On Thursday evening, 4th July 2013, the 29th BREAD & BUTTER event ended with an internal Closing Party in Sunset Park on the grounds of the former airport Berlin-Tempelhof and the great mood was reflected by the successful show.
Due to the new visitor regulations, the event was of course not the strongest in terms of visitor numbers, but a very successful tradeshow for many exhibitors. The quality of the international trade visitors was outstanding.
Karl-Heinz Müller: “Our decision to apply a stronger filter with the new visitor regulations proved to be right. Of course there were unpleasant scenes in the forefront and at the counters.”
“BREAD & BUTTER CONNECT was a professional and focused event. The 630 exhibitors appreciated our reform throughout, and were grateful for the high-quality trade visitors. We will continue to work in this sense.”
The inclusion of the Bestseller Group, widely discussed in the forefront, also proved to be right; the overlap with the usual BREAD & BUTTER visitors was very high, just as expected. The Bestseller presentation was to the point: the set up in Hangar 1 was outstanding, the trade visitors were thrilled and the competitors impressed.
DENIM CONNECTION
Right now, the dominant fashion theme is denim. Denim is back and BREAD & BUTTER has always been all about denim.
Dozens of denim brands provided numerous outfits for the DENIM CONNECTION. BREAD & BUTTER staged them creatively with street models and lifestyle shoots.
Karl-Heinz Müller: “My more than thirty years of experience have shown: always when denim was strong, business was good. For jeans, the brand is more important than for any other piece of clothing; no vertical company can offer this. Wearing a certain denim brand is a clear statement. Therefore, I am convinced that the retail will become stronger again.”
TRENDS
Next summer’s further, striking fashion theme is “Surf & Beach”. Sneakers will have a strong revival. Apart from that, a strong 90’s nostalgia is ever present – the longing for that decade is very much apparent in Womenswear, with crop tops, flatforms and the like – there are many themes that will spur the retail.
BREAD & BUTTER ONLINE SELECTION
The brand new BREAD & BUTTER ONLINE SELECTION format was much noticed. E-commerce and online business have become an important part of all market players. With the BREAD & BUTTER ONLINE SELECTION, a platform was created that connects the trade visitor with the newest, industry relevant developments. Altogether, specialists from seven selected e-commerce service providers held talks during the three days of the tradeshow.
Fares Gabriel Had, initiator and curator of the BREAD & BUTTER ONLINE SELECTION: “It is our task to be pioneers in this field as well. We have created this information platform to also inspire the retailer and to encourage him to open up to the possibilities of e-commerce. I am glad that our initiative has attracted such wide interest from trade visitors and exhibitors. This shows us that we are moving in keeping with the times and that this concept is expandable in the future.”
BREAD & BUTTER has reached its targets for this season. Karl-Heinz Müller: “All in all, the 29th edition of BREAD & BUTTER was a very good event, despite the generally tense economic situation in the markets. Unfortunately, we are still missing many of our friends from Southern Europe. BREAD & BUTTER CONNECT was a solid, highly professional and focused event. We should be very content. However…
After the game is before the game, Sepp Herberger once said. I would like to add at this point: the one who is in possession of the ball is the one who gets attacked. Together with the creativity of our key labels and the power of our major brands, we will determine the new direction in the Street & Urbanwear segment. Fashion always means movement; establishment is the enemy of fashion and newness. We want Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
Bread & Butter’s next show, themed “Reconnect” is January 14-16, 2014 in Berlin.
