AZBEES_TOPTEN
AZBEES_finalist-2020

This Just In

Three Top Trade Show Organizers Fashion a New Collaboration in Orlando

Andrea Doyle, Senior News Editor

ORLANDO — Industry leaders Informa Markets, Clarion Events and Tarsus Group have come together to produce MAGIC Pop Up Orlando, Womenswear in Nevada (WWIN) Orlando Showcase, and OFFPRICE, February 9-11, at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando demonstrating how collaboration results in strength.

Ordinarily competitors, the three organizations co-located their shows to provide a one-stop shop in the truest sense of the word, allowing fashion retail buyers to make one trip to all three shows at once, emphasizing the power of coming together for the good of the industry as show organizers look to rebound from the pandemic.

“It’s more important than ever for key events players to unite and work together to deliver on the needs of our brands and buyers in the safest, most thoughtful, and effective manner,” Kelly Helfman, Commercial President of Informa Markets Fashion, said.

MAGIC Pop Up Orlando, a womens and mens apparel, accessories, and footwear event; WWIN, a womenswear fashion and accessories trade event, and OFFPRICE, serving the affordable apparel, accessories and footwear sector, took place side-by-side at the OCCC, one of the first U.S. venues to welcome back trade shows.

Related. Informa Markets Fashion’s 2021 Lineup Includes In-Person and Digital Events

“The health and safety of all those who participate is our utmost priority and the OCCC provides the perfect venue to gather the market together, with a campus-like property and space to accommodate proper social distancing. It’s also in close outdoor walking proximity to hotels and restaurants, therefore limiting the need for shuttles — among other additional benefits,” Desiree Hanson, Executive Vice President, Clarion Events, WWIN Shows, said.

The event was guided by the AllSecure guidelines, a program developed in collaboration with industry associations, event organizers and venues, that encompasses a detailed set of measures to maximize safety at trade events. The Orlando event had widened aisles, open-concept booths, temperature checkpoints and mandatory masks, as well as continuous sanitization and deep cleaning measures across all shows.

Related. Industry Collaboration Releases AllSecure 2.0

“From overnight disinfection of the exhibit space, hand sanitizer stations every 200 feet, to thermal image scanning of every person entering the exhibit hall looking for elevated temperature, not only was everyone safe, but they also felt safe,” said Rick Simon, President and CEO, United Service Companies, and GBAC Advisor, said. United Service Companies is the parent company of Trade Show Executive.

In addition to the AllSecure guidelines, COVID-19 testing was offered at the event, the first trade event in the U.S. to do so. Informa worked with Abbott Labs and US Mobile Health and 42Chat to implement the program, with the enthusiastic support of their partners at Clarion Events and Tarsus.

As the trade show industry continues to adjust and reopen, relationships are being strengthened.

“The importance of live trade shows and face-to-face meetings has never been greater than now. They are vital for fostering business, progressing industry, and bolstering economic growth. For this reason, we are very much looking forward to this first-time collaboration and bringing the entire fashion community together over the same time period,” Tricia Barglof, Executive Director of the OFFPRICE Show, said. “By joining forces on the same campus, we, as a fashion community, are stronger together. United by the common aim of reinvigorating the retail industry, OFFPRICE, MAGIC Pop Up Orlando, and WWIN Orlando Showcase will be able to greatly accelerate its recovery post-COVID-19. Therefore, I’d urge everyone to get involved — exhibitors, retailers and venue partners.”

Success and Safety Will Drive Economic Recovery

“I think it’s powerful that as an industry we have committed to the AllSecure standards and guidelines to ensure that we are approaching safety with the same rigor. Now, more than ever, it’s important for our industry to work together to prove that we can return to the show floor and that our communities can re-connect in safe ways, and there is immense long-term value in our shared commitment to events that consistently value safety,” said Kevin Thornton, Vice President of Operations at Informa Markets. “We have two equally important priorities to deliver to our communities: success and safety. Those are not mutually exclusive; we see them as twin engines in driving economic recovery, not just for the trade show industry, but for the industries and communities we serve and the cities that host us.”

Reach Kelly Helfman at Kelly.helfman@informa.com; Tricia Barglof at tbarglof@offpriceshow.com; Richard Simon at (312) 922- 8558 or rsimon@unitedhq.com; Kevin Thornton at Kevin.Thornton@informa.com; Desiree Hanson at Desiree.Hanson@clarionevents.com, (203) 242-8713

TSE Data Center