Business Journals Inc. and ENK International have decided to join forces and collocate their fall/winter shows in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Britton Jones, President and CEO of BJI, and Tom Nastos, CEO of ENK, which is owned by Advanstar Communications, made the joint announcement that the shows would come together for the first time April 27-29 next year.

According to officials from both BJI and ENK, they conducted market research before deciding to make this move.

“Our decisions are always focused on our industry’s needs,” said ENK’s Tom Nastos. Joint extensive retailer and exhibitor queries discovered an additional benefit of this April collocation.

The majority of the buyers prefer these dates because they move the market a little further away from Mother’s Day, which is second only to the Christmas season in terms of sales for the women’s market.

“By scheduling the Fall/Winter market in the last week in April, instead of the first full week in May, we are actually giving many specialty store owners more time to work with their customers right before this very important holiday. Therefore these earlier dates will give more buyers the opportunity to shop our events,” Nastos said.

Britton Jones added, “For years, the industry has been clamoring for the show organizers to come together to better address the needs of the industry and meaningful co-locations are a proven formula for success. Over the years, ENK and BJI have run our shows together in other seasons at the Javits Center and we have found that it is beneficial for the entire industry. The co-location gives more retailers a more compelling reason to come to New York. The convenience of running the two established shows together, in the same building, means that buyers have more time to shop the shows rather than traveling between them.”

The BJI Fashion Group produces 27 market leading trade shows each year including AccessoriesTheShow, EDIT, FAME, Moda, MRket and  STITCH.

Nastos said, “Britton and I have been working on this plan in cooperation with the Javits Center management for several months and we are pleased to have been able to put this agreement together.”

ENK produces 14-plus annual trade shows, including Coterie, Accessorie Circuit, IntermezzoCollections, Children’s Club and ENKVegas.

In addition to the collocation in April, BJI and ENK will also collocate during the Holiday/Resort market in August.

“Both Tom and I want to offer our sincere thanks to the senior management of the Javits Center for working with us in making this co-location possible,” Jones said.

He added, “Alan Steel, president, and Doreen Guerin, vice president of sales and marketing of the Javits Center, devoted considerable time and effort to make this collocation possible. We greatly appreciate their support of this endeavor and their overall commitment to the continued health and well-being of the fashion industry and its importance to the City and State of New York.”