Mr. Müller, how is Bread & Butter doing?

  /  25.06.2012

Some big names won’t be participating in July’s Bread & Butter. Their cancellation caused quite a stir. Therefore we felt it was time to interrogate Karl-Heinz Müller on the subject. The tradeshow founder also talks about the highlights he has prepared to attract people’s attention this season.

Bread & Butter President Karl-Heinz Müller

Mr. Müller, why aren't some brands participating in Bread & Butter this July?

"Firstly, it’s a very complex topic; secondly there is a row of different factors coming together, which need to be seen from a differentiated perspective.

Almost all the brands who cancelled are long-serving denim majors. In all other segments we are constantly growing. As always, BREAD & BUTTER is fully booked. We even had to set up additional spaces. The absence of a few brands does not cause any harm to BREAD BUTTER at all, and I’m looking forward to a successful event.

Let’s come back to your question. First, you have to consider today’s uneasy economic situation, especially in South Europe. Just take the banking crisis; refinancing as well as financing through bank loans has become difficult. The low domestic demand in those countries also affects the situation.

At the same time, some big players can no longer simply rely on their previous successes. Everywhere in Europe, specialized and independent retail has been decimated over the last 10 years. To be successful, retailers have to focus on their niche. Buyers need to make targeted purchases and have to say good-bye to the 'old hats'. Many brands who used to be big players in the past are seeing sharp falls in turnover.

Very often these brands open their own stores. This means high investments. In many cases these stores do not generate the expected result in turnover and revenue; top retailers pull back when a flagship store opens in their neighbourhood. As a consequence, the customer is gone, the store doesn't function; turnover and revenue hit rock-bottom. And the brand’s image is damaged too.

Many denim brands, in particular, had to cope with previous season’s strong chino trend. The success of fashionable trousers weakened 5-pocket-jeans and basics. Nonetheless, there were some winners amongst the denim brands too, especially those who could meet the fashion requirements of their customers. Some big players and some individual denim labels were successful, especially those who had the right answer to the current situation, a great USP or who had specialised themselves.

We also need to consider a paradigm shift; consumers clearly define the market nowadays. In the past, some big denim brands somehow imposed their fashion rules upon the consumers. This has greatly changed over the last few years. The consumer has become emancipated and is very well informed. When I was young I had to wear a pair of Levi’s to be accepted, Jinglers by C&A were embarrassing. It's very different today. Thanks to continuous efforts, clever marketing strategies and good, fashionable collections, vertical retail was able to score.

Today’s consumers see H & M, Zara, Mango, Abercrombie, Uniqlo etc. as 'true' brands. That’s a fact. And I even get the impression that it’s fun for them to score a bargain by buying cheaper in vertical retail.

Some brands haven’t yet understood that the requirements have changed. The name tag on a pair of jeans has lost its impact; it’s the product that counts. Consumers are not willing to pay lots of money for branded goods made in third countries. They expect quality for their hard-earned money. And they're right, if you ask me.

Nonetheless, you still need to create awareness about a good product. Reaching the consumer through the retailer requires an elaborate and integrated marketing concept, not least target-oriented distribution as an essential component. Orders are too often written 'by accident'. In all these aforementioned points, many big denim brands have quite a bit of catching up to do. Professional brands continue to be successful and it does not matter whether they are big or small. But I can also very clearly say 'nobody is too big to fail'.

Some of the brands that aren't attending BREAD & BUTTER any more, simply have big problems. A few nearly have disappeared from the retail landscape; others need to reposition themselves. We are not the ECE or just space renters; we want to offer the retailers a range of attractive and successful brands that they can make money with, and no dinosaurs, that don’t fit into modern times. As we all know, dinosaurs are extinct.

BREAD & BUTTER is the front, not the lazaret."

Do the participating exhibitors see it the same way?

"BREAD & BUTTER is the largest, most successful and most reputable professional tradeshow in street- and urbanwear. Until now, we could register growing visitor numbers. Professionals and retailers in the six-figure range from the four corners of the world visit BREAD & BUTTER each season. By not taking advantage of this prominent stage, brands waste an important opportunity to be seen by their professional audience and to measure themselves against their competitors. I could not imagine which other activities could replace the world’s leading and most successful tradeshow. The attendance of the MTV Awards,  sponsorship of a music festival, and a self-organised event at an off-location during Fashion Week in Berlin can be additional marketing measures, but they are not suitable alternatives in my opinion. However, a brand that communicates via a press release that it wants to focus on its own stores is clearly not targeting specialised retail, and can do without participating in a tradeshow. Even I understand that perfectly.

