Discover more MAGIC in 2024 with Kelly Helfman, President of MAGIC

How many of you are headed to Magic? Whether you went to Magic in Miami or you're going to Nashville or right now you're getting ready to head to Las Vegas. Now, going to Magic is definitely one of my favorite shows. Throughout the year. I never miss a show. I go in both February and in August. And today I couldn't be more excited than to have the opportunity to dig into what you can expect from this coming Magic and project and sourcing and all the shows taking place in Las Vegas, but also to share a very special announcement with you about our brand new partnership between the Boutique Hub and Magic. So today on the podcast, please help me welcome my dear, dear friend, Kelly Helfman, the president of Magic and all of the markets you guys are going to love. Not only hearing from her and what to expect, but some behind the scenes as well. Get ready and meet my friend, Kelly Helfman. Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually works from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and the entire ecosystem behind it. How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts and strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and I can't wait to chat. Guys, welcome back. This week it's I get to have a BFF on the podcast today. How lucky am I? I'm always talking to you guys about your boutique besties. I'm so lucky. Kelly Helfman from Magic is joining us today. Welcome to the show again.

Hi. My bff. Love you, girl. So grateful for you and thank you for having me on again.

I'm so glad that you're back. Oh, my goodness. We have got some exciting things to talk about today. Today, you. For anyone who has not had an opportunity to meet you yet, you are the queen of all things magic. You are. You know, not only do you put on this incredible trade show, but I feel like you just as an individual are so inspiring to those who follow you and you're like your own fashion icon. You've got all these good things going.

I've let you down lately because I just have not had a ton of motivation. I've been living in my yoga pants. But thank you. You're so sweet and I think it's really important that we're just authentic and open about everything. We're running these businesses and doing the best we can and I think you and I really try to show up authentically to our community. So thank you for recognizing that because it's definitely not easy, and we're pretty vulnerable.

Yeah, that's so true. And you've spoken so much more openly in the last year. Two years. And. And shown up just as the. The version of yourself that we all know and love, real and raw. And I appreciate that about you.

Thank you.

Well, you and I have got some exciting stuff to talk about today. So do you show you the drum roll and you do. You do the big share? Okay.

Okay. You want to. How are you going to drum roll it? Like. Like, I don't.

I mean, you have 50 cent coming, so anything that I do is total.

I mean, it's kind of incredible. So we'll put 50 cent to the side, even though I really don't want to. I'm so. I have a major crush on this guy. But we, Boutique, Hub, and Magic have partnered for 2024 in a much deeper way, everybody. Really so exciting. We've worked together a ton in the past, but in 2024, boutique, hub, and Magic are going to really partner up to be able to provide your entire community and also our community that may not know the Hub and bring you so much more benefits, content, resources, education. So much. So Ash is going to have. Her company is going to have placement at each of our shows. So Magic is obviously in Las Vegas, New York. We just had a show in Miami and Nashville. And the Hub will have space at each of our magic shows where you guys are going to be connecting with your community, helping them. What else are you guys going to be doing? Doing meetups? All these things.

Yeah, so many things. So just a little bit of backstory on that. You know, you always feel like Magic is like the place. It's like the premiere. We all. We love all the shows. We go to all the shows, but, like, Magic is just really special when it comes to our apparel community. And it's one thing to go to the show, but it's another to feel like, okay, I go to the show and I know what I'm doing, and I feel like I'm using my time to the best of my ability. So for us, you know, having a safe space that our community and your community can come and say, hey, can you help me? Like, I need a little help with my budget, my open to buy plan. I need some tips on working with vendors. Maybe the traffic in my business is low right now, and I just need some general business tips, advice, and resources. The Hub is the central place where you know, anywhere on the Internet, no matter where you live in the world, you can come to find those resources. We just want to do that in an in person experience so that everyone coming to your show feels like, hey, I'm not here alone. I'm with a community who gets it and who has my back. And so we're so thankful to you all that, you know, we get to have that space on, on your show floor and hopefully make it that much more successful for both the vendors that are in the building, but every single retailer who's coming to shop the show as well.

