Businesses reap rewards of backing fashion

By IRENE CHAPPLE

Sponsors are patting their back pockets as the success of the L'Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week trickles down to the bottom line.

As the glamour fades and the bean counting begins, early indications show that riding on the fashion wagon was a slick investment.

Businesses and Auckland City say they are still reaping the rewards of the event's financial spin-off.

L'Oreal Professionel, Trade New Zealand and Industry New Zealand each put in at least $70,000 to be top-shelf sponsors.

Deutz and evian - under the Montana umbrella - provided cash and products and the Sheraton Auckland qualified as a major sponsor through its provision of services.

The Heart of the City business group and Auckland City Council contributed around $50,000. Support sponsors also gave several thousand dollars in cash and provided products and contra deals.

By far the biggest cash supporter, naming-rights owner L'Oreal Paris, put in "significantly" more than $100,000 cash, said Frances Stead, managing director of L'Oreal New Zealand, owner of the Paris and Professionel brands.

The cash value invested was then doubled by promotional deals.

Mrs Stead said L'Oreal Paris ran - and paid for - an extensive media campaign.

A billboard opposite the Town Hall for six weeks would cost, at rate card, $50,000.

More than 100 smaller billboards were slapped around bus-shelters and shopping centres throughout Auckland. Promotions were run through a four-page Beauty Odyssey, inserted in Next, Fashion Quarterly and Style Magazine.

L'Oreal also took exclusive advertising in the fashion week supplement produced by Style magazine, and employed a public relations company to promote the event.

Forty-six makeup artists put 650 hours into the event, including at the L'Oreal Powder Room where media types, buyers and VIPs retired between shows to be pampered.

More than 100 hairdressers put in around 750 hours.

This included work on the Hair and Fashion Extravaganza show, which was open to the public during fashion week. It grossed $15,600 during the one night it showed.

L'Oreal then boosted other promotions on the strength of its fashion week connection.

Energy Fizz, L'Oreal's summer makeup collection, rode on the fashion week name to record extraordinary sales.

Temporary staff were hired at the pharmacies and department stores it sold through to cope with an influx of customers. Often buyers were convinced to make a purchase by freebie makeover sessions received from L'Oreal stalls planted throughout the central business district.

"Several hundred units - a lipstick or nail-polish - were sold in those few days," said Mrs Stead.

"Normally only a few units would be sold in a day. They were selling about 50."

In October, L'Oreal New Zealand clocked up its record financial month. It was a 25 per cent increase on its previous record, made the previous October.

Mrs Stead said being involved for the inaugural year was a gamble. Initially, the media were reluctant to include the sponsor's name when mentioning fashion week. By the end of the event a relationship was built up between the media and L'Oreal.

"People did begin to call it L'Oreal Fashion Week, because they could see that we were committed to it and weren't just going to walk away," she said. L'Oreal New Zealand intends to be naming-rights sponsor again next year, and says next time it will offer more cash, time and talent.

Trade New Zealand contributed $75,000 to fashion week. Officially it is the event's strategic partner, aiming to promote New Zealand overseas.

Its trade commissioner in Melbourne organised events in the Australian Zambesi boutiques to promote fashion week, and Trade New Zealand held export workshops in Christchurch and Auckland during September for the fashion industry.

It is too early to quantify the financial return, but apparel and textiles sector manager Anne Chappaz said the sponsorship had proved a cost-effective way of showcasing New Zealand to the world.

Foreign exchange expenditure over the week has not yet been calculated. Usually it is measured between six months and 12 months after initial meetings with buyers and sellers.

However, Mrs Chappaz said early indications suggested designers had covered their costs in new accounts and increased orders.

Trade New Zealand's sponsorship was part of a strategy to build exports in the sector, said Mrs Chappaz.

"Trade New Zealand saw L'Oreal Fashion Week as an opportunity to upskill apparel exporters and potential exporters," she said.

Exports now exceed $250 million a year, an increase of about 17 per cent on the previous year.

Industry New Zealand allocated the week $100,000, which event manager Arthur Klap said was an initial boost for an inaugural event.

He said it was likely to support the event at a similar level for the next two years, then reduce support as fashion week became financially secure.

In support of its involvement, Industry New Zealand joined Trade NZ to run seminars for the designers.

It brought Rebecca Taylor, a New York-based, New Zealand-born designer, to mentor students from local design schools. She did not charge for her time, but Industry New Zealand covered travel and accommodation costs.

The investment was to help establish L'Oreal Fashion Week as a valuable part of the industry, said Mr Klap. This would lead to international sales and promotion of New Zealand fashion overseas.

Heart of the City put $50,000 into the fashion week coffers. The downtown business group's spokesman, Alex Swney, said supporting fashion week was high risk from a sponsor's viewpoint. There was no track record for sponsors to bank on and, as an inaugural event, there were up-front fixed costs.

But for Auckland's 1400 CBD retailers it was inconceivable that the event could be staged outside the city, he said.

Heart of the City's early confirmation of sponsorship, along with Auckland City Council's $40,000 support, got the ball rolling and added certainty for the event, he added.

Heart of the City would support the event next year. Anecdotal evidence indicated the cash outlay was well justified. Commercial sponsors such as Sheraton Auckland, Deutz, evian and support sponsor Jaguar are keeping mum on what the event cost them. But they rave about what it meant for their business.

Jaguar used the event to boost sales of its new X-Type. It lent one to fashion week organiser Pieter Stewart for two months, and general manager Robert Nash can point to at least one potential sale that was made through the fashion week connection.

"Someone was having a conversation with my wife and fashion week came up - they mentioned the car they'd seen Pieter drive," he said.

The deal had not been closed yet, but it was being worked on.

Montana Group commercial manager Richard Anyon said fashion week was an ideal opportunity to showcase premium celebratory methode traditionnelle.

Meanwhile, organisers are busy collating the figures. Some statistics they can confirm: Three thousand glasses of Deutz were consumed over the week, and 10,000 photographs were taken.

One hundred and forty international delegates were there, and 1500 outfits were shown.

A vital figure all sponsors will be waiting for is the estimated advertising value. At this stage, it is expected to reach $2 million.