Significantly, one of the most successful denim brands of the past 20 years, G-Star, has always been strong at tradeshows. Since B&B moved to Berlin, G-Star has not missed a single event and was very active before at Cologne’s Interjeans. G-Star has always seen B&B as an opportunity and presented itself to customers and prospective customers through an outstanding booth, extraordinary fashion shows and parties. These efforts have helped G-Star to build a strong brand.

Those like G-Star, Hilfiger Denim, Pepe Jeans, Scotch & Soda or Guess who are very active at BREAD & BUTTER look at some of the big missing names with a frown, but at the same time, they have one competitor less on the B&B playing field. The denim market has always been about cut-throat competition. And so this development shouldn't necessarily be seen as negative.  You could easily draw positive conclusions."

How will the gaps in the Denim Base be filled?

"The lead article in our Tradeshow Guide is about Mix&Match, the mixing of different fashion styles, referring to how fashion is worn in the streets today (I want to remind everyone: BREAD & BUTTER is the leading international tradeshow for street- and urbanwear). Today’s menswear retailers sell jeans and sneakers while a jeans store might offer formal jackets and hand-made shoes. Ultimately you won't find a fashion store that doesn't sell jeans.

Our Denim Base has evolved accordingly. Denim is the base, the name says it all. We never had the intention of showing only denim brands in our most important hall. Complementing brands like Adidas, Converse, Vans, Superdry, Scotch & Soda or Desigual, just to name a few, has always played a major role here.

We have offered the vacant space to brands like Marc O’Polo, Antonio Morato, Strellson and Joop! which will take part with extraordinary presentations. This is a right answer to developments in the market and to its demands, since BREAD & BUTTER is nothing but a reflection of the market.

Maybe we should think about changing the hall’s name but I don’t perceive this as a priority, the contents carry the importance. I also like the idea of always showing the buyer something new, movement is important in our beautiful industry."

Since some brands aren't attending, others might also start to reflect and eventually wonder about Bread & Butter’s long-term effect. Some like to talk about a “fun event” rather than about a tradeshow…

"I explained the facts pretty clearly before, but I can certainly go into detail.

OK, let’s address one point at a time. First, we need to ask ourselves what a well-functioning tradeshow can and must supply.

A tradeshow is like a marketplace that must bring buyers and salespeople together. For BREAD & BUTTER this means we have to present attractive brands and labels to ensure that retailers find as many brands as possible for their business; their visit has to be worthwhile and result in hard cash. On the other hand we have to make sure that enough buyers visit the tradeshow for the brands’ investment to pay off in terms of stimulating sales and turnovers. To support these efforts we created the AGM – Active Guest Management about 6 years ago. Our international visitors can refer to 30 native speakers who answer any question in their mother language.

We have been doing this and a lot more for 11 years now, increasingly successful. Tell me any other tradeshow in Europe which has succeeded better.

For the long-term effect of a tradeshow in general and the success of at a tradeshow in particular, I need to refer to the brands and their employees. First of all, an interesting product needs to be offered. BREAD & BUTTER cannot take the responsibility for developing a collection. Then, a brand taking part in a tradeshow should take the necessary measures, in terms of who is there to represent the brand, how the booth looks, who and how they invite; should orders be written on-site or is it just about showing the collection and making appointments at the showrooms afterwards. Last but not least: how is the follow-up done after the show? We provide each visitor with a personalized ticket. Our scanner system allows to track each and every visitor who came to the booth.

