Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics China International Trade Fair for Apparel Fabrics and Accessories Shanghai, China 18 – 21 October 2011
Final Report
Double digit buyer increase, resulting in a 10 percent rise from the previous edition
Strong focus on quality of service, suppliers and their products as well as buyers on-site
Planet Textiles conference and seminar programme well received by delegates
A successful end to the 17th edition of the world renowned Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics trade fair, which closed it’s doors on 21 October 2011 to record growth. This year’s visitor attendance reached more than 62,000 buyers, a 10 percent increase from the 2010 edition. The double digit rise proves that the development of the fair is going in the right direction. Overall mood at the show was optimistic with positive praise for the quality of buyers and suppliers on- site, variety of products to choose from, informative seminar programme as well as a preview of international A/W 2012-13 fashion trends. Mr Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board for Messe Frankfurt GmbH, said, "As the world's leading organiser of textile fairs we are really proud of the success of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics. Now the largest industry event in the world, this show has grown into the most important platform where mass to luxury suppliers can find new business partners, offer inspirational trends, learn from others experience and excite the growing fashion industry in China and worldwide.”
Mr Braun also commented on the future of the Intertextile brand: “With increasing market segmentation we are now focusing on high quality exhibitors who can offer premium products for high-end brands and buyers."
More than 3,100 apparel fabrics and accessories suppliers from 23 countries and regions including Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Portugal, Switzerland, the US and Vietnam as well as country and regions pavilions from Germany (25 exhibitors), India (12 exhibitors), Indonesia (10 exhibitors), Italy (100 exhibitors), Japan (73 exhibitors), Korea (102 exhibitors), Pakistan (10 exhibitors), Spain (12 exhibitors), Taiwan (154 exhibitors), Thailand (24 exhibitors) Turkey (6 exhibitors), the UK (10 exhibitors) highlighted their respective unique selling points.
Other special pavilions included exhibitors from Lenzing (54 exhibitors) showcasing man-made fibres with high quality cellulose fibres such as Tencel ®, Modal ®, and Lenzing Viscose ®; Invista (26 exhibitors) showcasing Lycra ® fibre and COOLMAX ® fabrics; Hyosung (10 exhibitors) showcasing Creora ® spandex, recycled polyester and nylon yarn fibres as well as Cotton Council International (6 exhibitors) showcasing cotton rich yarns and fibres.
Nearly 60 percent of the 924 international exhibitors were returnees proving the strength of the Intertextile brand. Participating for a decade now, Italian luxury textile mill Lanificio F.lli Cerruti 1881 brought their men’s and women’s fabric collections incorporating the finest wool, cashmere and silk. “The first three days were terrific – buyers from all over China came,” commented Mr Daniele Sanzeni, head of the group.
French textile design house Creations Robert Vernet agreed: “The China market is getting better and better, this has been one of the best shows over the last 10 years of participating here,” observed Mr Benoit Feder. He further reflected: “It’s difficult to imagine how business would be without Intertextile – we will be back again.”
First time exhibitor, ABY, Aditya Birla Yarn from Indonesia was equally as impressed. “It’s been absolutely fantastic here, we’ve met with buyers from across China as well as Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America and the US” exclaimed Mr Balachandra N.R, GM Product Development Overseas Spinning Business, who used their first global presentation to launch five of their branded products: ABY Colorlast yarn that uses pigment dyes, ABY Flexo Denim yarn blends that offers stretch, ABY Softura that is a 100% cellulose yarn, ABY Protek that has permanent flame retardant properties and ABY Style for fashion fabrics.
Fine worsted fabric producer, Hield, was also pleased with the visitor flow. “The quality of buyers has been good, very positive,” assured Mr Samer Chamsi-Pasha, Chairman for the UK mill. According to Mr Chamsi-Pasha, who has participated in the fair for more than a decade, a growing phenomenon within the Chinese industry is changing the dynamics of the domestic buying tendencies. “Chinese brands are becoming more European in that their designers are migrating to different brands as they establish a name for themselves, attributing to a maturing fashion scene in China as well as great business potential for us.”
Chinese buyer, Mr Wang Baishang, Designer for Shanghai label Shen Collection also shared his thoughts on the changing fashion industry: “with the economic downturn still affecting Europe and North America, we now only focus on designing our fashion line for the domestic market. This show offers the finest quality fabrics and suppliers plus it’s conveniently located in Shanghai.”
Japan exhibitors were also looking to expand their business with the growing number of Chinese brands. Takisada Nagoya Co Ltd has been operating in Shanghai for a decade now to offer competitive pricing, and the flexibility to respond to urgent changes in demand. As the largest Japan pavilion exhibitor in terms of scale, they showcased their range of fashion fabrics for mainly menswear covering 90 sqm of space. “We have shifted our focus to China and the response has been very good. We hope to further expand our booth next year,” said Mr He Jun Hua a representative from the Shanghai branch.
Some of the Chinese brands attending this year included Aimer, Erdos, K-boxing, Li Ning, Ordifen plus many more.
