Despite a lower turnout at The Fairyland for Fashion sourcing shows this year due to coronavirus, the mood was upbeat, with countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh a keen destination for buyers, and small quantity orders a popular service.
The six trade fairs that make up The Fairyland for Fashion –Apparel Sourcing Paris, Avantex Paris, Leatherworld Paris, Shawls&Scarves Paris, Texworld Paris and Texworld Denim Paris – took place in Le Bourget, Paris from 10-13 February, despite the circumstances related to the coronavirus outbreak.
“The shows were held this year under very particular circumstances,” said Michael Scherpe, president of Messe Frankfurt France. “Health checks conducted by the Chinese authorities prevented a large number of exhibitors from coming to France. Despite it all, our main Chinese partners have signalled their readiness to renew their confidence in us by confirming that they will certainly be back in September.
“As always, the players in this dynamic market will demonstrate their resilience and professionalism. Even if buyers decide to put alternative sourcing routes in place on a temporary basis in order to guarantee supplies, they will want to resume their usual routes quickly. For this reason, one can already imagine that the September session will be very good for business.”
The uncertainty regarding Chinese production that has prevailed since the beginning of February helped to boost buyers’ average purchasing behaviour, with many keen to secure their procurement with the exhibitors who were present, Messe Frankfurt said. Countries such as Turkey, Korea, Pakistan and Bangladesh appear to have benefited from this exceptional situation.
“A large number of buyers are already anticipating a clear strengthening of business in the coming months,” the organiser added.
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By GlobalDataCircumstances also favoured, probably for similar reasons, orders for small quantities of textiles or finished garments. Texworld Paris was the first to offer this extra service for buyers, and designers in particular. There was also prominence for emerging countries, such as Mongolia, which was exhibiting for the first time.
Sustainable products within Texworld Denim were also particularly prominent this year. “This was the first time when we felt that sustainable fibres, organic or recycled raw materials are now becoming the norm,” commented one buyer. “Even if they’re not on display everywhere, they are often available in the catalogues, and they crop up in discussions, which was not the case previously.”
Meanwhile, the lectures and round-table discussions organised throughout the trade fair attracted a large audience, with presenters discussing ongoing concerns and short-term solutions to the current challenges.
Discussions touched on issues such as transparency, circular economy, new resources, CSR, co-design and short production runs.
