MAGIC occupies over 1 million square feet of exhibit space. Subsidiary shows are:  PROJECT, POOL and the ACCESSORIES SHOW. The MAGIC show compromises of approximately 3,600 manufacturers, over 5,000 brands and private label resources. The show represents buying power from all 50 states and 80 countries around the world. Buyers at MAGIC represent nearly 70% of the US $114B apparel business. Each (twice yearly) the show attracts over 100,000 attendees from around the world and 80% of the top 35 retail account shops in the USA.

The 2007 MAGIC show took place in Las Vegas Nevada USA from 27 - 30 August. This was South Africa’s second participation in the show. The SA pavilion comprising of 11 participants was led by the South African Textile Industry Export Council (SATIEC) with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), the South African Consulate General in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The South African Pavilion stand was located in the Casual /Contemporary Sections of the North Hall at booths 16731 & 16531 – the pavilion location was a major factor in the success of the South African participants.

The look of the South African Pavilion was unique and vibrant in comparison to some other stands within the North Hall. We were by no means the best in the North Hall. Although we covered a fair radius of space quite a few buyers commented that it was by mere chance that they stumbled onto our pavilion. The stands in the North Hall differed from small booths to larger pavilions.

In terms of the layout of the MAGIC show, it consists of the North Hall - exhibiting mainly women and junior contemporary wear as well as Lingerie. The Central Hall exhibiting mainly men’s contemporary and designer wear as well as active wear.

It has to be strongly considered that because of the huge size of MAGIC buyers do not have the time or interest to visit all sections of the exhibition. Therefore the location of an exhibitor at the show becomes critical in terms of attracting the right buyers.

CLOTEX exhibited a range of classic women’s “Plus Size” outerwear in beautiful South African fabrications. These simple classic styles allowed the plus size women to accessorise the garment in their own specific way. Our product mix was limited but impressive to buyers.

The South African Pavilion was lively and as an exhibitor we realised that retail buyers have an idea of what they would want to purchase for the season as forecasted trends have already given them an overview of the markets hottest sellers. It’s really on the second or third day of the show that buyers after visiting there known customers would begin to shop around for new and diverse merchandise.

The CLOTEX stand was relatively busy as we had a few buyers that were interested in our merchandise. We tested the market on our pricing and product offering and without a doubt our prices were relatively consistent with other companies exhibiting. Our target customers were not the huge retail stores but the smaller groups who managed a small chain of stores. There is a definitely a gap for manufactures who could manufacture smaller runs to suit the customers needs.