The word from Just Around The Corner (JATC) London

The mood from exhibitors on day two (Monday 8 August) of the Just Around The Corner (JATC) trade show at The Truman Brewery on Brick Lane in East London was upbeat, despite the Sunday opener being a bit of a disappointment attendance wise for some, particularly regarding independents. However, with the temperature topping 30°C, few were surprised.

Tuesday 9 August was the final day of the three-day show which had 175 different brands, and JUST Consultancies fashion agency owner and JATC organiser, Juls Dawson, said: “As we enter the final day of JATC and having reviewed the past two days registrations we have seen some excellent and wide ranging retailers visit including footwear specialists such as Soletrader, 4Feet, Schuh and Tower, and departments stores such as Fenwick, Frasers, Daniel, Morleys and Jarrold.

“We’ve also had pureplay specialists ranging from Next to MR PORTER and over 400 independents from across the UK, such as Clues, Energy, The Mercantile, Richmond Classics, The Projekt Store, First Light, Seasons, Fleur, Chloe James, Five Six Blue, Rosy Penguin and Gemini.

“We are expecting a steady foot-flow today with the bulk of key accounts leaving Tuesday as the day to visit due to internal trade meeting on Mondays."

Here’s what some key exhibitors thought of the show on the afternoon of day two:

Faye Saunt, Saves Nine Agency, representing Anonyme and Traffic People

Faye Saunt from Saves Nine Agency

The show has been really good for us, especially regarding our customers in the south. For Anonyme we cover the whole of the UK, and this show has saved us having to go out on the road in the south.

We’ve seen most of our southern customers here, though there’s a few more we’re getting in touch with that were going to come yesterday. I think the hot weather might have put them off. They are going to either come later today, or tomorrow.

The Edit area definitely has the right brand mix for us, and price point-wise it’s a good fit. We didn’t want to look like the most expensive brand in the more commercial womenswear area at the show. Having said that, I do think it might work better if all of the womenswear was in the same area together.

We’ve done all of the JATC shows so far, and they’ve been absolutely brilliant for us. We’re actually really grateful to Juls for inventing a new show, it really needed it. We’ve had a few failings at Pure over the years and we’ve lost faith in it. We’ve also done Scoop before, and that’s been okay, but we never really fit in terms of price point. We’re a bit too low for Scoop, but here is a really nice mix of every price point. It's the perfect fit for us.

This is only going to go from strength to strength because we’ve not had good feedback from people showing at Pure. I think Just Around The Corner will maybe take over from that.

Lee Davies, Director, Maximise Brands Limited, representing Mjus footwear

Lee Davies from Maximise Brands representing Mjus

We’re the UK distributors for Mjus from Italy. It’s a comprehensive women’s collection using high quality Italian leathers, covering all footwear areas including sneakers, sandals and boots, as well as some accessories. We’re in high end boutiques such as Oberon and Mirsi, as well as footwear only stores.

The show has been reasonable. We got a couple of new accounts yesterday, so I was quite happy with that, and it’s been steady today – I’ve seen quite a few buyers. We also did the Manchester show, but I’d have to say this has been better for us. I think footwear in general has been better in London than in Manchester, though I’m not sure why.

I’m also not sure what’s made the shows so difficult this time around, though it being August a lot of people have decided to go on holiday. Anyone with a family has got to go at this time of year.

In terms of moving the show forward, the problem we would have is getting samples in time. We have a big stand at Micam in Milan, which starts on 18 September, so the footwear timelines are a bit different to fashion clothing. I see quite a lot of our Irish clients out there.

We’re predominantly a fashion footwear brand, so sometimes it’s hard to know which trade shows to do. Do we do out and out footwear shows only, which are like brown shoe shop type places? Or do we go for fashion boutiques? Well, we’re trying to do a bit of everything really. If there was one definitive trade show that did everything, I’d do that year in, year out. And if it was the first week of September when the kids are back at school, even better!

We also do a bit of private label as this brand is owned by a factory, so if some of the bigger retailers want to put their mark on the shoes, if they can do the quantities, then that’s what the factory will do.

I did the London JATC show the last time for autumn/winter, and I think it did help that Pure and Scoop were in the same venue at the same time in terms of footfall.

Regarding current retailer mood, I think independent boutiques have been having a really good time of it since things have got back to more like normal – especially outside of the big cities. The provincial independents have been doing really well because people have been shopping more local. Also, because of that, the retailers have stepped up what they do and have increased their buying to cater for what their customers really want. Local marketing has worked really well for them, and there’s been a lot more customer contact through the likes of Instagram and Facebook.

Izzy Keene, UK Sales Agent, Pura Vida

Izzy Keene from Pura Vida

The brand is ethically focused and is B Corp. The secret with Pura Vida is that it’s a story led brand. It was initially founded in 2010 by two friends from California who went to Costa Rica and met two brothers who handmade string bracelets. They took them to the USA, and it organically grew.

