Bread & Butter CEO to Vendors: It’s Up to You

After a week of confusion and rumors, Bread & Butter’s founder and CEO Karl-Heinz Müller has sent a letter to exhibitors saying that the January show in Berlin might go on.

“At this moment we cannot predict how many exhibitors will attend the event in the end,” Müller wrote. The letter pointed to a “radical structural change in the fashion industry and the intensified competition in Berlin, Germany and Europe,” and blamed trade press coverage for “numerous cancellations from further exhibitors who had already registered,” which Müller says left very few.

“Therefore,” Müller continued, “we would now like to leave it up to you to book another event, so that you have no damage at the season start.”

Bread & Butter’s problems began in July when the show announced it would stage the January show in Barcelona instead of Berlin. Vendors complained, and the site was changed back to Berlin. This week, Bread & Butter revealed that the January show in Berlin’s Templehof airport would be reduced from five halls to just one.

As we reported yesterday, Sportswear International, Drapers and Women’s Wear Daily had conflicting stories about the viability of the January show.

Bread & Butter’s July show is still scheduled for Berlin and its September show remains in Seoul, South Korea.