This year, a record number of international buyers were also recorded. European visitor increases came from France (up 19%), the UK (up 12%), Netherlands (11%), Russia (9%), Germany (8%), Sweden (7%) as well as new visiting countries recorded from Andorra, Luxembourg and Slovenia.
“We’ve brought our biggest delegation of buyers here – that’s how important this show is,” explained VIP buyer Ms Paulette Colman, Fabric Director Ladieswear Division for Dewhirst Group Limited from the UK, who took part in the special business matching programme. Ms Colman found that many Chinese exhibitors that also participated in European trade fairs, held the launch of their new products until the Shanghai fair, adding: “We’ve been attending since the beginning and the show has grown so much it’s unrecognisable, what’s more the timing is great and we find this show to be better than other industry related events.”
Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd, Forever 21, G2000, Ismak Group, Kate Spade / Jack Spade, Perry Ellis International Hong Kong Ltd and Sanmar Corporation also took part in the bespoke VIP buyer business matching programme, which connected them with suppliers according to their business needs.
Another VIP buyer participating in the business matching programme, Ms Janet Eamkitsumrit, Director and Deputy General Manager for International Commercial Coordination (HK) Limited, official buyer for Wacoal Thailand and Guy Laroche successfully found new suppliers through the special scheme. “There has been such a wide selection of trendy materials as well as innovative fabrics that I was especially impressed with Dong Long Lace from China and Ulisse Accessori Moda Srl from Italy, who both offered exceptional products.”
To help buyers find products with ease, international suppliers were for the first time divided into segmented areas in addition to country/ regions and fibre groups. These included: • Cotton and man-made fibres • Denim • Knitted • Lace and embroidery • Lingerie and swimwear fabrics • Fibre and yarns • Verve for design – designer studio
“Products were categorised much better this year,” complimented repeat visitor, Mr John York, Director for Fabric Xchange Australia Pty Ltd, who found a number of quality Chinese suppliers that offered fabrics at competitive prices.
Meanwhile domestic exhibitors were clearly separated into product end use such as casual wear, denim, suitings, shirtings, functional/ sportswear and ladieswear.
Other key areas of interest were: • Intertextile Directions and Fabrics China trend forums forecasting A/W 2012-13 trends • accessories zone • denim zone • lingerie and swimwear zone • Cotton display area • Lenzing fashion display
Among some of the products on display included high tech micro fibres and fake fur from Dralon (Germany), slub and organic cotton fabrics from Hussain Mills Limited (Pakistan) and Thong Thai Textile Co Ltd (Thailand); denims made with cotton, polyester and viscose from Textil Santanderina, S.A (Spain), silks and embroideries from Shreej Designs Pvt Ltd (India,) shirting fabrics and high quality cottons from Alumo AG (Switzerland) and Bossa Shirting’s (Turkey), premium fashion fabrics from Chungnam Knit Co Ltd (Korea), functional and eco textiles from Achievetex Co Ltd (Taiwan) as well as a myriad of other superior quality made accessories and materials.
Planet Textiles conference and seminar programme well received by delegates The second annual Planet Textiles conference on sustainability that took place alongside the trade fair at the Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel on 19 October 2011 was well received by delegates and speakers alike.
“The Planet Textiles conference is a good educational platform for insiders to learn more about sustainability, especially here in China, where the government is helping to drive the textile industry forward,” said conference speaker, Mr David Chu, Senior Vice President (Sales & Marketing) for TAL Apparel Limited, Hong Kong.
The recent Chinese government’s 12th five year plan has put sustainability at the foreground of concern in the region. ”It’s been a good opportunity to share information on sustainable development and hopefully help pave the way for better manufacturing practices in China,” said Mr Issac Yu, Regional Director Social Compliance, Asia Pacific for VF Asia, Hong Kong. Meanwhile the comprehensive seminar programme that took place at the fairground focused on • Design and trends • Market information and business strategy • Technology and solutions • Certification and testing • Legal issues • And several product presentations
In general, the design and trend seminars were the most popular sessions. “It’s important for me to understand colour trends and design variations,” explained first time participant, Mr Lucci Guo, Product Planning Department for Dancing Wolves Co Ltd, a trademark brand of domestic menswear powerhouse, Septwolves Group Co, that reached more than RMB 2 billion in revenue for 2010.
The next edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics takes place from 22 – 25 October 2012 and is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, the Sub-council of Textile Industry, CCPIT and the China Textile Information Centre, to learn more, please visit www.intertextileapparel.com.
For information on all Messe Frankfurt textile fairs worldwide, please visit: http://texpertise- network.com
Background information on Messe Frankfurt Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser, with 448.3 million euros in sales and more than 1,600 active employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2010, Messe Frankfurt organised 87 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany. Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Center. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent. For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
Media Contact Amra Durakovic Tel: 852 2238 9972 Fax: 852 2619 8632 [email protected] www.messefrankfurt.com www.intertextile.messefrankfurt.com