Major leather players will together at APLF 2012

09 Nov '11

4 min read

Asia Pacific Leather Fair Ltd - APLF Limited will hold its annual spring trade fairs focusing on the leather and fashion industries from 28 to 30 March 2012 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

These events include: Materials, Manufacturing & Technology (MM&T), the premier event for the global leather industry; Fashion Access (FA), the leading international for show bags, footwear and “head-to-toe” fashion products; and Prime Source Forum (PSF), the annual meeting for the global apparel industry, the profile of which has now been extended to include footwear.

Turkey, a major player in the global leather industry, will be the focus country for APLF 2012. “We expect a record number of Turkish tanneries in their pavilion for the APLF 2012,” revealed Mr. Lemi Tolunay, president of Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters' Association and Turkish Leather Council. “The Turkish leather sector is an important player in the global leather industry, with a focus on design, innovation and quality production, we are excited to showcase these strengths,” he added.

India, Italy, Korea, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and the USA. England, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany are all recognized powerhouses in leather innovation and design and their continued presence at the fair, since its launch in1984, is confirmation of MM&T's premier position in the international leather business community.

The relevance of MM&T to the fashion industry is reflected with its increasing number of exhibitors of non-leather and natural raw materials, components and accessories, as well as processing, chemical and equipment manufacturers. “We are confident that we will have a higher exhibitor count in 2012 than the 1,235 registered in March 2011.

Already, we have seen an increase in stand bookings by 16% compared to the same period last year.” according to APLF event director Perrine Ardouin. “At the same time, we hope that with this interesting mix of products and companies, we will be able to attract an increase in the number of buyers and we expect more than 20,000 buyers to attend in March 2012.”

MM&T in March 2012 will feature the colour and material trends for Spring-Summer 2013 as developed by Olivier Guillemin, president of the Comite Francais de la Couleur. The trends will be showcased in the Material Trends Space, a special service to visitors.

Fashion Access (FA), continues to strengthen its position as a must-attend event for exhibitors and buyers of bags, footwear, small leathergoods, fashion accessories, travelware, leather garments, and lifestyle products. This “head-to-toe” fashion concept allows buyers the ease of one-stop sourcing, all under one roof.

FA has established itself as the most international fair of its kind in Asia, In March 2011, exhibitors came from 30 countries while buyers represented nearly 100 different nationalities.

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