Spring Edition of Intertextile Shanghai 2015 International Apparel and Accessories Fair held by Messe Frankfurt in China from 18 to 20 March hosted a total of 2637 participants, 2141 of whom were from China. More than 100 thousand visitors participated in the event which was held in Shanghai National Exhibition and Congress Centre.
In the event followed only by Textile World Magazine Group from Turkey, there were 10 countries pavilions including Germany, Milano Unica, Portugal, France, Africa, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Pakistan. Milano Unica and Korea pavilions with 105 and 101 participants, respectively, became the focus of interest in the fair. In the fair where the theme of sustainability was prominent, areas of Sustainability, Premium Wool Zone and Vervefor Design also attracted a great deal of attention.
Only 4 Turkish Firms Participated
Akel, Söktaş, Haksa İplik and Fetih Mensucat participated in Intertextile Shanghai from Turkey. Turkish firms that did not pay importance to the fair which was held in China, the key country of the Far Eastern market, and where significant business ties were established missed major opportunities. Burçin Durgun, Marketing Manager of Söktaş taking part in Salon Europe, with whom we talked during the fair said that the fair moved to another location, they as Söktaş targeted a specific mass and left the fair satisfied with the portfolio of the clients. Expressing that they work seasonally, Durgun added that they will see the results of the fair six months later. Stating that they took part in the fair individually since there was no national participation, Durgun said that national participation creates a significant impetus and is of great importance.
“We Promoted Our New Fabric”
Kemal Özyünlü, Marketing Director of Haksa İplik, too, said that Intertextile Shanghai turned out to be really successful and they promoted their new fabric. Pointing out to the theme of sustainability as the concept of this year, Özyünlü added that there was a significant deal of interest in the fabric manufactured out of the recyclable yarn they recently developed.
Kader Akça, General Director of Marketing of Akel, explained to our Magazine Group that the fair was really successful for them and they established important business ties. Stating that they had been present in the Far Eastern market for a long time, Akça said that removal of trade barriers by China as a big manufacturer in 2005 shook the textile sector. Emphasizing that the Chinese market and the luxury segment, in particular, became a major textile consumer in a short while after rapid enrichment, Akça said that the fair turned out to be successful and fruitful for the participants and the interest shown in the fair increased compared to the previous year.
Stating that lack of national participation in such an important fair is bad for Turkey, Akça added that Turkey had been among 10 countries with the highest numbers of participants in the previous editions and it was distressing that only 4 Turkish firms attended the fair.
Fetih Mensucat Explored China
The representative of Fetih Mensucat, another Turkish firm participating in Intertextile Shanghai, preferred doing sightseeing in China instead of promoting its products in Intertextile Shanghai in which huge numbers of visitors and international purchase groups showed immense interest. Further, a Chinese manufacturer promoted his products in the stand left unattended by Fetih Mensucat.
Sustainability was prominent
Olaf Schmidt, Chairman of Textile Fairs of Messe Frankfurt, explained to our Magazine Group that Intertextile Shanghai is seen as the gate of Asian market especially for the overseas companies and functional textile and sustainable productions were the prominent themes in this edition and the seminars held during the fair also focused on these themes.
Stating that sustainability has gained great importance especially in China, Schmidt said that China which invested more than 200 billion USA Dollars in the textile sector in the last 3 years achieved a rate of increase of 50 % in the fabric production and established about 5000 new plants for textile production. Stating that the concept of the fair was shaped in accordance with the increase in the demand for sustainability and innovative fibres and yarn products in the Chinese market, Schmidt added that the fair shaped the Asian market.
Expressing that: “Numerous European and American purchase firms showed immense interest in the participants. At the same time, new clients were obtained from the growing economy Russia, Middle East and South-Eastern Asia. Purchasers expressed their satisfaction with the increase in the quality of the local participants as well as the wide product range brought by the high quality suppliers from Europe and Asia”, Schmidt emphasized that they did not consider only the availability of the products requested by the purchasers while organising the fair and added that: “We gathered the same countries and the same product groups in the same regions for easy follow of the trends of different products. Besides, these regions were determined in accordance with the needs that the local market focussed. In this way, we enabled the foreign participants to catch the opportunities in the local market.”
CHIC
CHIC which was previously organised in Beijing was held concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai this year. Turkish Leather Pavilion was created with the participation of 15 companies including Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association (IDMIB), Istanbul Garment and Apparel Exporters’ Associations (ITKIB), Viva Dolce Vita, Visette, Cem Kerem, Perre, Ekoteks Laboratuarı, Fertini Modessan, Panterrez, Set Tekstil, Shaky and Punto. Speaking in this respect, Ferzat Erdebil, member of the Governing Board of ITKIB, stated that the fair turned out to be successful for the Turkish companies. Saying that the Turkish firms participating in the fair established significant business ties, Erdebil added that he believes that Turkey will gain more importance in the Far Eastern market with its new designs and all kinds of “Made in Europe” products for innovation were in demand in the fair.
