BREAD & BUTTER IS COMING HOME

“BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands” returns back to Berlin in summer 2009. The new location of the internationally leading tradeshow for Street- and Urbanwear is the disused, historical airport Berlin-Tempelhof.

BREAD & BUTTER, BERLIN and TEMPELHOF result in a perfect symbiosis, and great things can be expected. Berlin is BREAD & BUTTER’s hometown.

“The airport Berlin-Tempelhof, “The mother of all airports”, is an architectural jewel, a location of international historic meaning, and is known worldwide. Here, we have the possibility to completely redefine and newly position the “BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands”.
We are very proud to be able to organise the event here in the future”, says Karl-Heinz Müller, Managing Director BREAD & BUTTER.

The date for the upcoming BREAD & BUTTER BERLIN is the 1 – 3 July 2009. This early date signifies the BREAD & BUTTER and is the season’s kick-off for the entire industry.

Contentwise, the BREAD & BUTTER will continue to focus on its core competences Denim, Young Fashion and Sport Lifestyle. In the Urbanwear segment, “Dressed up labels” for Women and Men play a major role. The exhibiting brands will, according to their genre, be presented in newly conceived, stylistically coordinated “neighbourhoods”.

The BREAD & BUTTER is especially glad for the commitment of the Berlin senate under the lead of Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, who has significantly supported the return of BREAD & BUTTER during the past few months.

Karl-Heinz Müller explains: “We have never doubted Berlin as location, on the contrary. The BREAD & BUTTER has always remained a Berlin company. After the relocation of the tradeshow to Barcelona, the company has kept its headquarters in the German capital – for a reason.

But back then, we were simply lacking the adequate event venue. The airport Berlin-Tempelhof has been an option for us for quite some time, but it was not available in those times. Now that it is available, we use this historical chance for returning home.”

COLOGNE, BERLIN, BARCELONA, AND BACK…

A review

After only three events in Cologne, under the name “Offshow for selected brands”, the BREAD & BUTTER moved to Berlin in autumn 2002. The Offshow became “BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands”.

In the beginning, the national trade press saw Berlin as a venue sceptically: in Germany, one had been used to textile trade shows taking place at the Rhine for many years.

But especially the young and successful brands finally wanted a change. The B&B community had been distinctive right from the start, and followed BREAD & BUTTER to Berlin. Big brands such as Levi’s, Lee, G-Star, Replay, Pepe Jeans London, Nike, Adidas, Puma etc. strengthened the first “tradeshow for selected brands”. A new hype had emerged. Suddenly, everyone wanted to go to Berlin. Due to the strict brand selection, only the best and most successful ones were admitted to the tradeshow.

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At first, the young, only one and a half year-old company moved into a 70 sqm big, furnished office with seven workplaces in the Kastanienallee in Prenzlauer Berg.

With the support of the Wirtschaftsförderung Berlin (today Berlin Partner), one was on the search for a suitable event location, and quickly found a location in Spandau. The historical, listed Siemens Kabelwerk hall at the Insel Gartenfeld in Spandau could be rented on short notice. In January 2003 already, the first “BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands” took place there. The nearly 20,000 sqm big, beautiful hall was already completely booked out at the first event. There even had to be built a big entrance tent.

Before BREAD & BUTTER opened its doors in January 2003 for the first time, the “Interjeans”, which had existed for decades, had to cancel its event in Cologne. The first “BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands” was a huge success, 230 brands, label and designer exhibited, 15,000 visitors came to the German capital. Everyone was enthusiastic about Berlin. A new “trade show” was born.

In autumn 2003, BREAD & BUTTER GmbH moved into its new headquarter in Münzstr 13 in Berlin Mitte. A few months later, in December 2003, BREAD & BUTTER bought the Siemens Kabelwerk hall in order to secure the important and necessary event location. As soon as this, for the company remarkable, investment was executed, the hall already became too small, and BREAD & BUTTER rented further extensive halls on the opposing Pirelli grounds.

At the summer event in July 2004, only four seasons later, the capacity limit was again reached with 580 exhibitors and 34,000 visitors. The difficult traffic infrastructure soon proved to be a far bigger problem: the visitor’s way to the exhibition grounds was extremely time-consuming.
Apart from that, BREAD & BUTTER could only cover 40 % of the exhibition area with its own hall. The landlord of the remaining 60 % of the exhibition area, Pirelli, had had extensive sales negotiations with different interested parties for its area. The BREAD & BUTTER GmbH had only received seasonal renting contracts and therefore had no planning safety.
Alternatively, the Pirelli halls could have been bought for a price which was not within reach for us.

