The recently completed Intertextile Pavilion at the Shenzhen International Trade Fair for Apparel Fabrics and Accessories set a new record for buyer attendance, with this result confirming the growing potential in the Southern China textiles market.

Over 17,500 buyers from 27 countries and regions attended the fair organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) that took place in Shenzhen, China, last month, resulting in a 34% increase from 2013.

“The general consensus of our exhibitors was that there is a lot of potential in the south of China, and that this fair is the best platform to tap into that,” commented Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager, Messe Frankfurt (HK). “The rise in both exhibitor and buyer numbers confirms that there is a need for a fair of this type in the region, and we feel it complements our existing apparel fabrics and accessories fairs in Shanghai well.”

Growing Southern China market

The Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF), organiser of the Taiwan Pavilion, felt satisfied with the result at the fair. “Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen is a mature fair in the market now and is quite internationalised,” explained Jane Fang, Project Manager at TTF.

Organisers of the Korea Pavilion, the Korea Fashion Textile Association (KFTA), echoed the sentiment of many exhibitors when they explained the demand they saw in Southern China. “We believe demand is very high in this market,” said Young-sang Yoon, Vice-Chairman of KFTA. “There are many factories located near here so we’ve had a lot of buyers looking for ladieswear and casual wear fabrics.”

The range and quality of domestic buyers at the fair also impressed exhibitors. “We can meet a range of buyers here including designers and fashion brands, and they are more educated and have better product knowledge than before. The fair is a good platform to reach the Chinese market,” said Anney Mawhinney from British firm Westcott Design.

High potential for ladieswear

“Southern China is one of the main regions in the country for ladieswear,” explained Chen Xiaoyan from Japanese exhibitor Uni Textile. “One of the strengths of this fair is the ability to develop new customers, especially from Guangdong Province, so we will definitely continue to exhibit here.”

Kumwon Textile from Korea was a first-time exhibitor at the fair. “We know that Shenzhen has a concentration of ladieswear buyers. We’ve had many Chinese buyers visit our booth so we are quite happy with the result,” Kim Seong Beom, a representative for the firm explained.

Expanded fair and product quality

As the fair establishes itself in the region, a number of leading international companies choose to source fabrics there, including some brands that attended the fair this year – Brooks Brothers, Diesel, Esprit, G2000, Givenchy, LF Sourcing, Liebeskind, Pepe Jeans, Replay and Silvereed, and many more.

“The fair has grown rapidly in the last few years, and there is now much more variety in terms of products and exhibitors,” explained Albert K C Lee, Managing Director of Pacific Cotton, Hong Kong. Chinese buyer Ewing Zhang, a designer from MJ Studio found the fair’s Trend Forum valuable. “The printed fabrics in the forum are quite good this year; the ideas and designs are new. The Trend Forum is useful for us to gain inspiration and understand the market trends.”

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