Karen Berman on Just Around The Corner's new beauty and lifestyle zone

Earlier this year, Just Around the Corner trade show announced the dates for its AW23 editions and the launch of a new zone dedicated to beauty and lifestyle.

The new area will cover skincare, grooming, fragrance, wellness, jewellery and home, curated by industry veteran, Karen Berman.

Berman tells TheIndustry.beauty about Just Around The Corner's plans for the new zone and the type of brands that are signed up already.

You've had a long career in the beauty industry, before we get on to JATC, can you give us a brief background into your career?

My career in the beauty and retail industry really grew from my family’s involvement within the childrenswear industry. My late father was the Chairman of the Childrenswear Association for many years and was also in manufacturing and retail.

My actual career started at Woman’s Own magazine where I was the PA to the Art Editor. Next, and my “claim to fame”, Fashion Editor to the iconic teen publication, Jackie Magazine, where I was credited for changing the line-drawings to photographic fashion images.

Whilst trekking around the quintessential fashion district of Great Portland Street area collecting clothes for the weekly shoots, someone said to me “you would be great in PR”. My learning curve in PR started with a blue-chip PR Agency where I was responsible for young OTC-skincare and colour cosmetics.

Several years later I headed to Selfridges and became its first Fashion & Beauty PR solely catering for the major launches within the beauty and fashion floors to the press. Where does one go after Selfridges?  Becoming the founder of your own Consultancy and PR Agency.

You are working with Juls and the team at JATC to curate a beauty offer at the shows, what is the opportunity you see here for adding this to a trade show for fashion?

I am passionate about giving small and niche brands “a voice” to speak to retail buyers and decision makers. So often the small personally funded brands are never heard over the larger multi national brands, which is particularly hard in today’s challenging times. When I heard what Juls Dawson and his team at JATC were doing so successfully with fashion, I approached Juls and he understood immediately what had to be done with beauty. It was then that we needed to launch a Showcase for these brands and products.

There are no B2B trade platforms inside the UK for brand owners within the beauty, grooming and wellness arena. It is becoming more apparent nowadays that all retailers are wanting to offer their core customers bolt on products. For example – a menswear retailer understands they have to offer their customer a retail experience, hence grooming products would be the ideal answer.

Question is: where does a retailer, or buyer, or decision maker, go to find newness? Hence my discussion with Juls and his Team at JATC. The New Zone is included in the AW23 show, which is at running 8-9 February 2023 at The Truman Brewery, situated in Brick Lane.

What type of brands are you looking to work with and can you tell us of any that are on board already?

The type of brands we are looking to join us within The New Zone are beauty, beauty essentials, wellbeing, grooming, home fragrance, wearable accessories, jewellery, homeware, lifestyle and seasonal gifting.

Juls and I are very aware that indie and emerging brands are absolutely needing to undertake a B2B trade show to further their network of retailers, and grow their business, but we're also aware of the costs of undertaking such an event! JATC have based their exhibiting costs on affordable stands, with premium display furniture. With a pared back appearance to the event hall, every brand is on a “level playing field”. Stand prices start from just £1,500.

We believe we can offer a B2B trade environment like no other exhibition in the UK. We have also heard that The New Zone is also gaining traction with buyers, with some saying they're excited to see what will be on offer. All visitors will be offered complimentary food and coffee, pastries and beverages from our eclectic mix of street vendors and baristas.

The brands on board at this time span the men’s grooming and wellness category, as well as some iconic names in home fragrance and jewellery. We are going to have some amazing new launches too at this show, and the great unveiling of brands will be launched shortly. Each day brings more brands joining The New Zone at JATC.

Will we see the beauty offer at both the London and Manchester shows and will they be different in each city if so?

The New Zone will only be showcased this first season within the London AW23 show. JATC promotes an order writing environment. After all, new business and writing orders are factors critical to a brand reviewing how successful the show was. We also do not sell space, only stands. We also allocate our exhibitors to their stands very close to the lead up to the physical dates of the show, in order to give our visitors, the most logical and sensible journey around the event, positioning brands with close brand adjacencies in order to mirror a retail environment as far as possible.

On the fashion side you attract independents, multiples, department stores and etailers, can we expect a similarly broad mix to visit the beauty offer?

Yes, the fashion buyers who usually attend JATC will also be joined this coming season by beauty, wellness and lifestyle buyers. From the UK and Europe, all buyers are looking for original, contemporary, unique and unusual brands ~ in a word ‘newness’.

I have definitely listened to the brands that are joining us and where they have requested a particular buyer to attend, the JATC Team and I will do our utmost for them to attend. We encourage all buyers interested in attending both of the JATC events to register soon.

What do you believe you can offer beauty brands and buyers that perhaps other shows can’t?

JATC is growing exponentially, but we are proud not to have forgotten the touches that make us truly unique, and an independent event.

I believe that once beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands understand the concept of exhibiting with us at The New Zone within JATC London, they will see their B2B trade flourish and their retail network increase.

As with the returning fashion brands from previous events, who are seeing great results, we know that the beauty and lifestyle zone will be here to stay and become established as the go to B2B marketplace for all things beauty and lifestyle. The brands are super excited about having a forum to get in front of an audience that perhaps isn’t in their normal reach. They see our vision and our unique format and the amount of both exhibitors and buyers signing up are superseding our expectations.

What are you most excited about for the January/February events?

I have been involved in the fashion and beauty industry for over 40 years and have visited trade exhibitions both in this country and overseas. I can honestly say that JATC is the future of fashion, and now, beauty and lifestyle B2B trade events. I am also very excited to see fashion and beauty brands exhibit side by side in a retail trade environment, giving indie, emerging and niche brands the voice I have always wanted them to have.

If you are a brand owner or work with a brand, Just Around The Corner want to hear from you. To learn more and register your interest, click the QR code below:

Contact Karen Berman, Curator of Beauty and Lifestyle at Just Around The Corner: karen@justconsultancies.co.uk or 07725 543142