It's going to be such a great added value. And I think that, I mean just to have somebody live, if something happens at a booth and you're not sure what to do or anything, you can just go right to you guys and have a safe space to talk. So you're going to have a space on the show floor in Las Vegas in and New York both coming up here right away and then Nashville and then we will. You guys will come back to the show in Las Vegas in August and then New York in September and the hubs really, I don't think ever been to New York, which is a big deal. It is such an incredible market and an opportunity for everyone to meet you guys.

Yeah, we're really excited about that. We get asked about that a lot about coming to New York and it's hard. You know, our team is that goes to markets is small. We're small but mighty. And we expanded more on the east coast in terms of our team this year which has allowed us to show up in a new way. So we're excited to be there. Thanks for, thanks for having us again.

Of course. And you know, another part of the partnership that I am really excited about, we are partnering on a newbies tour. We're calling it the BFF tour. And at Las Vegas, so on February 13th, new we have space for a hundred new buyers. We're going to be partnering together to give a show floor tour. Help them with all their questions and then there's so many fun perks they get. We're going to do a little happy hour, a mimosa, have lunch together, them some swag. So I think maybe we'll put the info in the notes. But I think it's February 13th at 11am if anybody's interested in Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Yes, we will. We'll definitely have all the info so you can sign up because space is limited. We'll put that in the show notes and then also in the show notes, we're going to link up all the different events and different things that are happening while we're together in Vegas. But that tour is so important. Kelly. I know you guys have had tours in the past. Our members have requested for us to do tours, so we've just kind of done tours on our own as well. But the fact that we get to bring this together, coming to a show for a new buyer can be really overwhelming, Especially show like magic, you know, that's so big. And then not only do you have magic, but you've got project, you got sourcing, and you've got all the things. So we're excited to talk about not only the lay of the land in terms of the show, but just how to maximize your time when you're on that show floor. Because it's so limited. So.

So can. You know what? I know we're both speaking in Las Vegas, so I want to talk about that. One of sessions I'm gonna do is before the tour. So on February 13, I do a session at 10am which is like how to shop the show 101, but it is more talking about what is where, what's actually in. Project versus sourcing versus magic. I go over all the fun stuff, the happy hours, the big performers, the celebs, you know, the swag bags, all the things, how to use the mobile app and. And search for brands and so forth. Then the Tour follows at 11, which is really exciting. And then you're speaking on the 14th.

Yeah, I'm speaking the next day, so. So let's just give everyone the lay of the land. If you sign up for the tour, I believe that comes with, like, a swag bag and a lunch ticket. Like, there's some extras.

They get a bff. I have it here. A BFF notebook. They get, like, a fancy pen from you guys. A fan favorite.

I have that on here.

A mimosa ticket, a lunch voucher, and a show bag. So it is going to be fun. And you'll meet so many friends that it's their first time too.

Absolutely. Our team will be there. We'll have several of our team from the hub that are going to be helping lead that tour. I love that you're kicking it off, speaking right before the tour. And then if you're sticking around the next day, I'll be there on. On that Wednesday the 14th. Happy Valentine's Day. We'll make it a Galentine's Day, love. I'm speaking on stage that afternoon. I'm going to be speaking about what can we learn from Taylor Swift's marketing in 2024? Sure. Brilliant. All the ways that you can take the things that really made the ERAS tour just blow up. I mean, besides the dating and the romance and I mean, we can't even replicate that. Are you kidding me? But we're going to take everything we can learn from her and we're going to put it to play in our business. So I'll be talking about that on stage. And then right after, I believe it's at 4 o', clock, we're hosting a Hub meetup where our booth is right in the middle of the show floor. So we're going to have cocktails, we're going to have all kinds of good stuff going on for our Hub meetup. So if you're a member, come on by. But if you're not a member of the Hub, come by anyway. We would still welcome you with open arms. We'd love to get to know you, hear about your business and see, you know, if there's any way we can help you going forward.

And all of this is in the west hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center. I know it can get confusing. So if it's somebody's first time we're in, we have shows in other halls, but the west hall is where both you and I are speaking in the lobby. And the west hall is also where your Hub booth is. Absolutely.

