All China Leather Expo from Sept 1 in Shanghai

16 Jul '10

4 min read

The All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE), held annually, is the premier event for international and domestic companies in the leather and shoe making sector seeking opportunities in China's huge and growing markets.

In 2009, over 14,300 visitors attended the event to meet some 833 exhibitors.

Since its inception in 1998 ACLE has impressed exhibitors with the number and the quality of visitors. Visitors, likewise, have discovered a huge variety of potential suppliers, many unexpected, particularly from overseas. Over the years additional attractions have been added, such as fashion shows, seminars and special events designed to keep all participants up-to-date with new innovations and the fast-moving demands of the apparel and fashion markets.

As usual ACLE is held alongside the China International Footwear Fair (CIFF) and Moda Shanghai. The market for high quality footwear in China is buoyant, to put it mildly, and opening unprecedented 'once in a lifetime' opportunities for international and domestic footwear manufacturers. Many of China's best known footwear producers exhibit at CIFF.

Moda Shanghai is for fashion items, such as leather garments, handbags and fashion accessories.

CIFF and Moda Shanghai attract buyers from retail stores, supermarkets and boutiques.

Prevailing Market Conditions

Luxury Loves Leather
Retail markets for leather products are booming: particularly at the upper price levels and despite severe economic conditions prevailing in many traditional markets. These are being replaced by fast emerging new markets with a size and potential to boost the leather sector to new levels - higher than ever before.

Today's leather industry is an integral part of the wider fashion and apparel industry, forcing companies to stay up-to-date with the latest innovation, market intelligence and regulations, colour, style, material and design. Details of all these are present at ACLE.

Much of the demand is coming from the luxury goods sector. The top end of many retail sectors are relatively free from changes in the general economy. This is supported by expanding sales of everything from top line watches, travelware to Rolls Royce motor cars. The rich, like the poor, are always with us.

More importantly the potential in new emerging markets, such as India, Brazil , Russia, and especially China itself, are developing much faster than widely predicted. Together these countries (sometimes referred to as the BRIC - Brazil, Russia, India and China) contain huge emerging middle-classes ready, willing and (increasingly) able to buy the lifestyle purchases they have not been able to afford previously.

This is good news to the leather sector generally since it maintains demand right across the board - from raw materials, to leather making (tanneries), to product manufacture (bags and footwear), traders, importers/exporters, designs, machinery and, of course, retailers.

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