Salon International de la Lingerie (SIL) boosted by foreign attendance
The majority of exhibitors at Paris' Salon International de la Lingerie (SIL) ended on 23rd January reckon this was a positive edition. After several lacklustre sessions, mirroring the market's own situation, the underwear and swimwear event has finally managed to regain momentum.
Although the organisers have not provided accurate attendance figures, it was clear that the latter was on the rise again, notably driven by the international contingent, which grew from 60% to 64% of the total, especially thanks to visitors from three countries: Japan, whose buyers gave Paris a wide berth last year after the terrorist attacks; Russia which, like Japan, is back in the visitors' top ten, and finally the USA.
Two countries slumped on the other hand: the UK, whose visitor numbers fell by 6%, and especially France, which too lost several percentage points, a decline which some exhibitors noticed especially among retailers coming from outside Paris. "Perhaps the second week-end of the end-of-season sales contributed to this downturn," said Taya de Reyniès, in charge of Lingerie at show organiser Eurovet.
Except for those exhibitors strongly oriented to the French domestic market, a fair number of others said they enjoyed a very positive session. "Saturday and Sunday were two very busy days, and even if Monday was slower, we have done good business!" was the view at Anita. "It was a good show, and notably we had visitors from Japan and the USA again. The attitude was confident, buyers were very open and curious," was the opinion at Maison Close.
Booths for the leading brands were constantly full, but smaller brands too enjoyed a lot of traffic, especially the emerging labels within the new creative section, 'Uncover'. Its exhibitors managed to make a lot of contacts, and the section attracted new types of buyers, more fashion-oriented ones in particular. The same approach will be used for Eurovet's forthcoming summer event, Mode City.
"The show had a positive buzz which we had not felt for several years, said Taya de Reyniès. For us, this indicates a recovery, even though the overall economic environment is clearly still highly troubled. Brands have taken more risks, showcasing new ideas and collections which were perceived as more creative by visitors, and also found a greater community spirit," added de Reyniès.
The same energy is hoped for in the summer, to turn this into a real recovery.
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