They’ve also worked with over 200 charities and have raised over $4m to date – helping everyone from cancer awareness charities to autism charities, even a charity supporting turtle conservation. They are doing a fantastic job.

The Artisan Community represents how the two brothers in Costa Rica have grown what they do, as there are now over 800 artisans who handmake the bracelets globally.

The show was quieter yesterday, probably because it was a sunny Sunday, but we did still have some great conversations and we’ve found it has been ramping up today – especially with independents, and we’re planning on seeing some key accounts tomorrow, so it’s perfect for us.

We haven’t done a JATC before, but then Pura Vida only came to Europe at the end of 2020, during the pandemic. So, it’s only really been in the last year that we’ve explored doing any trade shows. This is a first try for us and we will definitely come back, and we will also maybe look to do the Manchester show next time.

We couldn’t be happier with our location at this show, as we are right by the entrance alongside other jewellery brands.

Mark McAnulty, Director, Macapparel Agency, showing Signal Clothing

Mark McAnulty from Signal Clothing

Signal Clothing is based in Copenhagen and has been around as more of a classic brand since 1967. It’s now changing direction to be more of a lifestyle brand, targeting a slightly younger customer. This is the first time it’s been shown in the UK, though it has a very big business in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

We want people to feel the quality of the product. For SS23 there’s men’s trousers, shirts, shorts, polo shirts, gilets and lightweight jackets. It has a wide appeal and it’s a brand with great layering pieces. The prices sit at the premium high street level, so £90 retail for trousers or a shirt, and £200 for a jacket.

I left my role as Head of International Sales at Gloverall when Covid hit in August 2020. The pandemic badly impacted our international business. I decided to go alone and started the Macapparel Agency straight away. I took on a womenswear brand from Manchester called Pretty You London, which specialises in great nightwear and loungewear.

But, as someone who is from more of a menswear background, I was looking for something with real potential to take on. I was contacted by Morten Kragelund, the Sales Director at Signal Clothing in Denmark, who was with PVH Corp. and Tommy Hilfiger for 30 years. He told me of the new plans for the brand going forward and asked if I would be interested to take it on for the UK market.

This is our first trade show in the UK and retailer-wise we’re targeting the likes of Fenwick and John Lewis. We’re not rushing things, it’s got to be right. I’m doing it exactly how I did it with Gloverall, talking to as many people as I can as quickly as possible to get the correct customers. Then it will grow organically from there.

I’ve found this show quite slow compared to what I’ve been used to in the past at shows like Jacket Required and TBC. Mind you, yesterday was a Sunday and it was 30°C outside, so no doubt that played a part. Monday is more of a figures day for a lot of the bigger retailers, but the buyers might be let out on Tuesday! I’m staying positive. JATC has only been going around a year, so there’s still a lot of momentum to build.

In terms of timing, this show is maybe a little late. Pitti was back in June, and the INDX shows in the UK have also been and gone. But I think we will come back to JATC for the AW23 show in January or February.

Ward Mann, UK Sales Agent at Ward Mann Agencies, showing DK Company brands Blend and Casual Friday

Ward Mann representing Blend and Casual Friday

Sunday at the show was a bit of a tougher burn, but today it’s been much brisker with more customers around – predominantly independents, but some interesting department stores and online retailers too. I’ve seen a lot of customers who usually come to buy from me in London as I’ve got room to show the whole collection here. That’s been very useful and we’ve had a very good reaction to the new collections.

The show has a nice vibe, it’s a much more relaxed environment than a lot of trade shows I’ve been to in the past 10 years or so. Plus, they’re not trying to really sell space here to any brand that wants to come in, so there are some relevant brands in the spaces. The free food and drink is also a nice gesture.

I hope that next time the show can be over three days in the week, preferably Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, rather than having the first day at the weekend. I certainly think it would work better. But I definitely think we need a London show like this, so long may it continue.

Summer shows are always a bit more difficult and I do think that this could have been three of four weeks earlier, say mid-July, to get it in while more of the menswear retailers’ order books were still open, as quite a few have now shut their books.

Blend’s SS23 collection has a lot of floral prints, bright colours and pastels. There’s a real Mediterranean beach vibe to it. Casual Friday also has bright floral prints, neon colours and prints, a lot of poly shirts and oversized Tees. In terms of denim, the fit is going wider across both brands, coming away from the skinny fit.

With Blend we supply the likes of Next online, Thread, Stitch Fix and about 100 independents in the UK, and with Casual Friday again we supply the main online businesses and we have around 75 UK independents. We’ve got a nice independent base in the north and south of the UK, with coverage all over England, Scotland and Wales.