Karl-Heinz Müller: “We realized that on these grounds, there was no future for us. We simply had to look for a new alternative venue. Another German city was out of the question for us, Berlin simply was and is stronger than any other. No other German city fits BREAD & BUTTER, but a suitable exhibition area was not available in Berlin at that time. Without a suitable location, no trade show, without a trade show, no turnover. We were about to loose the base for our company. The sure bankruptcy would have been the unpreventable result.

In addition to all that, the lacking infrastructure and the bad conditions, especially of the Pirelli halls, seriously impaired us – and this although we had already invested a few million euros into halls that did not even belong to us. The discussion with the public security officials was nerve-racking and always marked by undefined results – a bottomless pit. Despite the indeed good cooperation with the Spandau building authorities, it was never sure if the next event could take place as planned. And we could not change the inappropriate travel connections anyway. Staying on the Insel Gartenfeld would have meant our certain end. We were in need for good advice.”

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The next necessary step was the search for an alternative venue. The Olympic Games served as a successful and functioning example – they take place every four years in another location, and the cities have to apply for being the site of the Olympic Games. The necessary infrastructure is also especially created for the games. In autumn 2004, the first contact with the former Olympia city Barcelona took place. Research quickly lead to the historical exhibition grounds at the bottom of the Montjuic, right in the city.

Karl-Heinz Müller: “The grounds were a dream come true, they were of an industrial, morbid beauty and completely suited our ideas. 1929, the world exhibition took place here. We quickly agreed on the conditions. Barcelona absolutely wanted the BREAD & BUTTER. We were sure that we would be successful here. Apart from Berlin, Barcelona was the only city in Europe which suited us: young, dynamic, with a special nightlife, an own scene etc.

We had the confidence of being able to offer the appropriate rent. Beyond that, the Fira de Barcelona was very fair, we only had to pay for the space we used. Like this, we were able to grow without big precedent investments. Before we signed the contract with the Fira de Barcelona, we had invited ca. 150 exhibitors to Barcelona shortly before Christmas 2004. Nearly every one of the present potential exhibitors was thrilled by the location. After their positive estimation, we informed the industry that we would take place in Barcelona from summer 2005 on.”

In January 2005, the last event under the motto “SELECTED” should take place in Berlin. 650 exhibitors and 42,000 visitors came to the grounds of the Insel Gartenfeld. Hour-long traffic congestions around the area, endless waiting at the ticket counters, even the halls had to be partly closed due to overcrowding – that was the situation back then. This event was the strongest one in Berlin to date.

In July 2005, the first BREAD & BUTTER in Barcelona took place. Simultaneously, and other than planned, the Pirelli halls on the Insel Gartenfeld were available – directly after the announcement of BREAD & BUTTER’s leaving.

Müller: “Now, we were in trouble. We already had announced our leaving Berlin with all our marketing tools and now had to explain to the industry that we would stay in Berlin and not go to Barcelona. At that time, contracts in Barcelona had already been signed.”

Of course, not all exhibitors were pro Barcelona. Many had indeed put their German interests in the foreground, for example German agents resp. importers, strong German brands etc. Many exhibitors pleaded for a double event.

The three-year contract offered by Pirelli meant first of all a substantial financial investment. For the first time, the industry thought of a double event in Berlin and Barcelona.

Karl-Heinz Müller continues: ”This plan was an enormous logistic challenge for our team, our service providers and last but not least for our exhibitors. I believed in the success of a double event, and finally signed a three-year contract. It was a nerve-racking time, particularly since we entered absolutely unknown territory in the tradeshow landscape.”

The NORTH-SOUTH axis was born. Northern Europe should be served from Berlin, and Southern Europe from Barcelona. However, Barcelona had, due to the better infrastructure, the first date in the season, Berlin should take place two weeks later.

The first event in Barcelona in July 2005 was so perfectly organised, that no feeling of a “first event” arose. The extraordinarily good conditions, the infrastructure of a professional trade show area, furthered our success decisively.

45,000 visitors came to the first event in Barcelona – 3,000 more than to the last, outstanding event in Berlin. Two weeks later, only 26,000 visitors came to the German capital. Particularly the international visitors were missing. The press reacted accordingly to this visitor decrease of 40%.
Date queries with the competitors in Berlin and Germany produced a bad atmosphere in Berlin and made the situation even worse.

Parallel to Barcelona, three events took place in Berlin until summer 2006. In January 2006, nearly 30,000 visitors could be counted again in Berlin. However, these numbers could not be compared to the earlier BREAD & BUTTER tradeshows in Berlin.

