MODA REVIEW
Brands and retailers enjoy a great season at Moda Footwear
T
his season’s edition of the UK’s national footwear trade show, Moda Footwear, sent out an encouraging message to the industry, with both new and established exhibitors reporting strong trading throughout the three days and a keen interest in new autumn/winter 2012 product.
Buyers from key department stores including John Lewis, Fenwick, Debenhams, Bentalls, McElhinney’s and Arnotts were amongst the retailers attending the show, as well as multiple retailers including the Clinkard Group and Pavers. Key independents also in attendance included Strolling4Shoes, Cumbria, Edwards of Manchester, Klodhoppers, Hove, Author Shoes, London, Jake Shoes, Cheshire, Robert Carder Shoes, Surrey, Ellie Dickins Shoes, Hungerford, Geoffrey Baileys Shoes, Wantage, Doris & Daisy, Wimborne, F. Dickinson Footwear, Ulverston, Haswell Shoes, Nuneaton, Donaghy’s in Northern Ireland and Luke O’Brien Shoes, To Be Shoer, Tuam, Eire. According to the organisers, overall attendance at Moda, which ran at
the NEC from 19-21 February, reached the same level as the event’s busiest ever show in February 2011, but personally speaking, I’d say it felt a lot busier.
What the exhibitors told Footwear Today: “This season I found Moda to be a very vibrant show with many enthusiastic
retailers looking for new collections to add some creative "umph" to their shops. There was a buzzy atmosphere throughout the three days as people openly discussed the eternal problems of successfully buying and selling. Fortunately, I was near the "Select" bar area which meant I had the added bonus of a superb dj set throughout the day
.........everyone was (subconsciously) dancing whilst they worked at building their
best collections ever!! The 3pm happy hour also helped to relax the visitors and exhibitors alike!! Martin Ward, Footwear Agent
“We had a very positive Moda show and especially enjoyed the Industry awards.” Lucinda Merriman, Marketing Manager, Padders
“For us Moda was really upbeat particularly on the Sunday and Monday . Customers
loved our Biker & Western packages, complimenting Khrio on their creativeness and uniqueness in our designs and excitement for both the colours & materials available. Glenis F
arr from 24 hrs in Clevedon, described the Aw12 range as " delightful".
UK Khrio & Aerobics Agent Caroline Sheppard “As a young and new agent on the road, I thought the response to Moda this year
was superb and was lifted at the support that retailers given the current economic climate gave to the show. It's only my 4th show and at the previous 3 shows didnt have the 40 minute queue to get in I found myself in every day!! I had 5 brands exhibiting there, Healthy Back Bag - which continues to grow year on year
. On Dude Shoes we
were inundated with orders for Spring Summer as well as really positive response to the Autumn Winter
bit different, but my new brand that launched at Moda 'MJUS' received a lot of attention and received some really encouraging feedback. Following the show as a relative 'newbie' im really optimistic as to how the rest of the season will go.” Gus Marshall, Footwear Agent
, Art and Neosens enables the quirkier customer to buy something a
“As the brand and its ethos is new to the UK, we look upon the MODA shoe fair primarily as an awareness building exercise. We were pleased with the overall reaction to the brand and our unique width fitting concept. It was good to see some familiar faces and to write some new business. Our new range proved to be very popular and we hope to build upon the positive feedback. It was good to see that retailers understand the problems facing consumers when it comes to finding footwear that does not compromise comfort over style.” Nina Townsend, UK Business Manager, JJ Footwear
“This is now the 3rd season Aetrex is exhibiting at the Moda show and for a
relatively new brand to the UK, we were quite pleased with the reception. Our location in the show itself is good and it allows us to introduce our brand to the many people walking around in addition to having a central meeting place to see our regular customers. Our wellness/foot comfort story is very unique in the marketplace and combined with our iStep scanning system, makes for a great customer experience – something we are better able to get across ‘face-to-face’ at a show like Moda.” Eric Desmonts, Director International Sales, Aetrex Worldwide, Inc.
“MODA was a huge success for Chatham. We launched our new Chatham Country
range at the show and had the best response ever to an AW collection. MODA was the perfect launch platform for the range because we were able to attract a different kind of retailer and we expect to sign new distributors and retailers as a direct result of the show “Our new Country range appealed, with strong interest in the on-trend desert style
.
boots. Our Chatham G2 professional range of deck shoes, especially the men’s innovative Sloop and Schooner styles, continue to be well received. Interest in the women’s lines was biased towards the more fashionable looking Life collection – a picture that mirrors what’s happening in the UK marketplace. We’re planning for strong growth and MODA was a great indicator – we’re feeling very confident about the year ahead.” Philip Marsh, Managing Director of Chatham Marine
And, the buyers? “I think it’s disappointing that some of the major suppliers don’t show and feel that
this could be their loss, as we have come home with a budget covered and I haven’t seen many of these. T
o sum up, 3 very long and hard days but vitally important to our
business. AW 2012 looks very bright and hopefully this will progress through into the selling season. Andrew Marshall, Strolling4Shoes, Cumbria
“As a returning visitor to Moda, I was delighted to see new brands exhibiting there, along with the regular manufacturers. I visited 8 stands which were all new brands looking for new styles for my customers. It was good to see stands for the footwear media, along with the footwear trade organisations eg. Society of Shoe Fitters etc. “Moda was well organised and at all the stands I attended, I was made to feel
welcome by the exhibitors, and I was pleased to see lots of orders being placed. It is great so see so much under one roof, and for the exhibitors to have all their stock out, displayed well, as opposed to looking at new stock on the shop floor
, makes it so much
easier for buying. As a VIP buyer it is great to have the peaceful VIP lounge to relax, and gather my thoughts during the day, and to enjoy the refreshments they have to offer”. Ellie Dickins, Ellie Dickins Shoes, Hungerford
www.moda-uk.co.uk
10 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• MARCH 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76