Berlin-based online retailer Zalando has announced it has canceled plans for a Bread & Butter show in 2019. Zalando co-founder David Schneider in an interview with German publication Handelblatt explained, “Everything we invest in needs to be at the same time strategic and scalable. With Bread & Butter, we ran into natural limits. That’s why we have decided to no longer organize a fair from 2019.”
Zalando acquired the rights to the bankrupt Bread & Butter in 2015, and went on to hold three events that attracted over 35,000 visitors as well as exhibitors including Adidas, Wrangler, Vans and G-Star, among others.
While successful in attracting consumers, the event wasn’t profitable for Zalando, which is looking for ways to trim costs after a year in which the company’s stock has plummeted from $27 to $15.
Bread & Butter was founded by Karl-Heinz Müller, Christian Geyr and Wolfgang Ahler in 2001. The first event took place in July 2001 in Deutz, Germany. It began as a bi-annual fashion industry trade show for edgier brands and under Zalando’s direction was opened to the public.
While Bread & Butter may have sputtered, the concept continues with events including BeautyCon, ComplexCon and Hypefest, among others.
