A dream come true for Kingpins with major new investor on board
Founder and chief executive of the Kingpins Show, Andrew Olah, has said bringing a major new investor on board is the fulfilment of a 20-year ambition.
On July 19, major global exhibition organiser Messe Frankfurt announced that it had become a shareholder in Kingpins and would work closely with the Kingpins team to amplify the global reach of the events. Full details of the agreement have still to emerge, but Messe Frankfurt has confirmed to Inside Denim that it will be a minority shareholder.
It said that combining its experience and resources with the expertise of Mr Olah and his team would “strengthen the future of the denim industry”. It added that the partnership between the two organisations would strengthen Kingpins’ commitment to fostering innovation and growth in the denim sector.
Their ambition will be to work together to drive change, encouraging responsible production methods, promoting circular economy initiatives, supporting sustainable sourcing practices and prioritising environmental stewardship and social responsibility to ensure a more sustainable future for the denim industry, Messe Frankfurt said.
The group already runs 50 international textile trade events in 11 countries. These include Beyond Denim (which is part of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics) and Denimworld (which is part of Texworld Evolution Paris). Kingpins hosts four events each year, two in New York and two in Amsterdam. The Kingpins Show will continue to operate independently and maintain its distinct identity.
At the time of the announcement, Andrew Olah said that, from Kingpins’ launch in 2004, he had always hoped one day to bring Messe Frankfurt on board as a partner. He explained that this was because he and his team were denim industry people rather than, at that time, exhibition people, while Messe Frankfurt was an 800-year-old exhibition organiser.
Chief executive of Messe Frankfurt, Constantin von Vieregge, said the organisation had decided to enter this new partnership because of its admiration for Kingpins’ “distinct vision and innovative approach to the denim industry”.
For his part, Detlef Braun, a member of the Messe Frankfurt board who has a prominent role in running the group’s textile events, said its stake in Kingpins would complement the group’s textile trade fair portfolio. “We are adding an important premium brand in the denim sector and rounding off our existing portfolio,” he said.
Completion of the agreement is subject to final approval of the shareholders of Messe Frankfurt.
