Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Exhibition October 2013

Transcription

1 Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Exhibition October The Show: This year witnessed the largest ever Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabric Fair, a dynamic and ultra-busy business platform, both for exhibiting textile companies and visiting fashion professionals. There were over 3,700 exhibitors and 68,000 trade visitors spread over 15 halls at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (10 of these halls accommodated domestic Chinese textile companies) covering 170,000 m2 of exhibition space, plus a whole host of supporting events including fashion shows, seminars and trend forums. Particular focus this season was given to Sustainability & Innovation in Textiles. There was a complete one-day seminar Planet Textiles jointly organised by Ecotextile News and Messe Frankfurt, fielding high-profile international speakers from retail (including M&S, Plan A), dyers and finishers, fibre and fabric companies, and recycling experts.

2 Apparel fabric product groups at the show included: Fabrics in wool, cotton, silk, linen, ramie, man-made fibres etc, plus knitted and coated fabrics. Swimwear and lingerie fabrics Functional fabrics Printed fabrics Fibres and yarns Embroidered and lace fabrics Accessories Textile-related CAD/CAM/CIM technology Design & styling agencies Fashion and textile trade publications Hall W1 was dedicated to European mills, incorporating the Premium Wool Zone (where the UK weavers were located), Milano Unica (Italian exhibitors only) and Textile design studios. Halls W2 & W3 accommodated mills from Japan, India, Pakistan, Korea and also included all the major fibre and yarn promotional companies. There were 10 Halls for domestic Chinese mills. These are arranged by product enduse including: Casualwear and denim (E3-E5), Functional wear and sportswear (W5), Ladieswear fabrics (N1 to N3), Shirtings (W5) and Suitings (E1 to E2). Over 540 domestic Chinese and international accessories and trimming suppliers exhibited in Halls E6 & E7, showing a wide range of buttons, zips, fastenings, appliqué etc. The next Spring/Summer show will take place from 3 rd to 5 th March 2014 and the next Autumn/Winter show will take place from 20 th to 23 rd October UK Participation at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics: UKFT have collaborated closely with the organisers over recent shows to build up a strong UK presence within the 'Premium Wool Zone' at Intertextile, and non-wool exhibitors from the UK are also now on the increase. Despite having a huge textile industry of its own, the Chinese market is now extremely discerning and craves the premium quality, technically innovative textiles that its indigenous industry cannot emulate. Intertextile provides an excellent platform for UK textile manufacturers to promote a strong image at the luxury end of the market and carve out a niche for its high quality products destined for high fashion and tailoring brands.

3 UKFT provided both pre-event and on-site support for the eleven UK textile companies that exhibited this year, several of whom benefited from the generous TAP grants available via UKFT to UK participants. Similar funding ( 2,500 per eligible exhibitor, or 3,000 for first-time participants) is provisionally in place for Intertextile Shanghai, October 2014 and textile companies interested in learning more about the opportunities are invited to contact Ann Thomson-Krol at textiles@ukft.org for further information. The promotional elements of UKFT s support package included an impressive information booth to promote the UK exhibitors and indeed the wider UK industry, on which fabric samples from all exhibiting UK companies were displayed. UKFT s information booth and generic fabric display are pictured below. 3. On-site Briefing for UK Exhibitors: UKFT received excellent support through our colleagues at the British Consulate General in Shanghai, who organised a market briefing for exhibiting UK companies on the eve of the show. The briefing covered market opportunities and intellectual property issues and a summary of the briefing is outlined below and a copy of the IPR presentation is available on request from textiles@ukft.org.

4 4. Presentation on Intellectual Property Rights to British exhibitors at Intertextile by Alexander May, Special Counsel at Pamir Law Group: (organised by the British Consulate General in Shanghai in collaboration with UKFT): ( Pamir Law Group was established over 30 years ago with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei and has an intimate familiarity in business and legal solutions in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, supporting companies growth and success in these markets. They were recommended by the British Consulate General in Shanghai as experts in the field of Intellectual Property issues, and provided an extremely interesting and informative briefing to exhibitors. A copy of Alex May s presentation on Practical & Effective Business & Legal Solutions in Greater China is attached (or available on request from textiles@ukft.org), and includes topics such as: Protecting product design in China Copyright protection in China Trademark infringement A few interesting areas touched on during the presentation: Much more refined and discreet tastes coming from China today, stealth wealth is the new by-word The importance of e-commerce to doing business in China. There are over 540 million subscribers on Weibo, which is the equivalent of Twitter in the UK. Although Weibo is a China only site, companies from other countries can work through a Chinese agency partner who can tweet for them. Recommended areas to include are references to the brands you are working for and contact distribution/agents in each Chinese province. China looks to Taiwan and Hong Kong for direction/trends before picking them up themselves Alex recommends for interesting and informative information on Chinese luxury tastes and culture to subscribe (free of charge) to the daily newsletter

5 5. Presentation by Woolmark China on the China Textile & Garment Sector: (Figures provided taken from the China Garment Industry Development Report) A representative from the Woolmark China office delivered an informative overview on the Chinese textiles and apparel sector and discussed market prospects for UK companies in China. Analysis of 2012 domestic economic environment Moderate growth Local income increased steadily GDP increased 7.8% and local urban population s disposable income per capita increased to 12.6% Economic Operational Analysis of Domestic Apparel Industry Apparel on-line sales increased rapidly Exports decreased in volume compared with 2011 Outlook for 2013 is positive, yet there is pressure for companies to transform and upgrade Domestic Apparel Retail Market Annual apparel retail sales growth was 25.1% in 2011 and has dropped to 17.7% in 2012 which is the lowest growth rate since 2004 Apparel prices rose by 3.3% in 2012 from 2.4% in 2011 Retail volume growth reached a 10 year low which accounts for less than 20% of retail sales growth. Just 3% growth was registered in 2012 and 4% in Most apparel categories showed a significant slowdown, best performing areas were sportswear, jeans, men s suits, jackets, men s shirts and women s wear. As more customers move on-line and to fast-fashion, the traditional department stores are suffering and domestic apparel brands find it hard to satisfy consumer needs The concentration of brands in the market has declined as competition has grown: top performers are sportswear, jeans, cashmere, cotton and men s wool or worsted suits. To conclude, for the China domestic apparel market the need to transform and innovate is imperative, as is to somehow the joining-up of the on-line and off-line markets, and also keeping up with the trend to personalise and customise product. Apparel Brand Profile in Chinese Market Men s: Domestic brand labels have a huge potential in the middle to high end menswear market with accurate positioning and strategy this is also true for UK weavers that convey an appealing heritage and product story.

6 Women s: Original designer brands favoured by more and more Chinese consumers. Market segmentation speeds up, with a Golden Era ahead for China s women s brands, with IPO being the hot topic. International Brands: Luxury brand consumers are maturing as brands now understand to slow the pace of store openings in China. Internet has become an increasingly important brand marketing tool. Fast fashion brands gain recognition by Chinese consumers Chinese Apparel Industry: Clusters of each Province in 2012 Guandong 20.83% Jiangsu 16.67% Zhejiang 14.58% Fujian 14.58% Liaoning 8.33% Hebei 6.25% Shandong 4.17% Anhui 2.08% Jiangxi 2.08% Henan 2.08% Hunan 2.08% Hubei 2.08% These industry clusters have become the key support for the international competitive strength of the apparel industry in China, which is moving from scale expanding to value adding. The above notes were compiled on behalf of UKFT following Intertextile, Shanghai October 2013 For further information concerning future editions of the show, please contact textiles@ukft.org