Peter Jarrett, Director, Arc Agencies, showing Fransa and Nümph

Peter Jarrett from Arc Agencies

Yesterday (Sunday) started off with good footfall, which is what we want from these shows. We’ve had a nice mix of existing customers and, more importantly, new customers, so it’s been positive.

We did the JATC Manchester show too, but this is better for me. We’re a London-based agency so we tend to have a higher presence of customers in this area. Hopefully in the coming seasons the Manchester show will pick up for us.

Fransa is from Denmark and it’s a really easy, commercial and quite good price-point driven women’s brand. I’ve been working with them for five years and it’s just getting stronger and stronger. There’s everything from denim to dresses, blouses and shirts.

Another good thing about Fransa is they’ve launched a plus-size collection. We normally sell from a size 8-18, but with the plus-sizes we now go up to a size 30. Over the last 18 months there’s been a lot of interest in that, so I think it’s going to be very important.

Nümph is also from Denmark. There’s a lot of good Scandinavian brands about, they just do it really well and they’re really professional and good people to work with. I’ve had Nümph for 16 years now. I originally saw more Danish product coming to the UK about 16 years ago, so I jumped on a plane and went to the CIFF show in Denmark. The people behind Nümph were doing a menswear brand called Solid at the time, which I took on. Within a year they launched Nümph and they asked me to take that too.

It’s a bit funkier, with a quirky edge to it, and it’s well established with independents now – from Academy down in St Ives, Cornwall, to Rosy Penguin in Edinburgh.

The timing of this show is good for us. It’s given us time to get the main collections ready. Any earlier and it would have been a bit of a problem getting the collections ready in time.

I think the show could be promoted more by the brands, which I think a lot of the brands are now keen to do. We’re all happy with what Juls [Dawson, founder of JATC] is doing here - he’s done a fantastic job, we just need to help him now. After all, the bigger the footfall the happier we’re all going to be. If everyone helps a little bit, it could really push things on.

There are certain accounts in big cities who are struggling, but in general we’ve found our accounts have had a good year. I think a lot of people hadn’t been out during Covid and maybe they had furlough money to spend. They hadn’t been on holiday, or out to restaurants or to any weddings, and I think they had money in their pockets ready to spend. As soon as those doors opened, they spent it, luckily with a lot of the shops we supply!

In terms of the cost of living crisis, it’s just starting to impact now. That’s what I’ve been hearing in the last couple of months, but it’s really too early to say what kind of effect it will have. Obviously, I’m hoping it won’t take too much away from our business.

Hayley Thomas, Founder, Eleven Loves

Hayley Thomas from Eleven Loves

I founded Eleven Loves in 2017, focusing on everyday womenswear styles and sustainability. All of our lines are sustainably sourced and made. All of our jersey is organic cotton and our skirts are made from recycled Polyester. We only work with audited ethical factories.

This is the first trade show we’ve done. We’ve grown as a direct-to-consumer brand and we’ve done a lot on social media to promote us. We do have some stockists, but we’ve built those up based on social and word of mouth.

We’ve found the show really good. Today in particular has been really busy and we’ve had a lot of interest. We’ve met some of our existing stockists, which has been really nice as we’ve not previously had a chance to meet them face to face. But we’ve also had quite a lot of new people come to see us. A lot of people have commented that it’s good to see a new brand at this show.

Prior to launching Eleven Loves, I worked in retail for about 16 years, on the strategic development and customer experience side. About 12 years ago I worked for Aurora Fashions for four years, which was the holding company that, at the time, owned several retail fashion brands such as Oasis, Warehouse and Karen Millen. Most recently, I worked as a consultant at Hobbs for 18 months, prior to setting up Eleven Loves.

I'd always wanted to start my own business, as I felt there was a gap in the market for sustainable everyday wear. What gave me the kick was when my husband got ill and was diagnosed with bowel cancer, aged 40 and seemingly very fit. He’s fine now, but it just made us think that life is quite short and if you’ve got these dreams then you need to get on with it and go after them.

I started quite small with jersey wear, and grew it from there. Over lockdown it really took off, I think because everybody was looking for more relaxed fashion. Instagram has been massive for us, and I work with quite a lot of influencers who are really supportive of us.

Our best-selling sweatshirt is relaxed with a scoop neck carrying the slogan ‘Noir’. A lot of our French slogans go really well for us. Another best-seller has ‘Étoile’ on the front, which means star, and another popular slogan is “Où est la Discothèque?’

We also launched a Breton top recently which has been going really well for us, and there’s T-shirts, denim, dresses, blouses and joggers.

Coming out of Covid, retailers have sounded quite positive. Obviously, there’s pressures from lots of different angles for everybody – there’s definitely an awareness of that, with the cost of living crisis and so on. But we’ve found that people are keen to test new things, especially from us as we don’t have a minimum order quantity.

Read our report from JATC Manchester here.