Première Vision Paris show suffers ‘Brexit effect’

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Feb 21, 2019

The Première Vision Paris trade show, held on February 12-14, attracted 53,156 visitors from 127 countries, a 2.3% decrease in attendance caused chiefly by a net decline in the number of UK visitors as uncertainty about Brexit proceedings persists.

“The show focused on the 2020 collections, which will theoretically arrive in-store after Brexit, and uncertainty is always the worst enemy of business,” Gilles Lasbordes, the general manager of the Parisian show, told FashionNetwork.com, reporting an abrupt 16% drop in British visitors. The extent of the drop was unexpected, though it didn’t change the ranking of the most represented countries, in which the UK remained in third place, after France and Italy.

For show organiser Première Vision, there is however no reason to rethink its operations in the UK, where it has set up an office and where, in December, it will stage the second London edition of the Denim PV show.

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“We were a little surprised,” admitted Lasbordes. “Yet, taking into account the troubled market environment, we think we came out of it fairly well,” he added.

Première Vision Paris recorded an 8% increase in the number of Asian visitors, and also a 6% increase in visitors from the US, while the French presence was relatively stable at +1%. The number of visitors from Turkey instead fell by 6%, a downturn linked to the instability of the country's political and economic situation.

Première Vision was satisfied with the success of the show’s high-tech and technical sections, as its Wearable Lab and the forum dedicated to sportswear materials attracted a fair number of visitors.

“This confirms that the approach is right. We promote differentiation through creativity, and we can do the same with innovation,” said Lasbordes, who observed how several exhibitors took advantage of the opportunity to digitalise their materials, enabling them to publish their catalogues on Première Vision’s newly created marketplace.

The next edition of Première Vision Paris will be held from September 17 to 19. Before then, the show organiser will also stage PV Istanbul on March 20-22, Made in France Première Vision in Paris on April 3-4, and Denim PV in Milan on May 28-29.