This year’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Autumn Edition broke all records, with a total of 3,844 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions.

The top 10 visitor countries and regions, excluding Mainland China, were Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, the US, Taiwan, Turkey, Russia, Indonesia, the UK and India. Both the exhibitor and visitor figures represented new records for the show which was held from 20-23 October across 15 halls, making it the largest in the event’s history.

“While it was pleasing we set new records this year, which proves the fair’s continued importance to the global industry given the sluggish economy at the moment, what was also satisfying was the quality of both exhibitors and visitors here this week,” said Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of fair organiser Messe Frankfurt (HK).

Strong demand in China

Despite slower economic growth in China in the last year, demand is still high for international brands, particularly premium labels from Europe as confirmed by exhibitors. “Absolutely, the UK brand is recognised here, and we plan for substantial growth in China in the future as the suitings segment is growing here,” commented Ronald Hall, Managing Director of Bower & Roebuck.

Many other exhibitors, both from Asia and Europe, were optimistic that the apparel fabrics market in China and throughout Asia still holds a lot of potential in the next few years. Sandeep Goel, Vice President at Kaybee Exim, Singapore, explained: “The potential is very high in the Chinese market. Our business here increased last year, and we are very optimistic about next year too.”

Country pavilions and product zones

A number of country and region pavilions, and product halls and zones featured at this year’s fair, including the Milano Unica Pavilion, which featured 127 high-end Italian suppliers.

“As the fair has continued to expand recently, we have created a number of zones to help buyers not only find the items they are looking for, but also more easily identify the upcoming trends of different products,” Wen explained.

All about sustainability

Due to strong interest in the sustainability field in the region, the All About Sustainability zone increased in exhibition space by 148% compared to the 2013 edition. Of particular interest for visitors was the Educational Zone, which featured the Oeko-Tex Pavilion, with certifiers and testers in this area reporting increasing demand for their services in China.

Exhibitors reported that this zone attracted their target buyers more effectively. “The All About Sustainability zone is very convenient for buyers to visit, so I think this arrangement is very good and we will return next year,” said Mr Lifu Wang from Control Union Certifications (Shanghai).

Fringe programme

In addition to the 15 halls full of fabrics and accessories, the fair’s fringe programme also provided participants with a wide range of design and trend ideas, as well as the latest market news and industry technologies.

This year’s expanded programme included five international and domestic trend forums, two fabric design competitions, more than 35 seminars, a round table meeting where the future of the industry in the region was discussed, and the debut GOTS Forum.

This year’s seminars were presented by the industry’s leading companies, with design and trend presentations led by representatives from Huafu, Milano Unica, the NellyRodi Agency, Peclers Paris and others, while speakers from Control Union, Jintex Corp, Lineapelle, Oeko-Tex Association, SGS, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, TESTEX and Unifi conducted seminars on sustainability issues.

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