Lingerie Shows Rivals No More

Curvexpo and Lingerie Americas staged competing lingerie tradeshows in the past, but now Curvexpo's shows, Curve NV and Curve NY, according to CurvExpo officials, are the ones that survived in North America.

Curvexpo got a new partner when Eurovet, a European-based tradeshow organizer of lingerie and swimwear shows, bought a 30-percent stake in the company. According to news reports, the partnership is the reason Lingerie Americas canceled its shows in New York and Las Vegas.

In 2002, Lingerie Americas was launched by Promincor, a French trade association for lingerie exporters. Company statements confirm the shows were canceled, but did not give the reason.

“The core business of Promincor is not the (tradeshows') management, and its mission statement is to make the business easier for its members,” according to a Lingerie Americas press release about the cancellation.

Laurence Teinturier, executive vice president of sales for Curvexpo, said she's pleased with Eurovet acquiring a 30-percent share in the company.

“Partnering with us gives them worldwide exposure,” she added. “For us, (the advantage is) to partner with the most expert show in the industry for lingerie and swimwear.”

To be competitive in the global marketplace, Teinturier said, a company needs to have a presence in North America, Europe and Asia. Eurovet, she added, already had shows in Europe and Asia, so this partnership gives the company that trifecta.

“We won the fight not only in Vegas, but in New York as well,” Teinturier said. “The market was expecting one show, and we worked very hard for this show remaining to be Curve.”

It's probably not a surprise to most that Curvexpo's shows were the ones that proved to have the longevity in the market. Teinturier and her husband, Jean-Luc, who is president of Curvexpo, were the contracted managers of Lingerie Americas and helped launch the show in 2002. They were with Lingerie Americas until September 2006, when they were abruptly let go, Teinturier previously told Tradeshow Week.

Curve NV, the Las Vegas show, was born when Lingerie Americas exhibitors asked the Teinturiers to launch a show in Sin City.

The Curvexpo show first went head-to-head with a Lingerie Americas show during the August 2007 fashion week in Las Vegas.

Exhibitors at that show told TSW off the record that the shows being in the same city and same venue was an unfortunate situation and bad for the lingerie business.

Maybe that's why Vinh Luong, director of sales and marketing with Lingerie Americas exhibitor Carrie Amber, said he only was a little surprised by the announcement of the shows' cancellation.

“I had a feeling with multiple shows happening at the same time, there (would) be cancellations,” he added.

Teinturier said it's very important for the lingerie industry to have only one show.

“It's a niche market, and there is room for only one show,” she added. “This is what the industry has been waiting for for six months.”

Curve NV next is scheduled Feb. 16-18 at the Las Vegas Sands MegaCenter. Curve NY next is scheduled Feb. 22-24 at the Galleria at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York.