It’s not necessarily the number of buyers who stop into your booth at a trade show that counts. It’s the quality of buyers that really matters. Will they actually write orders? And, more important, are they likely to pay invoices? Good over plenty was a key takeaway on the buyers walking the floor of last week’s IR Show at the Horseshoe Convention Center in Las Vegas.
“Overall attendance was up,” reports Gary Hauss, show director. “We had an increase of 10 percent on retailers and 18 percent on brands. We also had retailers coming from 28 states.”
Sam Spears, president of Ara North America, concurs on the increased attendance. Traffic was “excellent,” he reports. “The first two days, our rep was booked back-to-back. We even had to schedule a meeting with a potential new customer one hour before the show opened the second day because there was literally no time during show hours.” Spears adds, “It was refreshing to see so many customers from the Midwest and East Coast. They brought a different vibe regarding what they wanted to see from us, and our belief that our Fall/Winter ’26 collection provides a strong assortment for all regions was proven true!”
Matt Schwartz, chief revenue officer for Aetrex, also reported strong traffic. “IR continues to deliver a high-quality event to vendors and retailers,” he says. “Our booth was consistently busy, and we wrote a lot of orders.”
Ditto at the Taos booth, says Bill Langrell, president and COO. Coming on the heels of last year’s 20th anniversary and record sales year, the brand continues to pick up momentum. “The traffic the first two days has been great, particularly the level of retailers who are here,” he reports. “It’s encouraging, as we’re still being cautious with all the industry disruption of late.”
David Kahan, president of Birkenstock Americas, described IR as a “very productive” show. The booth was packed solid the first two days, he reports.
As for the general mood of buyers, Spears says there was a lot more optimism than at the summer shows. While that may be understandable, given the chaos over tariffs of the time, it’s still encouraging. “Although the turmoil in the market is still prevalent, retailers are navigating the challenges in a variety of creative ways,” he says. “I’ve never been more proud of their ability to adapt, improvise, and overcome any challenges thrown at them. Their resilience and can-do attitude continues to impress me.”
Hauss concurs on the overall positive mood of buyers, despite the challenging economic climate. “Although business around the country hasn’t been robust, to say the least, retailers seemed to be upbeat about the future,” he says. As for The IR Show, Hauss is equally optimistic, believing that Vegas is a good bet for continued growth. “We believe we’ve found our new home,” he says, noting that 87 percent of exhibitors have already signed up for the July 26-28 edition. “The feedback has been extremely positive. Retailers like the ease of shopping the floor, and many brands were extremely happy with how many buyers actually left paper. We believe we’ll sell out for the next show.”
(Above: Fly London)
YY Nation
Clarks
Samuel Hubbard
Miz Mooz
CallagHan
L’Artiste
Asportuguesas
Toni Pons
Aetrex
Taos
Ecco
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