 July. “We feel at ease in Barcelona ,” Müller concluded. “The Catalan capital is the perfect place for our trade show, which will be continuously developed. But this will not keep us from developing and realising new and successful concepts in other locations.” A prime example of one of these new concepts is the BBBatKraftwerk, which will open its doors on 26 January in Berlin.

www.breadandbutter.com
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23 January 2007

Vibrant edition B&B Barcelona

Bread&Butter Barcelona once again took place last week under a bright blue January sky. Throngs of fashionista's and members of the fashion industry converged on the extensive grounds of the fashion trade fair, which welcomed a record number of visitors this season. Although the final numbers have yet to be published, it is safe to say that this edition enjoyed a spectacular start. For three days, visitors and press swarmed over the fair grounds. The beautiful weathter and mellow temperatures added to the festive atmosphere, as loud music sounded from every corner and visitors made the most of the various catering facilities and attractions. Some 1,000 brands, spread out over six different halls, participated in this edition. The halls were so packed that people were even standing in line to be admitted into the various stands! The Denim hall, in particular, attracted a large number of visitors.

“It's been so busy that we haven't even had time to eat a quick bite,” said Killick Datta, chairman and chief executive of GBMI, a leading global designer and manufacturer of shoes, including labels like Diesel, 7 For All Mankind and Nautica. The company's stand is situated in Superior , the hall that houses the more upmarket designer and urban wear brands. “We've had so many clients coming in all day, so we're very busy networking.”

Networking and being seen appear to be the name of the game at the fair. “It's all about where your stand is located, and about how you position it,” says a representative of the brand Mavi Jeans. “For jeans brands the Denim hall is the place to be located in. All the big brands are here. If you want to present yourself as a leading denim brand, you have to be here. It's almost like a political game, everyone knows one everyone else.” Bread&Butter's jeans offering does not limit itself to this one hall though. More upmarket labels like Rock & Republic and Joe's can be found in Superior .

Besides the numerous brands and regular fashion shows, the trade fair also offered visitor's a look at its history, harking back five years to its first show in Col ogne in Germany . The event's explosive growth was made even more impressive thanks to the overview provided by a small-scale exhibition. It is fair to assume that Bread&Butter Barcelona's success will continue in the foreseeable future. “This is our first time in Barcelona , but certainly not our last,” said a representative of the German brand Logoshirt. “We participated in Berlin before this, but this wonderful weather makes Barcelona a lot more attractive.” Thanks to a favourable climate and the efficiency of the German organisers of the fair, this event appears to be facing a sunny future.

www.breadandbutter.com
22 January 2007

Bread & Butter folds

Fashion trade fair Bread & Butter has succumbed to the pressure of its own success. The launch of a second fair in Barcelona spelled ruin for the original event in Berlin. Three months before opening only 25 percent of the available exhibitors' space in Berlin had been sold, prompting the organisers to cancel the event. Bread & Butter Barcelona will take place as planned. The popularity of the event in Spain is enormous and by now already 80 percent of exhibitors' space has been sold. Communications director Danielle de Bie does not expect Berlin to resume activity.

“Wicked!” responds Anita Bachelin, director of fashion trade fair Premium, which also takes place in Berlin. Bread & Butter and Premium both debuted three years ago and have been each other's arch rivals from the beginning. “This is a huge opportunity for us.” Premium focuses on higher end designer labels and is taking over a few exclusive sportswear brands and small designer labels from Bread & Butter. “The phone hasn't stopped ringing. We will definitely be adding 80 brands to our offer this season.” According to Bachelin, no one is surprised by Bread & Butter's demise. “Frankly, I was surprised they didn't pull the plug right after last summer's fiasco.”

The cancellation of Bread & Butter Berlin brings an end to an impressive success story that placed the German capital on the international fashion map. The first edition took place in Berlin in January 2003. The new event grew explosively. The popularity of the trendy denim, streetwear and sportswear brands, in which the fair specialized, increased. Berlin became the personification of everything new and trendy. Briefly, it even appeared to usurp CPD Düsseldorf's position. In order to reach the Southern European market the fair launched a second fair in Barcelona last year. It appeared to be a miscalculation, because although it was an immediate hit, the event attracted the majority of the visitors and participants from Berlin, eventually resulting in the cancellation of the original event.

According to Anita Bachelin, Berlin as fashion hub will not suffer from the departure of the fair. “The number of retailers and luxury brands in Berlin is growing rapidly. We can't tolerate any sub-standard events here. Germany is and will remain an important centre for Northern Europe and do not forget the emergence of Russia!” In August, Premium launched its Russian spin-off – Premium Red – in Moscow.

It had been clear for a while that not all was well with the event in Berlin. During the first edition of Barcelona (in July 2005) visitors' numbers in Berlin dropped dramatically. In the following seasons, responses were mixed, while the popularity of Barcelona kept growing. Late September, director Karl-Heinz Müller announced plans to revive the fair, by abolishing entry fees and introducing an extensive visitors' guide programme. This would require 30 new staff members. Danielle de Bie says no jobs will lost. The head office will continue to reside in Berlin and the visitors' guides will work the Barcelona fair instead. There are also plans to develop new activities in Berlin, although details are being kept under wraps. “There is so much we can do,” says De Bie. “Bread & Butter is more than a fair, it is a brand.”

www.breadandbutter.com
26 October 2006

B&B Barcelona to add childrenswear

The Bread & Butter tradeshow in Barcelona is adding childrenswear for next season. The show, which takes place from 5-7 July will feature children casualwear after a successful introduction at the Berlin show earlier this year. VeryKIDS will focus on trend-led childrenswear and will further include accessories, equipment and maternitywear. Brands already booked for Barcelona include Amore, Baby Version Rock, Diesel Kid, Joe Black and Kejo.

