Bread & Butter folds

Fashion trade fair Bread & Butter has succumbed to the pressure of its own success. The launch of a second fair in Barcelona spelled ruin for the original event in Berlin. Three months before opening only 25 percent of the available exhibitors’ space in Berlin had been sold, prompting the organisers to cancel the event. Bread & Butter Barcelona will take place as planned. The popularity of the event in Spain is enormous and by now already 80 percent of exhibitors’ space has been sold. Communications director Danielle de Bie does not expect Berlin to resume activity.

“Wicked!” responds Anita Bachelin, director of fashion trade fair Premium, which also takes place in Berlin. Bread & Butter and Premium both debuted three years ago and have been each other’s arch rivals from the beginning. “This is a huge opportunity for us.” Premium focuses on higher end designer labels and is taking over a few exclusive sportswear brands and small designer labels from Bread & Butter. “The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. We will definitely be adding 80 brands to our offer this season.” According to Bachelin, no one is surprised by Bread & Butter’s demise. “Frankly, I was surprised they didn’t pull the plug right after last summer’s fiasco.”

The cancellation of Bread & Butter Berlin brings an end to an impressive success story that placed the German capital on the international fashion map. The first edition took place in Berlin in January 2003. The new event grew explosively. The popularity of the trendy denim, streetwear and sportswear brands, in which the fair specialized, increased. Berlin became the personification of everything new and trendy. Briefly, it even appeared to usurp CPD Düsseldorf’s position. In order to reach the Southern European market the fair launched a second fair in Barcelona last year. It appeared to be a miscalculation, because although it was an immediate hit, the event attracted the majority of the visitors and participants from Berlin, eventually resulting in the cancellation of the original event.

According to Anita Bachelin, Berlin as fashion hub will not suffer from the departure of the fair. “The number of retailers and luxury brands in Berlin is growing rapidly. We can’t tolerate any sub-standard events here. Germany is and will remain an important centre for Northern Europe and do not forget the emergence of Russia!” In August, Premium launched its Russian spin-off – Premium Red – in Moscow.

It had been clear for a while that not all was well with the event in Berlin. During the first edition of Barcelona (in July 2005) visitors’ numbers in Berlin dropped dramatically. In the following seasons, responses were mixed, while the popularity of Barcelona kept growing. Late September, director Karl-Heinz Müller announced plans to revive the fair, by abolishing entry fees and introducing an extensive visitors’ guide programme. This would require 30 new staff members. Danielle de Bie says no jobs will lost. The head office will continue to reside in Berlin and the visitors’ guides will work the Barcelona fair instead. There are also plans to develop new activities in Berlin, although details are being kept under wraps. “There is so much we can do,” says De Bie. “Bread & Butter is more than a fair, it is a brand.”

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