Texworld trade fair braves twin storms to emerge winner

31 Oct '08

5 min read

Against the background of a global financial crisis and despite a strike during the first three days by the RER B, the main line for access to the show, this session of Texworld was marked by a remarkable dynamism on the part of both exhibitors and visitors, as if the different players at the show had decided to brave the storm more than ever.

Texworld remains a sound platform for business and not just during times of a thriving economy but also when great economic and financial uncertainties abound. This 23rd session has in fact been one that is strong on initiatives and in new developments and is proving to be very promising for the future.

If the number of visitors has dropped it is in a reasonable proportion and compensated for by a more marked quality of buyers, which has been confirmed by numerous exhibitors. Echoing this development, visitors have observed a constant progression in terms of creativity and quality of products on the part of the exhibitors.

Even if the prices for products are somewhat higher in the opinion of visitors, who at the same time recognise the efforts made in striving for quality, they continue to be the most competitive on the market.

Texworld remains a trade show but also a meeting place for making new contacts in surroundings that are both attractive and very welcoming. The organisers of Texworld had barely taken note of the strikes that would have an impact on the journey to Paris Le Bourget when a real mobilisation of the team took place so that, from Monday morning on, both exhibitors and visitors could be shuttled from the Gare du Nord to the replacement bus.

Every day one of the exhibition organisers, surrounded by a bevy of hostesses, was present at this strategic location, notably Michael Scherpe, President of Texworld, on Monday, in order to guide visitors, foreign ones in particular, towards the bus.

This example illustrates the show organisers' concern as they endeavour to promote the interest and well-being of both visitors and exhibitors alike. 15,952 buyers from all over the world came to Texworld in order to discover the products (fabrics and clothing) from 872 exhibitors. This figure is down 10% compared to September 2007's session (17,741 visitors) and only 2.24% compared to (16,340 visitors) in the session in February 2008.

Results compared to February 2007 are entirely satisfactory as, from this date on, Texworld's canvassing and marketing services carried out the groundwork to attract potential visitors, a task that is beginning to bear fruit.

As far as the downturn in comparison to September 2007 is concerned, it can be explained by the lack of the usual means of transport which caused an approximately 5% estimated loss in visitors in total compared to the previous September, which in turn had a significant impact on the number of repeat visits; but it can also be explained by the reduction in size of the Chinese delegation and its VIPS, by the absence of specific guests invited from the Chinese embassy in Paris which was largely covered at the event by the visit to Texworld by Mr Du, the Chinese Minister for Textiles and Clothing.

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