The bottom line is that we offer the best possible working conditions to all parties involved. But everyone is responsible themselves to make the best of it. Two big exhibitors have complained about not having seen new clients. Significantly, these brands are part of those who will not show this season. Maybe they should ask themselves if everything had been well prepared on their end – if the collections were right, if the booth was attractive enough and if their sales staff was in place. I can only confirm that a sufficient number of visitors and consequently potential new customers have visited the tradeshow. Not to forget that a tradeshow also serves to maintain the contacts with existing clients, they represent a significant potential! Especially the existing clients are essential for 'brand building'. It’s not possible to build a brand with new customers who might become neighbours to existing clients. Someone who is not able to use a strong tradeshow for his purposes, has made a serious mistake and must carry the blame himself.

Let me say something about our 'fun event'.

I've heard that a lot and I have been told - personally. But I also know very well who said so. It’s never been said by a CEO or by the owner of a brand. The money they spend to participate in a tradeshow means everything but fun to them. They see it as an opportunity to build up their business. I’ve met many employees and freelancers who lack of a  professional approach. They get drunk every evening and then wander around the tradeshow with a heavy head the next day. These were the kind of people I sent home when I was a director of some companies before Bread & Butter. Excesses of this kind are not my cup of tea. A tradeshow means hard work for both buyers and the brand representatives. You need a clear head and my attitude is clearly 'don’t mix business with pleasure'.

Nevertheless, every season we invest a lot of imagination, effort and also a lot of money into making our visitors' stay at BREAD & BUTTER as comfortable as possible, by providing areas which are well structured to start with, a heating or air conditioning that works well, extensive high-quality catering, the Business Club,  an opening party and other evening events. We see ourselves as hosts and would make any effort to be a good ones to our guests every season. Those people who are not into that do obviously not understand our goal and should just stay away from our event.

By working the way we do, we have set new standards. We have shown the industry the insignificance of tradeshow events like the ones in Düsseldorf and Cologne, where the result is predictable. We’ve been copied big time but have never been surpassed. Tell me why I should change a winning concept? We will evolve, of course, since we want to keep on exciting people and for this reason we will stay true to our claim 'FUN & PROFIT'.

Let me remind you that everyone of us makes a living out of this fun with and around fashion. If we only had to cover the consumers’ needs, we’d be at the end of the line."

You’re not responsible for the brand building of your exhibitors, but you are for Bread & Butter. Knowing you it’s certain that you have some highlights in store again.

"Of course we are not responsible for the brand building of individual brands but it’s our job to show trends and tendencies. The L.O.C.K. area is the latest example to show that we do this successfully. At a very early stage we have sensitised the buyers to look for high-quality heritage brands that are using traditional manufacturing methods. This has finally led to a strong movement. With these brands the specialised retailer can clearly differentiate from Zara and Co.

This seasons B&B’s highlight is the BERLIN-TEMPEL(H)OF DENIM. We truly believe in denim and that it is playing a strong, major role again and that it will help retail to generate high turnover. I say this despite or even because big denim brands have cancelled. I can literally smell the next denim boom. The upcoming seasons will show which brands were able to take advantage of this development. Strong trends have always boosted new brands.

The BERLIN-TEMPEL OF DENIM will cover an area of 3,000 square meters at the next B&B. We will show many new, innovative labels such as 3 x 1 by Scott Morrison, Kohzo, K.O.I. – Kings of Indigo and Patrick Mohr, yet also well-known players such as Denham the Jeanmaker, Closed, 7 for all mankind and AG Adriano Goldschmied who make a strong statement within the women’ s segment.

We will allow buyers to get an insight in production processes and show that the industry takes environment issues very seriously. We will show new refining methods such as ozone and laser technologies, but also the use of organic cotton and recycled materials. Two of the leading denim mills, Orta Anadolu and TRC Candinai will also be present.

As a symbol, a huge approx. 100-meter-long table will be placed in the middle of the area. We want visitors to all sit at one table. There will be a restaurant too. They can eat and drink there, share opinions and thoughts about what they have experienced. The table recalls a huge catwalk and will be used for a creative fashion show."

There will be a fashion show at the Temple of Denim?

"Basically I was not keen on doing a fashion show since a traditional catwalk-show does not fit street- and urbanwear. But exceptional presentations can be an option. Last year’s G-Star shows stood out from the crowd. But such a show is quite complex, and very complicated to stage.

