Just Around the Corner concludes its FW23 London edition successfully

Brick Lane was a flurry of activity as Juls Dawson’s trade event, Just Around the Corner, opened its doors on Wednesday for its London edition of AW23. With the last day of the trade event on Thursday, the attendance numbers broke previous records set by the event hitting nearly 1200 buyers. Visitors included a range of key accounts, spanning New Look, Morleys, Anthropologie, Very, QVC, Frasers Group, JLP, Next, Sainsburys, Space NK, Slaters, Fenwick, Hoopers, Debenhams, Urban Outfitters and ASOS.

What an enjoyable show for us. Perfectly executed and we got to show product to buyers from retailers that were on our target list. The team at JATC kept us well informed introduced us to some key accounts we never knew we needed.

The event spanned the entire first floor of the Truman Brewery, tripling its previous footprint on as exhibitor numbers increased to X140 and each stand was provided with 50% more floorspace giving the show an airy yet considered feel. Praise was made for the logical layout of several zones through interconnecting rooms around the perimeter of the building, encircling a central hall where the lounge area and complimentary food/coffees were provided.

Great to see a show expanding and lively and with a good emphasis on sustainable brands, you also felt looked after which some shows forget about.

Juls Dawson, founder of the event explained “Our new Lifestyle and Beauty zone debuted at the show with brands showcasing jewellery, skincare, mens grooming, gifting, home fragrance and was an area which created a lot of attention and one which we definitely see growth on in upcoming seasons as we have had the specialist buyers here over the two days for these categories, but of course there is also so much relevance to our existing fashion buyers’ remits as retail environments now cross over from fashion into these product groups and vice versa."

Several of the brands present at the trade event also had the support of the Danish Embassy, Spanish Footwear Federation and French Consulate and were grouped together in the respective “pavilions” and really created a focus for brands from European neighbours. In addition, the "Together zone" housed genderless or dual gender brands, reflecting the change in consumer buying patterns.

"The mood of the show, from exhibitors and buyers alike was upbeat overall, despite several that I spoke to reporting a tough January trade wise. There was also currently an underlying feeling towards buyers playing it safe and looking for sharper price points given the cost of living crisis, and with our brand mix, we are a show perfectly positioned to satisfy this this trend."