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Blackpool is one of those quaint anomalies in the footwear trade that for Jaybill makes fantastic commercial sense, it is a well attended highly profitable show for both buyers and sellers.”
Says David Buchanan, Group Marketing Manager for JBI Ltd, confidently “The show is a must attend event for many independent retailers.”
Just one opinion from the footwear trade, but indeed a strong one. Blackpool, as a show, has progressed from its roots as the Blackpool Slipper show to an event that incorporates many brands of different levels in terms of price and fashion forwardness and still maintains a sense of social gathering amongst its suited and booted corporate “let’s do business” types.
The show is often used as a way of providing a good early indicator of trade for the year ahead, and to exhibit styles early enough to make decisions on what is good to keep for the more mainstream shows like Pure and Moda.
So what can we expect from this season’s event?
Jacobson Group has been showing in Blackpool for over two decades and this season will present for the first time the new and exciting collections for spring/summer 2008: “As a northern based company, therefore what better platform is there to launch these new ranges than at Blackpool in January?” says Nancy Fielden from the brand. “Ranges presented at Blackpool include Dunlop slippers, Dunlop casual footwear, Odeon, Manfield, Trueform and Gola Sport.”
Of course this is not the opinion expressed by many of the old timers from the event. Livesy Shoe Company are one brand who were regulars at the Blackpool event, but have decided to opt out this season, suggesting it is “not the show it used to be”, the opinion of many shoe businesses that have decided to spend their cash elsewhere this season… but we cannot help but think there is a small place in every buyers heart for a little trip to the seaside this January
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