Biz Journals Makes a Buy
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 8/27/2007
Business Journals, a Norwalk, Conn.-based business-to-business media company, bought the tradeshow assets of West Coast Exclusive, a semiannual high-end men's apparel show in Las Vegas. The companies did not disclose terms of the deal.
"We felt that we needed a strong company, financially, to help us grow the business," said Larry Hymes, a co-founder of West Coast Exclusive. "I am incredibly excited."
Traditionally, the Exclusive show has run concurrently with MAGIC Marketplace, which caused some to call the last week in August and the second week in February, when many related shows are in Sin City, "fashion week."
Business Journals is a big player during that week, and the Exclusive acquisition makes it even bigger. The company will launch MRket, a new men's wear show paired with its high-end men's wear retailer publication, MR, in February at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and collocate it with two of its existing events: AccessoriesTheShow Las Vegas and Moda Las Vegas.
The Exclusive will take place for the last time Aug. 26–28 at the Venetian.
Business Journals named Hymes director of sales for MRket. His partners, Hyela Sablosky and Herb Goetz, are retiring, Hymes said.
Business Journals President and CEO Britton Jones said while the company acquired the show, its database and customer records, it didn't acquire the company itself.
"We are going to approach the show as an integrated media company, so we'll be able to do a line preview for the show in MR (magazine) and use the Web site for the show to do line previews and product searches and that kind of thing," he added.
Lizette Chin, former show manager of The Collective, an ENK Intl. fashion tradeshow in New York, and current advertising director of MR, will manage MRket.
MAGIC's competition is dwindling. Through subsidiary MAGIC Intl., Advanstar Communications bought Project and POOL, East and West Coast events for cutting-edge fashion designs, two years ago. MAGIC also brought the Intl. Swimwear/Activewear Market under its roof in 2005.
Apart from Business Journals, another major fashion week player now is Specialty Trade Shows, organizer of, among other shows, WomensWear in Nevada, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
Jones said Business Journals has no other active acquisition plans in the Las Vegas fashion marketplace at this time, but the company always looks for opportunities to acquire products that will help it grow in markets it would do well in.