16 May 2006

B&B visitors up

Bread & Butter Barcelona pulled in a record number of visitors this year and the number of UK and Irish buyers was up according to official organizers Karl-Heinz Muller. UK brands who showed was down from last year, and feedback from those at the Barcelona show reflect the same experience at Pitti Uomo in Florence .

The future of B&B – both Berlin and Barcelona – is still to be seen. The young fashion sector is saturated with brands big and small, and as the market toughens further for retailers, the choice for buyers may be to buy deeper into existing brands rather than seek out new ones, and buyers will not need to travel to overseas exhibitions to buy trusted brands.

29 January 2006

Bread & Butter Barcelona excels

It is quite a sight to behold when the organisation of a fashion trade show is forced to remind visitors and participants that the event has come to an end and must ask them to leave. Participants are usually more than eager to pack up their belongings before the three days have drawn to a close. However, in Barcelona , the trade show did what it should do: bring people together to establish lasting contacts.

The second edition was organised meticulously. 48.800 visitors arrived to view the 780 participating labels and the majority left feeling satisfied. More than 65 percent of the visitors came from outside Spain , indicating the international character of the trade show.

The shift in dates that was announced in October apparently had no negative impact on the event. This time Bread & Butter attracted almost 4000 more visitors than it did during the summer edition. How Bread & Butter Berlin will fare next week is still to be seen; the international public, in particular, obviously prefers Barcelona . One event in a pleasant location should, in fact, be enough for Europe . With current flight prices, it is easier to fly from Munich to Barcelona than to Berlin .

The organisation plans to continue improving the event. Next summer will see the addition of a Kids segment and there are plans for more catwalk shows. In short, it promises to be interesting and will probably worth your while to visit Barcelona from 5 to 7 July.

www.breadandbutter.com
25 January

Odd Molly history

Odd Molly was one of the eye openers at the Bread & Butter tradefair in Berlin two weeks ago. This is their story:

March 25 2002.
Per Holknekt and Karin Jimfelt-Ghatan have a cup of coffee, discussing a clothing design mission asked for by one of the worlds largest advertising agencies. At this time they realize they understand one another so well that they decide to use this in forming a clothing brand. On this day, it is immediately named Odd Molly.

Odd Molly was one of the hangaround girls back when Per was a skateboard professional in the US. While all girls tried their hardest to impress the boys, Molly just sat around with her little smile, relaxed and securely taking it easy, not styled to impress, doing none of the tricks in the book.

All the boys wanted just one of the girls. Molly.

So Per&Karin wanted to capture the feeling of this loveable little mess and let her show the way to new invisible values in clothing. Odd in this brand meaning daring to remain oneself. This being when being able to show your charm and perefect little defects that make you…you.

August 19 2003.
Only 17 months later Odd Molly is a homerun, a quickly written success story. Every shop with dignity and edge in Sweden today carries Odd Molly. The target group was a compilation of younger women wanting to be slightly older and slightly older women wanting to be a bit younger. All in all the customer turned out to be the she that had started her own life, had her own home. And wanted a quality aspect of life before a quantity dito. Then again many consumers are them who wanna make believe they´re quality women.

Odd Molly has gotten media coverage in most every domestic paper and magazine from the biggest evening papers to the equivalents of Elle, Vogue and the weekly gossips and also straight up trade magazines.

Other designers have come out saying Odd Molly is their favourite brand, show hosts on TV wear Molly live, we have a flowlist of top actresses and musicians and all this adds up to Molly not just shipping boxes of worthy and attractive tasteful clothing, we also deliver quite a good bunch of good customers.

In the meantime Odd Molly has been voted one of 2002´s 5 top DM marketing campaigns for the launch campaign ( numerous handwritten postcards to all dealers).

Odd Molly is now being represented thru agents/offices in several countries outside of Sweden:

Norway,
Belgium,
United Kingdom,
Germany
Japan.

This list is growing rapidly as Odd Molly is getting intnl requests most every week, only at this time we are simply out of sample lines for new markets.

The company of Odd Molly Intnl AB only has 2 employees and will continue having so. At the same time there are many people involved in making this the smoothest of operations such as bookkeeping people, logistics people, production people, financial advisors, pattern makers etc etc.

But Per and Karin are the 2 people behind Odd Molly and will remain so. There is however a 3rd owner who has helped Odd Mollys growth financially possible.

Odd Molly is a new brand, but Per and Karin together have 35 years in the fashion industry.

Per and Karin have over the years won awards such as:

”shop window designer of the year sweden 1997”
”rookie of the year booth design magic fashion fair las vegas 2000”
”creative excellence award usa, intnl web page awards, 2003”
”finalist clio awards 2003”
”nominated for best advertising campaign sweden 2000”
”top 5 Scandinavian designers 1998”

www.oddmolly.com
3 february 2004