We have developed a fresh idea from our creative team. We believe that denim can be compared with a confession of faith, with a 'religion'. This is why we will present the 'DENIM RELIGIONS' which goe far beyond a traditional catwalk show. It’s a performance, a true homage to denim, our religion. It will be extraordinary, something Berlin has never seen before. We have made a teaser film which can be seen on our website as of Thursday.

This time, our opening will take place at 'Café am Neuen See' in the middle of the Berlin Tiergarten park. This place recalls the paintings of Claude Monet. An artistic program will provide the right context. Around midnight, shuttle buses will take 300 guests to Berlin Tempelhof to watch the première of the 'DENIM RELIGIONS' performance. The other guests who stay at 'Café am Neuen See' can experience this amazing performance on a live screen, also in a very special way. We hope the weather will be nice.

On Wednesday and Thursday our guests can see this extraordinary performance two times a day at BREAD & BUTTER."

These activities make Bread & Butter stand out from other tradeshows. Do you feel competition, however?

"Let me go back four or five years. Back then we were very successful in Barcelona. Premium took place in Berlin, IMG started their catwalk shows at the Brandenburg Gate back then. Premium announced visitor numbers of 13,000 to 14,000 max. The IMG tent was filled with the beautiful Berlin party people and regional media. Buyers were barely seen. IMG’s ambitious aim to bring the big names to Berlin failed from the start. Even Düsseldorf sensed its next big chance.

And then… BREAD & BUTTER’s grand return to Berlin! There were some quarrels about the dates. We’ve made pretty clear to everyone, also to the politicians, that we would not follow a small handful of young designers and a regional event like Premium who opted for a date two weeks later. We have imposed the early date against the will of Premium and IMG − an international tradeshow needs the early date otherwise the international business will be done in other European cities. Finally they had to give in. Today, they are all so happy, priding themselves on their internationality, announcing high visitor numbers and patting themselves on the back. Suddenly the tent is filled with buyers and international media. It’s clearly not their achievement but BREAD & BUTTER’s. Both aforementioned events had several seasons, when we were in Barcelona, to build something big. They didn't succeed at any time.

In this sense other events do not present competition to BREAD & BUTTER. They partly complement our tradeshow very well. Some even do a good job and I respect this a lot. B&B also takes advantage of the well-reviewed Premium. But some events are just unnecessary and will not survive in the long run; simply because they are missing a USP. Finally, no one except BREAD & BUTTER leaves a footprint of any international significance. If we moved to another European city again everything here would revert back to the regional level. Most of the events wouldn’t survive.

Nonetheless, there is a certain competition; competition with regards to the time factor. Berlin has become a hunt by the mob. Every event supposedly offers interesting things or at least the buyer thinks that he could discover something. This makes buyers and journalists hunted hunters. And this harms the important, good events as well as their exhibitors – they are robbed with the time of their buyers. I’m very much concerned about this development. Ineffective events will disappear sooner or later and they will be calm again. For some time I’ve been suggesting to our competitors that they rectify the dates; for example Premium could start one or two days earlier. There has been no reaction so far. I think that buyers would very much welcome this. But only this shows that no one is emancipated enough in terms of setting up his own dates.

I’m seriously thinking about providing a platform to the agencies at BREAD & BUTTER. First we have enough space; second I couldn’t imagine a buyer, except some boutiques maybe, who would not visit BREAD & BUTTER anyway. I’m sure that women’s boutiques would very much like to come to BREAD & BUTTER as well if we provided them with the right offer. Let’s see…"

Still many brands absolutely want to participate in Bread & Butter despite the large number of alternative events. Do you acknowledge people’s surprise about your decision to accept some brands which wouldn’t have been allowed to show at B&B before?

"First of all, if people are surprised it’s a good sign. It means that they are thinking about us. BREAD & BUTTER is always evolving and this is necessary. Before, the Urban Superior area, for example, was rather small, today it plays an essential role. Brands also evolve. 10 years ago, Scotch & Soda was a 'dinky' brand. I accepted Scotch & Soda during our time in Barcelona and some were surprised, especially some journalists who thought they knew everything about fashion. Buyers have massively accepted Scotch & Soda as we all know today. That couldn’t have been a mistake, right?

BREAD & BUTTER is and remains the tradeshow for selected brands! We consider very carefully who to accept and who not. Don’t you worry!"

Thank you!


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