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 Texworld
Feb 18-21, 2008, Paris Le Bourget, France |
| The next Texworld fair will be held from Monday 18 to Thursday 21 February 2008 at Paris le Bourget and will offer visitors clothing fabrics for the Spring-Summer 2009 Season as well as the new Texworld Clothing sector for the next 2008/09 seasons. |
Final Report Texworld 2007
Rise in quality of exhibitors and visitors
A good year for Texworld despite a drop in visitor numbers
A promising launch for the i-TEX© system
Chinese fashions prove seductive
 Texworld took place at the le Bourget exhibition centre in Paris from 17 to 20 September 2007. The 959 exhibitors, three quarters of them from Asia (82 of whom were from China in the CTAF section), welcomed 17,741 professional visitors, more than 86% from abroad. This was a 5.5% decline over the previous September event in 2006, which is due to many different reasons. Whilst the multitude of factors rank those which experienced almost all of the latest European trade fairs, like e.g. fluctuations in exchange rates as well as a tighter economic climate among businesses who sent fewer buyers than previously, and the proximity to Jewish holidays and Ramadan for Moslems.
All in all, 2007 was a good year for Texworld, with an increase of visitors over the February 2007 event (17,100) and the move to the new Le Bourget venue, which indicate reasons for optimism and sustainable growth in 2008.
Eastern European countries had a good showing, with significant increases in visitors from Serbia, Romania, Croatia and Lithuania. The main European countries – France, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy – showed a fall, apart from Spain, with the same number of visitors as in September 2006. Turkish visitors rose by 1.4%, and numbers from the Americas were strong, thanks to the success of the South American countries, particularly Brazil, up by 35%. The overall number of Asian visitors fell, although proportionally less for China (-2.5%) and South Korea (-1.4%), whereas the numbers from India rose by 1.3%.
A sophisticated and exclusive system of fabric research –
i-TEX© – has been introduced and will soon be up to speed, providing a brand new service for visitors.
A further cause for optimism is the presence of the CTAF area within Texworld, with its 82 exhibitors. On the one hand the Chinese exhibitors – mainly clothing manufacturers – expressed their satisfaction and readiness to return in even greater numbers next September, and on the other, buyers have been interested in this new development in the clothing sector of the fair, which allows them to optimise their visit and discover China’s know-how and modernity.
Consequently, after the upheaval of the move to its new venue last February, Texworld is beginning to establish a new rhythm. Despite the setbacks, this latest event has shown grounds for optimism. The main material problems of transport, supplies and catering facilities faced by exhibitors and visitors in February have now been resolved.
Exhibitors satisfied with buyers’ interest
For the most part, the exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the interest shown by buyers, who seek greater quality and who increasingly choose middle and top of the range products.
‘We are pleased with the fair, particularly with the visitor numbers; orders have been good and useful contacts made,’ says Sander Nooteboom from the Netherlands, the director of Nooteboom Textiel, one of the very first 12 exhibitors at Texworld ten years ago. ‘We detect a change in the market regarding price – people are prepared to pay more, and quality is rising. Our new quality of polyester with shape memory has sold particularly well.’
The mindset of the exhibitors is changing – they want to set the fashion agenda. This is typified by Sandeep Wahi, director of Manglam – ‘today, I consider that I work in fashion and I come to the fair to meet people, do research and make contacts, in order to map out a new future, as much as to do business. I am not there to sell as cheaply as possible – I am a producer and I don’t have the mentality of a salesman who wants to make an immediate profit.’ This sleek Indian’s collection has been carefully designed to cater more for western tastes and has found particular favour with buyers.
The same degree of satisfaction is found among the denim producers exhibiting in Denimworld, with its convivial ‘Urban Bar’ where thousands of free coffees were offered to visitors, in the midst of an attractive display of jeans from different exhibitors.
‘We are pleased with this initial experience’ says Ataman Oaduygu, commercial director of the Pakistani denim manufacturer Mekotex. Demand is changing and now buyers are looking for polyester-cotton blends and softer denim for adults as well as children. We saw many South Americans, particularly from Peru, as well as Lebanese, Turks and Germans.’
