Within two years, since being taken over by GL Events, the Tranoï trade fair has grown from 50 international women’s ready-to-wear brands to 170, meaning 195 SS24 collections at the October 2023 edition. What is the key to a successful strategy? FashionUnited spoke to managing director Boris Provost about these and other topics.
Are you satisfied with the October 2023 issue of Tranoï?
Boris Provost: With communicative energy, excellent customer satisfaction, innovative fashion suggestions and positive feedback, Tranoï has reached an important milestone for its future development. Thanks to a repositioned base and collaboration with Première Vision, we have proven our value, gained the trust of GL Events Group and shown that we can continue to develop projects together.
Tranoï’s established customers (In bed with you, Rosa Maria, Hannoh, Utzon) say “Tranoï is back”; [die Messe ist] different, rejuvenated, revitalized, with new energy and lots of conviviality thanks to our aperitif evenings, our networking all year round.
What is the key to this success?
Several factors come together. The first is the editorial line, also the compilation and the fact that you can tell a story. Of the 195 collections presented (up from 50 in the first edition in September 2021), my team and I can say why they were chosen, where they come from, what they express, what price range they are in, what their goal is, and so on . So we are able to tell a story.
In the selection committee, which consists of the sales and marketing team, Marylin Fitoussi for this season and myself, a total of eight people, we discuss, do not always agree, build the offer and in the end the result is a collegial decision. Marylin Fitoussi brought us her vision of fashion and a way of visibility for our young designers as she used many of her garments in the Emily in Paris series. This is also a commercial reality for them.
What are the pillars of your new aesthetic?
For years, the fair was personified by a retailer, Armand Hadida, head of boutique L’Éclaireur, who had his own aesthetic. There is a lot of talk about the influence of black on his choices, but there was also the Italian style, leather, mono products, more material than design and the like.
Being a partner of Paris Fashion Week was very important after the Covid crisis to position the fair in terms of creations. Today, Tranoï’s core market is women’s fashion, but contemporary luxury.
Every season we look at trends that are currently in fashion. This season it was “Quiet Luxury.” We haven’t invented anything. From the inquiries we receive, the surveys we conduct and the items we select, we have found this minimalist, Japanese-inspired aesthetic with very beautiful products. We have created a special limited space.
The other areas are dedicated to seasonality (Vacation Edit, the former resort) and fashion accessories. After all, almost 25 percent of our offering is associated with young creations. In terms of commercial dynamics, few people find it interesting to have too many young designers. We would no longer be a contact point; they rarely sell in the first season.
How do you support the foreign institutions that trust you?
Collaborations make up 20 to 25 percent of our offering and are managed by people assigned to them. Your task is to carry out an analysis and selection of all collections, check price lists, etc. via video conference three weeks before the trade fair. It is your task to help us select partners. They then carry out acquisitions with the help of our agencies in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea from a target group we have defined. At the trade fair, they welcome buyers and create follow-up material that they hand over to each brand.
This care will be billed. Our business model is based 80 percent on the sale of exhibition space and 20 percent on coaching, consulting and events. I’m pretty happy that we can diversify our business because selling space alone is not enough for designers to stand out. A young brand needs more than just a presentation area.
How much does a stand at Tranoi cost?
1,000 euros per square meter, all inclusive, with a minimum size of two meters. There are no more processing fees. We have introduced a mandatory walking tour so that everyone can be seen. How else can we explain the fact that four out of six exhibiting brands from China, which were there for the first time, received orders? Buyers who only have an appointment and half an hour to spare can return to the trade fair with the exhibitors via the ground floor.
Is the new generation of concept stores relying less on collections?
Isetan in Japan, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, a multi-brand retailer in Toulouse, an Italian concept store or an online pure player – they all have such different requirements that there are no general guidelines. The only lesson to be learned from this is that the consumption of contemporary luxury is becoming more challenging and complicated.
At department stores, the business trend means that buyers are less likely to look for new brands at trade fairs. This is because they already have established brands in their program and have been adding fewer and fewer new brands since the Covid crisis.
Then what makes you so confident?
In March we noticed the return of Japanese buyers. For the Spring/Summer 2024 collections, they came in larger numbers, stayed at the fair for three hours and placed orders (which was not the case before). They came back with buying ambitions and that changed everything.
This season we recorded a 35 percent increase in visitor numbers compared to September 2021. You also need to look at time spent on site, engagement and number of stalls selected. That is the positive aspect of this edition.
What is your best success story from the October issue?
Luxury brand Vanhu Vamwe, part of the African collective led by Canex, makes macrame bags available through the Etoile boutique in Dubai. The buyer came back because they were sold out. The fact that a designer who has communities in deepest Africa selling out of one of the first outlets in the United Arab Emirates run by the Chaloub Group – one of the industry’s largest importers – gives meaning to my job.
What is your strategy for Tranoï 2024?
In women’s fashion, we will present around 200 collections in March 2024. We have to establish this volume and size of the trade fair so that buyers can see themselves in it. It is time to stabilize our positioning.
We plan to further develop the Tranoï Men, which will take place from January 18th to 20th, 2024 at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris. It is still a bit too reserved in terms of commercial dynamics. We have two options for diversification: we want to develop it further towards contemporary luxury products and/or introduce pre-collections of women’s fashion.
We are also working on international appearances during Fashion Weeks in the respective countries. I will announce this in the first half of 2024.
What do you expect for 2024?
The Olympics will be a challenge for Paris and we must act with foresight. We negotiate partnerships with hotels to achieve the most competitive rates. However, it is important to remember that Paris Fashion Week does not take place during the Olympics.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.fr. Translated and edited by Simone Preuss.