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Marc Birenbaum Executive Editor mbirenbaum@creativeage.com 6 July 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com Editor's Note "The indie movement is a national phenomenon— and the West Coast was more than ready … " Kudos On Indie Beauty Expo L.A.! IF YOU WEREN'T AT INDIE BEAUTY Expo L.A. in May, you missed one of the top beauty-trade events of 2016. Jillian Wright, Indie Beauty Expo co- founder, told me after iBE L.A.: "Nader [Nayemi-Rad, iBE co-founder,] and I are pleased with the decision-making buyers in attendance at Indie Beauty Expo L.A. They were engaged with the brands— stopping and taking their time with each one in ways that will change the direction of distribution for many of the brands. Also, many established brands invited their retailers which, in turn, helped the newer brands forge relationships ... "The Los Angeles market for beauty is very different than the New York City market but just as involved with wellness and lifestyle. The [trade and consumer] press and buyers who took the time out of their workdays to attend hopefully left learning and discovering brands for their stories and retail environments," added Wright. "Indie Beauty Expo will continue to remain fresh and exciting, always mix- ing established brands with new ones to keep everyone interested in returning year after year." Nayemi-Rad also told me after iBE L.A.: "iBE's launch in Los Angeles proved beyond the shadow of a doubt three impor- tant points: First, that we can scale iBE geographically. Our Los Angeles launch— just eight months after our New York City launch—attracted more brands, more buyers and more press than New York City. This demonstrates that the indie movement is a national phenomenon—and the West Coast was more than ready for indie brands to make their splashes. Second, we proved that we can scale iBE as an event. By expanding to a two- day format and adding more than 15,000 square feet of show space, we were able to ensure that exhibitors and attendees alike were not cramped for space nor pushed for time. Finally, and most impor- tantly, with superb buyer presence and our innovative partnership with EVINE Live, we were able to demonstrate— conclusively—that iBE is the largest and most-efficient platform for retailers of any size to discover, engage and conduct business with indie brands." Teresa Harris, vice president of mer- chandising, beauty, at EVINE Live, told me after iBE L.A.: "iBE L.A. exceeded our expec- tations on every front. The variety, diversity and quality of brands we discovered at iBE L.A. were amazing ... " There's no bright beauty-retail future without indie-beauty brands, and no one serves this ever-growing community— nurturing as well as challenging it—better than iBE. Next up is Aug. 24-25 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. In mid-May, it was on track to more than double the number of brands that exhibited at that event last year. For more information, visit indiebeautyexpo.com. ■