Informa Markets partners with NuORDER for digital tradeshow

Informa Markets Fashion and wholesale e-commerce platform NuORDER have partnered to launch what is expected to be the industry's largest digital tradeshow, which will debut alongside Informa’s currently scheduled physical events in Las Vegas and New York in fall 2020. NuORDER, a wholesale platform in the B2B e-commerce space, will power the future of Informa’s digital trade events, the first of which will launch with men’s in August followed by women’s in September. The partnership comes on the heels of a longstanding digital evolution for the Informa Markets Fashion portfolio and is a collaboration bringing together NuORDER’s technology and approach toward wholesale e-commerce with Informa’s product curation and expansive global network of brand partners and retail buyers.

“We see this as an important next step in the evolution of our business, and the fashion industry as a whole. The live event experience is irreplaceable; fashion in particular is a very tactile business—buyers want to feel fabrics in their own hands and see colors with their own eyes. But we also believe that the future of fashion wholesale is a synergy of physical and digital,” said Nancy Walsh, president of Informa Fashion Markets, in a statement. “Our first step in this direction is our partnership with NuORDER and the digital tradeshow we will debut this year, which we believe will help translate the experience of discovery and connection that is at the heart of our physical events to a new and exciting virtual environment.”

NuORDER’s extensive network of thousands of premium brands and 500,000 retailers, paired with Informa Market’s global fashion network will create what is expected to be the industry’s largest digital trade event. The partnership will bring an already established, curated marketplace to a virtual environment, accelerating connection and commerce for both brands and retailers. Brands will be able to tap into NuORDER’s advanced digital capabilities, including custom digital catalogs, line sheets, in-platform ordering and the latest interactive 360 degree Virtual Showroom technology, to more accurately tell their brand story and virtually present new collections. Retail buyers will now be able to more easily and efficiently discover, connect, and do business with new brand partners through category and price point search functionalities, access to curated content and relevant product recommendations, and in-platform order placement.

“Both NuORDER and Informa are market leaders and we are excited to power the largest global platform for fashion brands and buyers,” said Heath Wells, co-founder and co-CEO of NuORDER, in a statement. “Our partnership marks a defining moment in the industry solving real customer needs at a critical time. This is the beginning of a new era for fashion markets and the standard for discovery and commerce moving forward.”

The platform will unite the industry and soon be expanded to include new shows, categories and regions bringing to light major opportunities available for fashion brands and retailers who embrace a hybrid future of B2B fashion commerce. As more fashion shows are going virtual in a pre-coronavirus world, tradeshows are opting for the same route as well.