Neonyt is showing how conventional retail and sustainable fashion go together

Eco fashion showcased and interpreted in a contemporary way – that is nothing new for Neonyt, the global hub for fashion, sustainability and innovation. Nevertheless, in conventional multi-label retail sustainable product ranges are still finding themselves relegated to the sidelines. During Berlin Fashion Week (2-4 July), the fashion fair at Kraftwerk will be focusing on the topic of retail with an accompanying conference line-up. Participants include Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Stuttgart shopping centre Das Gerber, Katag, Ramelow, Tchibo, True Standard, the United Nations (UN) and Zalando.

Sustainability has become one of the dominant megatrends for the textile and fashion industry. As a result of the new customer awareness, stakeholder pressure and risk management, most companies can’t afford not to deal intensively and honestly with the topic and develop individual strategies. The transformation concerns all steps of the textile supply chain – from the raw material to fashion retail.

“More than ever before, multi-label fashion retail needs to reinvent itself,” says Thimo Schwenzfeier, Show Director of Neonyt. “Now that many companies have only just started implementing futureproof digital and omnichannel concepts, they are now facing the next challenge – to bring sustainability onto the shop floor. Success and failure are often difficult to measure in the established KPI systems. And profitable product ranges have to be re-planned and processes rethought.”

Retail Lab: Keynotes and panels

More than a mere tradeshow, Neonyt is therefore a fitting place to address these challenges: organised by Messe Frankfurt, it is a marketing platform with a comprehensive line-up of side events taking place at Kraftwerk Berlin during Berlin Fashion Week. The discussions and presentations are aimed at professional visitors and the focus this summer will be on conventional retail.

Contemporary, topical and highly relevant topics for the retail trade will be covered by retail experts in keynote speeches and talks, including sustainable buying, shop floor solutions, the KPI performance and system capability of fair fashion labels, transferring knowledge to employees, as well as employer branding and the strategic communication of sustainability aspects at the POS.

These talks will begin straight after a daily, complimentary Retail Breakfast, which will be taking place on all three days of the show from 8:30 am in the sunny garden of Kraftwerk. This working breakfast is aimed in particular at conventional multi-label retailers. Together with the new, earlier opening time of 9:00 am, the Retail Talks therefore offer a morning briefing and help provide orientation at the start of each day.

Arrival in the mainstream

“For us as a mainstream fashion retailer, sustainability is a key topic for us in 2019. We are noticing our customers’ interest and want to do better. And Neonyt can help us with that. The noticeably younger audience and the technological aspect are making ecological fashion a central innovation topic,” says Marc Ramelow, managing partner of the Gustav Ramelow fashion chain store from Elmshorn in the north of Germany.

Bringing together companies that have developed innovative production processes and visionary solutions, Neonyt is therefore accelerating a more sustainable development of the fashion industry. Under the thematic umbrella of the Retail Forum, Neonyt is showing developments that support retailers in seamlessly integrating sustainability into existing concepts. In the talks, decision-makers will also be offered opportunities to gain inspiration, think ahead and network.

Within this context, at the beginning of each day at 9:30 am, both on Tuesday 2 and Thursday 3 July, analysis-based consultancy firm Facit will be presenting the results of a consumer survey that it carried out on behalf of Neonyt. And on Tuesday 2 July at 10:30 am, following the live streaming of the Neonyt fashion show, the German Fashion Council is inviting guests to a meet and greet – including a panel with Phylyda and Working Title, two of the winners of the German Sustain Concept.

At noon on Wednesday 3 July, Kerry Bannigan, representative of the UN Initiative Conscious Fashion Campaign, together with Katag and Bernd Keller, founder of the label True Standard and the eponymous consultancy, will be discussing the question of how sustainable fashion can arrive in the mass market and how the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals can contribute to this as POS communication.

In another panel on the topic “Employer Branding & Employer Education” Ramelow will be showing its app-based video training programme for employees to the public for the first time. In the following panel, Zalando will also be presenting its vision of how know-how can be transferred to a workforce. Swiss fibre and production company Remei AG is showing how transparent and sustainable products can be created at entry-level prices. Under the title “The future of retail on demand – From pixel to sales”, Gemini, among others, will be shedding light on the sustainability-relevant topic of manufacturing on demand. And the panel on rental fashion will be highlighting consumer needs: “How rental services create loyalty”.

At 2:00 pm on Tuesday 2 July, Pyua and Tchibo will be taking a joint look at their collaboration that is set to launch in winter 2019 – the traditional company from Hamburg is selling the ski collection by the pioneering label for functional outerwear in its online shop. Afterwards, Mud Jeans, Pyua and Tchibo will be discussing the question of whether sustainability can be communicated at the point of sale. On both days, discussion panels will also be dedicated to the question: how can I scale sustainable fashion for the retail trade? Participants include Erdbär, Lanius, Melawear and the BMZ – the topics discussed will include the question of to what extent a state meta-seal for consumers would provide orientation and support retailers in communicating sustainability.

On a separate space and in a keynote speech under the title “Econic Goods of Gerber”, Stuttgart shopping centre Das Gerber will be presenting its shop floor vision of how sustainability can be seamlessly embedded into existing POS surroundings. As Peter Fiegle, Managing Director of Gerber, explains: “We focus on companies that are taking alternative, more sustainable paths in the manufacturing of their products, as well as on second hand, recycling and upcycling. Sustainability will increasingly define future retail. With “Econic Goods of Gerber” we want to take this into account and provide our customers with a wide offer.”

All panels and presentations will be held at Kraftwerk Berlin on Tuesday and Wednesday 2 and 3 July and are incorporated into the line-up of the Fashionimpact and Fashionsustain conference formats taking place parallel to Neonyt. The complete line-up will be announced on the Neonyt website soon.

Dates
NEONYT Hub       2-4 July 2019
Trade Show
Fashionimpact
Prepeek
Fashionsustain       2-3 July 2019
Fashion Show      2 July 2019, 10:00 am

Press releases & photos:
www.neonyt.com/presse

Press contact:
KERN.
Mira Hein
Tel: +49 69 65 00 88 65
E-mail: hello@kern.consulting

Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. It employs a workforce of 2,500* at around 30 sites and generates annual sales of around EUR 715* million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit: www.messefrankfurt.com
* Provisional key figures for 2018