Compared to the dynamic Mediterranean BREAD & BUTTER in Barcelona, the event in Berlin was only nationally shaped. Barcelona became the measure of all things. The big exhibitors had bundled their marketing budgets in favour of Barcelona. At that time, already 50,000 visitors were counted in Barcelona.

To the event in July 2006, only 20,000 visitors found their way to the Spree. This should become the, for the time being, last BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands in Berlin. The attempt to market the winter edition in January 2007 failed.

However, there were requests for a format in Berlin. A possible solution appeared to be the newly developed concept BBB Kraftwerk. It should be a drastic difference to Barcelona: namely typically Berlin, untraditional, creative – in short: different from everything that had been there before. The industry did not respond to BBB Kraftwerk sufficiently. For BREAD & BUTTER, it was a financial disaster.

From 26 to 27 January 2007, the up to date last big party of BREAD & BUTTER in Berlin took place, in the disused Vattenfall plant at Köpenicker Strasse.

“After that, we were forced to decide against Berlin, and chose Barcelona as the only venue for our event. At that time, this was the right and only possible step. In Barcelona, we grew massively, as well as matured as a company.

We introduced the AGM- Active Guest Management in Barcelona. All our professional guests were taken care for before the event, and supplied with all information on the event as well as with tickets. From now on, the entry was free, and the exhibitors took care of the arising costs.

This decisive step led to the incredible result which we can draw with the BREAD & BUTTER BARCELONA. Altogether, we could, in the past four years, welcome more than 600,000 visitors in Barcelona; here, we have advanced to become the international leading tradeshow for Street and Urbanwear in Europe. Then, Barcelona was a first-class choice – however: it’s time to move on“, Karl-Heinz Müller says.

“The city of Barcelona as well as the trade show association Fira de Barcelona were fantastic partners for the BREAD & BUTTER and played a substantial role in its success story. But the desire of the market for anew change was strongly tangible.

“The market is the boss – and it needs exactly now a substantial renewal and further development.” These significant words by Karl-Heinz Müller bring the decision for a new venue for the tradeshow to the point. “The industry demands something spectacular from us, but also something that serves the industry needs.

Karl-Heinz Müller concludes: “With the return to Berlin, we provide the right answer to the demands of the market. In Barcelona, we could record visitor numbers unprecedented in the tradeshow events.

However, I am convinced that we will further expand these numbers in Berlin and above all, in connection with the spectacular location, the airport Berlin-Tempelhof.

Everyone loves Berlin, the Italians, the Dutch, the Scandinavians, the English, and so on. We will also thrill our newly gained friends from Spain and Portugal with Berlin. Above all, I count on many visitors from overseas, the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia.

We return home well invigorated.”

AIRPORT BERLIN-TEMPELHOF – an architectural jewel in the centre of Berlin

The airport Berlin-Tempelhof, disused since October 2008, will be once again the new linchpin of Street- and Urbanwear.

The historical airport became famous as the starting- and landing point of the Berlin Airlift, which supplied Berlin from 23 June 1948 to 12 May 1949 with vital basic commodities and food.

Since then, the Berlin-Tempelhof airport is an international symbol for humanity and fraternity. The community spirit so important for BREA D& BUTTER is therewith directly inscribed into the DNA of the location, and harmonises in this sense also with the values of “BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands” on an idealistic level.

The historical building, one of the longest coherent buildings of the world, will be rebuilt under consideration of the protection of historical buildings and monuments and in coordination with the owner, and adapted to the requirements of the “tradeshow for selected brands”.

The necessary infrastructure, such as the connection of the hangars, the assembly of the climate technique and toilet facilities, will be adapted and built in the course of this year under the direction of Ulrich Weingärtner and BREAD & BUTTER architect team.
The central location of the new tradeshow venue as well as its direct connection to three tube lines make the airport Berlin-Tempelhof the optimal venue of the new BREAD & BUTTER BERLIN:

BREAD & BUTTER BERLIN – the industry kick-off

The upcoming BREAD & BUTTER BERLIN will take place from 1-3 July 2009. The early date is characteristic for an international leading tradeshow and serves as a kick-off for the entire industry. Therefore, BREAD & BUTTER sticks to the already announced date from Barcelona – the early date will further strengthen the venue Berlin.

“The BREAD & BUTTER has to take place at the earliest date possible in the season, this is essential for all those involved in the textile industry and the retail. The “tradeshow for selected brands” serves the earliest possible information and order-triggering preliminary decision. Only if the buyers and retailers can inform early, the ordering can begin on time and can be concluded early. This again helps the industry in the production of the collections. Like this, the new merchandise can arrive earlier at the Point of Sale.

