Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics is the undisputable leader when it comes to providing business outcomes for the global textile industry. The global sourcing summit that is Intertextile Shanghai wrapped up with a huge 15% increase in the buyer figure to 82，314 from 104 countries and regions （2017： 71，450， 103 countries and regions）， to go along with the 3，386 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions （2017： 3，341， 26 countries and regions） that exhibited at the National Exhibition and Convention Center. Strong growth was registered in buyers from China Hong Kong， Korea， Japan and India – this edition’s top four countries and regions – while Italy and Bangladesh entered the top 10 list this year， in eighth and tenth places respectively， alongside the U.S.， China Taiwan， Russia and the UK.
“After the strong increase in the buyer figure at last October’s Autumn Edition and the generally favourable outlook of the global textile industry in recent months， we were expecting a strong result this year， but the increased number of exhibitors and buyers placing their trust in this fair as their main business platform has completely exceeded our expectations，”Ms. Wendy Wen， Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt （HK） Ltd. explained after the fair. “We put this exceptional result down to the fact that there is no other industry event that matches Intertextile Shanghai’s scale， but most importantly that year after year the fair delivers new contacts from around the world and actual orders & business results for exhibitors. With the quality & quantity of buyers this edition and the tangible outcomes reported to us by exhibitors， the fair has reached a new level as the kick-off event for the spring / summer season.”
Just one of the many exhibitors to echo these sentiments was first-time French lace exhibitor Jean Bracq. “We are here to promote our lace to worldwide markets，” Mr. Philippe Larrieu， Responsible Commercial Export， said. “A lot of people have come to our booth， including from China， Australia， India， France， the U.S. and more. On the first day we had already received 60 sampling enquiries – even our catalogue ran out！ So the result is beyond our expectation. At this fair， we not only meet new buyers， but also see our existing customers which we usually meet in fairs in Paris.”
Seven halls and 187，000 sqm.， equal to 2017， were in use at this edition， with everything from fabrics for ladieswear， menswear， suiting， shirting， lingerie and swimwear to high-end wool fabrics， original pattern designs， functional & performance fabrics， sustainability products & services， digital printing technologies， garment & fashion accessories and more on display. Growth areas this edition included the Premium Wool Zone， with the exhibitor number doubling from last year， reflecting the evolving use of wool in spring/summer collections. The international area of the Beyond Denim zone also doubled in size this year， while overseas presence in Accessories Vision grew by 73%.