So let's do this, Kelly. Let's talk about for those who are new coming to the show, or maybe they've come to the show and they've only shopped Magic. Can you give everyone a lay of the land of the different types of shows that are there and where they're located?

Yeah. So the show in Las Vegas is February 13th to the 15th. It's all three days. We open at nine every day. We close at six on the first two days and I believe at four the last day. But all the information is@magicfashion events.com. basically, West hall is Magic, where it's all women's apparel, accessories, footwear, home beauty gift at a really, you know, great accessible price point. So it's what you know and love. Those great margin builders. Also some great young contemporary, real branded brands. So it's on trend. It ranges in terms of age and demographic. It's if you're in women's, you have to walk all of West Hall. You know, in every show we bring a ton of new brands. So if you think you've been there before, and you've seen it. At least 20% of our show floor ends up being new in that hall. Right. So you're here to discover new. Not, you know, you know who you want to see and you're tried and true and whatnot. But what's going to set everybody apart is discovering the new and being in person. You get to touch and feel it. Then in the north hall is our project show. So you might have some men's buyers who are listening here. And that's where all of our men's businesses as well as our more contemporary women's business. So project is a little bit more of an elevated price point and definitely still a lot of young contemporary brands. Some of those more like bridge sportswear brands. You're going to definitely want to go to project the women's portion. And then all the men's business is in that hall as well. So really, women's buyers should make time to watch walk all of west hall for magic. And then the women's portion of the north hall is. There's so much good stuff. And then sourcing is in the central hall. And sourcing really is for your folks. And I know you have brands that are members as well as a ton of boutique and retailers. That is where you, if you want to have a brand or do private label, you go to source. So that's where you can find manufacturers of big, big quantities, small minimums. You can find folks who just have trim like fabric or, or zippers or buttons. There's a lot of service providers for retailers and brands there. There's a ton around sustainability. So you definitely want to check that out if you are a brand or you are interested in launching a brand or have private label or want resources for your store. A lot of technologies for your stores as well.

Yeah, I love that. One other thing we'll put in the show notes for this today is we, I believe during the last show. So last August we did a whole like printable download for you guys on how to shop sourcing. Because sometimes you go in and you don't know what questions to ask because it is a little different than going to, you know, project and magic. So we'll link that up so you can get that resource. And then I would also recommend you have more education on stage at sourcing. Do you want to talk about what's available there to learn?

We have three stages there. It's incredible. We have one for like, more just startup emerging designers that are brand new. We've went on sustainability and technology. There is A sourcing resource center. A lot of people don't know this. We have a resource center that you can go and say, like, I'm just starting out. Where are the booths with small minimum orders or, you know, I'm looking to produce out of India. Where can I find the manufacturers from India that do footwear? So they will guide you. Pantone also has a representation, so they'll go over trends and colors complementary with you. But yes, those stages bring to you so many experts and also like trademark information and how to like make sure you're not knocking something. Like just really practical things. And it's all free to you. So part of coming to our show, if you are a registered buyer, we qualify all of our buyers. Obviously all of this is free to you. All the education, which is amazing.

It's incredible. You guys do, I mean, just the best in the business when it comes to providing all the extra perks and benefits and education and I mean, swag's great. Talk to me about 50 cent though. Nobody does.

You can find me in the.

Nobody does.

I can't. I'm. My millennial self is just dying. So. And he performed, remember, at the super bowl recently with like the whole 19th anniversary of hip hop.

It was so good.

Yes, Epic. So he is. And I didn't know like we just did Busta Rhymes in T Pain. I'm like, how are we gonna outdo ourselves? But we did. We did. So he is performing in the west hall on the same stage you and I are going to be speaking at in the lobby. Yes. On the opening day. So February 13th.

The.