Many exhibitors have already reserved their space for next February and requested larger stands.
The necessity to tailor products to suit demand
Of course some exhibitors were disappointed, as in all trade fairs - perhaps because they were less in touch with fashion trends and so their products did not meet the requirements of buyers as well as those of the others.
‘It’s my first time at Texworld and I am a little disappointed, as I had hoped for more visitors,’ admits Shinichi Maeguruma, director of the Japanese company Kokka. ‘My fabrics, printed with designs of old kimonos, but modernised by printing on cotton, are obviously more expensive than most of what one finds at the fair. However, I still have hope that with the strength of the euro against the yen, my situation will improve.’
There were also ups and downs for Richard Samuels of Malibu Textiles, USA who participated in Texworld for the first time: ‘visitor numbers varied enormously according to the days – after a good Monday, Tuesday was awful, but Wednesday and Thursday were much better. The key to success is not to get discouraged, but to keep coming back again and again. Our star products
are broderie anglaise and lace, but maybe we should be more selective with our collections.’
i-TEX©, a system with promise
The i-TEX© fabrics research system launched at the fair, met with a significant degree of interest from visitors and its development will enable us to fulfil a large part of the requests for information on the products on offer at Texworld. 3,000 fabric samples were selected and scanned, enabling visitors to search at one of the many terminals – the manufacturer, location in the fair, origin, composition, functionality, lengths available, price, delivery time, etc.
‘I used the i-TEX© terminals and found them very useful,’ says Mr Parminder of the Canadian company Variation, who was pleased with his visit. But word needs to be spread about this revolutionary system and its great flexibility made clear – research results can be printed out or e-mailed. Many visitors admitted being unaware of the possibilities of this new Texworld service.
Overall, visitors found what they were looking for, and even more – Linda Lundstrom, director of the Canadian brand of the same name, was very happy – she has been coming for a very long time and noticed many improvements. ‘I am very interested in bio-fabrics, as they make up 50% of what I buy. I found a lot of them – it’s an idea that Texworld should develop to provide added value compared to other fairs.’ Similarly, a project manager and head buyer from the Aubade brand say they were satisfied, having found the specific products they were looking for.
Dour Florin Mihet, director of the Romanian Staff Collection company, found more new products on offer this year for the first time – ‘I am as much interested in fabrics as garments and the Full Package, so I find it a plus for a trade fair.’
The ‘Clothing’ sector will develop
Texworld’s ‘Clothing’ sector, which this season is represented by the CTAF, although due to expand in February 2008, has been welcomed by many buyers, allowing them to make the most of their visit. This initiative was well received by the Chinese manufacturers and their representatives. ‘We didn’t expect to have so many visitors,’ said Chen Dapeng, vice-president of the CNGA (China National Garment Association). ‘Our hopes were more than fulfilled and we will be back next September for sure, with more exhibitors and larger stands.’
Quality and brands, a plus for Chinese clothing manufacture
The representatives of the Chinese textile and garment industry were much appreciated by observers, for their modern approach and precision of quality.
‘Our currency is revalued by 5% per year, so we should go up-market and play the quality and brand image card,’ stated Du Yuzhou, chairman of the CNTAC (China National Textile and Apparel Council). ‘The textile and garment sector is fundamental for our country – it employs 20 million people and has an annual turnover of 400 billion euros, a quarter of which is for export. However, Europe only represents 15% of the total exports. Once quotas are removed, we will play the market rules card and we intend to set up partnerships with firms who want to embark on a win/win strategy.’
‘Our ambition is clear – to become more creative, with a good level of quality and known brands, and for that we will take the time required, planting a seed so that the tree grows little by little,’ adds Chen Dapeng. ‘Nevertheless we remain realistic; we are not attacking the luxury market, although we would like to have a Chinese world brand as well known as Zara or Gap.’
Thus, Texworld is expanding in the right direction, with considerable development potential which will quickly benefit all its exhibitors.
Texworld
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