I assume that the other Berlin events will join us in this early date. Only with a united effort, Berlin can establish itself lastingly as the fashion capital in Germany and Europe”, says Karl-Heinz Müller.

Germany has got its leading tradeshow back, and with its early date, the German as well as the European tradeshow landscape will newly assort itself.

With the BREAD & BUTTER, there will be a highly frequented, early tradeshow platform as the international industry meeting point for information, order decision and assortment planning.

At the order locations such as e.g. Düsseldorf or Munich, the decisions made in Berlin will then be put on paper.

FUTURE CONCEPT – new bench mark in a new location

The BREAD & BUTTER BERLIN at airport Berlin-Tempelhof has to and will set new standards. The assembly of the hangar areas allows this.

Contentwise, the BREAD & BUTTER will continue to focus on its core competences Denim, Young Fashion and Sport Lifestyle. In the Urbanwear segment, “Dressed up labels” for Women and Men play a major role. The exhibiting brands will, according to their genre, be presented in newly conceptualized, stylistically coordinated “neighbourhoods”.

“BREAD & BUTTER – tradeshow for selected brands” has to be built up similarly to the specialised shops of the textile retail.

There is the “authentic store”: here, for example Selvage Denim by Levi’s, Wrangler Blue Bell and PRPS in combination with Red Wing, Trickers, Engeneered Garments, Johnson Motors and Nigel Cabourn are carried.

Other stores carry a more fashionable, higher genre assortment from California and mainly from the USA, or again a more commercially characterized assortment of Jeans and Sportswear with the respective shows and sneakers.

Beyond that, there is the young Menswear store, the Sport Lifestyle store etc. Some labels are compatible with many segments.

“Our tradeshow has to be built up in exactly the same way as the retail works. To transfer this concept onto a trade show is very ambitious, but in my eyes the right way for the future. I am sure that the industry will follow our thoughts”, says Karl-Heinz Müller.

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THE SOURCE as the logical addition to BREAD & BUTTER will be further integrated into the whole concept of the tradeshow, and further developed within these genres. Concurrent to its experiences, the BREAD & BUTTER will further strengthen its efforts and use the distinct location advantage of Berlin to present the “Sourcers” with an appropriate concept. The Showrooms, on ground level, of different sizes, and directly accessible, provide the representatives of the apparel sourcing industry with optimal working conditions.

It remains a fact: designers, product managers, production leaders or buyers – they are all present anyway. The apparel sourcing industry belongs to that, even is the base of it all. The best conditions are fulfilled.

Apart from that, there will be separate offices built into the buildings for the exhibitors, buyer teams or press representatives, in order to provide them with an ideal business platform in this way.

The actual exhibition space of the Berlin-Tempelhof airport approx. corresponds to that of Barcelona. With seven hangars, the roofed, open airfield as well as with the departure hall, the BREAD & BUTTER uses the whole building complex.

INVOLVEMENT OF THE CITY – a common interest in the fashion site Berlin.

BREAD & BUTTER is especially glad for the involvement of the Berlin senate under the guidance of Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, who has significantly supported Berlin’s returning home.

The discussion about the closing of the airport and the further use of the area was a big issue in Berlin. However, the senate acted quickly, and made its decision in favor of BREAD & BUTTER.

Karl-Heinz Müller: “ We have made an agreement with the city for ten years – with the option for an extension of further 10 years. With this frame conditions, Berlin is simply the best city for a sustainably successful BREAD & BUTTER as the internationally leading trade show.”

Also the big partners of the city, such as the Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH, DEHOGA – the Berlin hotel- and gastronomy association, Berlin Tourismus Marketig GmbH and Berlin Partner GmbH supported the return of BREAD & BUTTER to Berlin energetically.

Karl-Heinz Müller concludes: “At this point, I would like to say thank you for the great help and support, which have remarkably facilitated our returning home to Berlin. I am sure that the connection BERLIN and BREAD & BUTTER will be a long lasting success story. I am looking forward to the time ahead of us.”

Berlin, 28 January 2009

BREAD & butter Berlin GmbH
Münzstraße 13
10178 Berlin, Germany
Fon: +49 (0)30 400 44 - 0
Fax: +49 (0)30 400 44 101

Press Contacts BREAD & BUTTER

Nadine Sanchez
nadine.sanchez@breadandbutter.com
Fon +49 (0)30 400 44 195
Fax +49 (0)30 400 44 150

Jenny Boers
jenny.boers@breadandbutter.com
Fon +49 (0)30 400 44 233
Fax +49 (0)30 400 44 101

This release was published on openPR.