The show closes at 6 and we do like a 6 to 8pm thing. We have an open bar that's hosted and he'll probably go on at 6:37. So you're definitely going to want to make sure you wrap things up, get there, get a good standing room only situation because it is going to be part of packed and it's free of charge for everybody who is coming to the show. Really exciting. There was one other thing I want to tell you. Oh. So all the fun stuff that we're talking about, education sessions, all the swag, all the, you know, open bar cocktail hours that are going across all three days, all three shows. There's so much. It is. You're going to be like, where do I find all this? You can go to our websites or our app. So the websites are magicfashion events.com project fashion events.com sourcing magic.com. but you just download our magic app on The App Store and you put in Magic Las Vegas. And it will have all three shows, all the things. So you can start marking, like, which sessions you want to go to, which happy hours you want to go to, which booths. You know, you can sort by, like, I'm looking for plus size in this range. I'm, you know, and. And really pre plan. And I think that's a huge tool for folks that a lot of people know about, but for first timers, you may not know about that.

Yeah, I think your app is so well done. I highly encourage everyone, you know to please download that app before you get there because there is so much you don't want to miss. I mean, you guys, are you doing, like, braid bars and I know you've had makeup, you know, experience.

We do free. Yeah, we do free makeup and nails and all the things to get you ready to go out. We're also going to be having an opening night party for project at omnia on the 13th. So everybody shows their badge and gets into that for free. Like, there's just so much. So take the time, mark what you want to do. I know your time's limited, and that way you can make the best ROI out of your trip.

So good. So many things I love.

And then we literally, like, close up and go to New York a week later. Yeah.

So let's fast forward a little bit so we're ready for. I mean, so many people are coming to Vegas, but tell us what to expect in New York and tell us maybe, you know, a little preview of Nashville too. What's come.

Yeah. So the best part about these shows is for Magic, they're all very different. Like, definitely the most robust show with the largest amount of brands and offerings and categories is in Vegas. Right. And we do a really good job to make sure you know exactly where to go and try to make that larger show feel small. When you go to New York, the assortment is much different. It's a little bit more manageable. We have a different variety of brands. So there's a bunch of brands that do ma magic in New York that do not do Las Vegas. So the offering is a lot different. And, you know, over there, they really curate their collections down. So it's also a more intimate setting. I love New York. It's so special. And then you also have our coterie show that's co located so you can buy some premium denim, some, you know, and that. So that's on level three. Magic New York is on level one. It's three days. Again, it Always follows New York Fashion Week, which happens to be on top of Vegas. So that's really exciting. And we have all those fun activations as well there. And then you get to Nashville, which is in April. I'm so excited about Nashville. This will be our third one. Again, a much different vibe. We really play into all of the music, and we have live music going for three days. We have some education, so also totally different assortment. We play more into that Nashville vibe. We have a lot of denim, a lot of tees, boots, sneakers. It's more casual. We have the assortment of accessories and footwear as well. And then August, we come back to Vegas, and September, we come back to New York. Miami just wrapped. It was incredible. I'm sure we'll be back again in 2025.

So exciting. You guys just outdo yourselves every single time. Incredible job. Great work. Thank you. Our members love it. We're so excited. Kelly, thanks so much for. For partnering with us at this level. And I just can't wait to see you in person. Give you a big hug. And all of you guys who are listening, I can't wait to meet you in person as well. You know, Please stop. Myself. Please stop. Kelly, we would love to hear your story and just chat with you, but, man, if. If it's good for you guys, it's. It's good for us. So however, we can serve you first. I know both you and I, Kelly, feel the exact same way.

Yeah. And if anybody has any questions about the show at all, they can just DM me on Instagram. Obviously, we say that all the time. Like, it's the easiest, quickest way I can just let you know I'm on it 24. 7. Not good. Trying to set a better example for my children, but at Kelly Helfman. And just if you have a quick question about the show or you're interested in something we talked about, I'll totally help you. But our team is also really great. If you reach out on any of the websites or our social channels for the shows, love it.

Awesome. I can't wait to see you. You guys listening? Thanks again for tuning in. We'll see you in Vegas or in New York or in Nashville or we'll be everywhere. So hope you guys have safe travels and Kelly will see you soon.

By.

Hey, guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope that you loved it. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating and review down below for a chance to be one of our featured listeners each and every week for more information on our spirit of community over competition and how to access complete show notes and bonus downloads from our guests. Head on over to theboutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.

Sam.