Messe Frankfurt provides insights from China's Intertextile fair

28 Jun '21

3 min read

Pic: Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt, world’s largest trade fair organiser, has said that quality over quantity and a demand for new, unique products are the stand-out changes in the industry from the past year. The company curated first-hand accounts from the in-person attendees of three Intertextile Apparel editions that were held in Shanghai and Shenzhen since the pandemic.

“Accompanied by an increased popularity for pandemic-related products such as anti-bacterial, hygiene-focused and sustainable fabrics and solutions, the Chinese market has observed several shifts since the start of the pandemic, providing greater opportunities for suppliers,” Messe Frankfurt said in a press release.

“The first-hand accounts from exhibitors and buyers from the Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics editions in September 2020 and March 2021, and Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics in July 2020 can help paint the picture ahead of the Shanghai Autumn Editions which will be held from August 25 – 27, 2021,” the company added.

“The Taiwan Pavilion is quite crowded because everyone is looking for new and interesting products. Because of the pandemic, anti-bacterial, anti-virus and other health concepts are popular. Also, environmental protection is certainly a hot topic, including recycled, sustainable and organic products. I think China's demand for interesting and unique products moves very fast,” Tianzhong Dong, vice president, Hua Mao Nano-Tech (Shanghai) AN Office, China said.

“Buyers want to come to this fair to see what’s new. We have noticed more people will order small quantities. They will also order more patterns, brands and categories. In terms of consumer trends, people are now paying more attention to functional fabrics, such as anti-bacterial and sustainable products, which I think will prove to be even more popular in the future,” Hui Zhang, regional sales manager, Beijing Vitality Textiles Co Ltd, China, said in the release.

“Domestic customers who want to find European imported fabrics will come to Intertextile. The pandemic has accelerated Chinese consumers’ high requirements for product quality and they are more concerned about product safety,” David Chu, general manager, Shanghai Baosai International Trade Co Ltd (agent for Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti SpA), Italy said.

“Fairgoers at the latest spring edition in March this year observed high footfall, numerous enquiries and orders, along with an overall optimism of the market’s rebound. The overriding feeling that the textile industry is recovering and progressing in China dominated conversations at the fair amongst the nearly 2,600 exhibitors and 80,000-plus buyers,” Messe Frankfurt added in the release.

“The number of visitors is higher than last September and overall our booth has proved more popular too, so we have certainly seen a rebound of customers. So much so that we are expecting our domestic sales to have increased by about 30 – 40 per cent compared to last year,” Jing Ren Li, department head, R&D Textile Co Ltd, Korea said.

“The market in China picked up quite quickly after the disruptions last year, we noticed recovery and rebound in the market around May 2020. This is why we’ve become more focused on the domestic market over the past year,” Jackal Tsang, regional sales, Orta Anadolu, Turkey said.

“This edition, we have brought with us the latest prints sent over from London. Today the visitor flow is quite high and we’ve seen a lot of brand designers and fabrics directors, who are all decision makers,” Guanlian Yuan, general manager, Design Union Agent, UK, said in the release.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JL)

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