TEXWORLD DENIM
11-14/2/2019, Le Bourget, Paris
13,929 visitors flocked to The Fairyland for Fashion. This is a new record high for attendance, with a 2.35 increase compared with February 2018. The trade shows organised by Messe Frankfurt France maintain their significance as an international business platform for the fashion industries.
“Business got going extremely quickly. Buyers were intent on determining how feasible their projects were and on getting in first when it came to exclusives. Professionals had already decided what they would look for ahead of the show and wanted to make things happen as fast as possible. From the very outset we were focussed on what is central to our work: trade talk and business. The atmosphere remained very vibrant throughout. Prime contractors attended the shows in the first place for work and to satisfy their curiosity. I am delighted to see the full effects of our strategy – encouraging contact with the materials, the skills and the people who offer them. It is an approach that I want to keep pursuing, no matter what, as nothing is a substitute for actual dialogue with the people and the materials. The almost febrile appetite of visitors thronging the aisles during the first few hours of the shows gives me encouragement in this respect” remarks Michael Scherpe, President of Messe Frankfurt France.
TOP 5: 1 – France, 2 – Spain, 3 – the United Kingdom, 4 – Turkey, 5 – Italy
Europe has seen an increase in visitors of almost 2%. This session confirmed the interest shown by French firms in the Messe Frankfurt France trade shows, with a second rise, up 7% again as in February 2018. A significant number of returning Spanish visitors have overtaken the United Kingdom (Brexit) and Turkey (Turkish lira). As for Italy, while remaining very stable, it has posted the strongest growth in this category, up by almost 12%. We note significant attendance by the Netherlands (up 11%). A good showing from Eastern Europe with Poland (up 5%), Belarus (+14%), and Bulgaria (+10%). Ireland and Greece have also made the most of the opportunity (up 7% et 8% respectively).
Portugal stands out with an increase of 44%, which attests to the rise in this country’s capacity in clothing production.
There are some pleasant surprises in store:
• A rise has also been seen in numbers of visitors from the top five
countries on the American continent (Brazil, USA, Colombia, Canada and Mexico). Note the good showing for Brazil (up 22%). The USA has a remained a faithful attendee at the shows, as confirmed by the excellent results (up 20%) since February 2017. Attendance by visitors from Colombia (up 9%) and Canada (up 6%) has grown stronger.
• As for Asia, it has also demonstrated fine overall growth in attendance, up by 14%, in particular with respect to India (up 13%), South Korea (up 6%) and Israel (up 4%). Special mention goes to Japanese visitors (up 30%), whose attendance declined after the tragic events of 2016 and who are now returning to the shows at Le Bourget. Lastly, we see conspicuously strong growth in the numbers of Chinese buyers. This time the calendar was more favourable for them.
Original and one-of-a-kind, TEXWORLD DENIM plays the denim card in the game of fashion.
The 4th session of Texworld Denim, the trade show for sourcing denim textiles and clothing, drew some thirty exhibitors from the all-important countries for the denim sector: Bangladesh. China, India, Pakistan and Turkey.
“Although slightly out of step with the denim industry’s timetables, Texworld Denim Paris still offers a key advantage, As it is held at the same time as the events dedicated to fashion, the show attracts ready-to-wear labels that weavers and clothing manufacturers do not really meet elsewhere. Texworld Denim therefore enjoys mutual benefits with the other shows and exploits its fashion credentials to the maximum” adds Michael Scherpe, President of Messe Frankfurt France.
In February 2019, activity soon concentrated on essentials, as was the case with the other shows in the cluster, with numerous trades transacted from the very first day. In a business climate like this, Texworld Denim has also experienced and met prime contractors’ demands for sustainable development.
Although it includes the major players, real vertical businesses with very diverse product ranges, the show also counts no less than seven companies in the Sustainable Development circuit among its exhibitors.
So, for instance, the Chinese firm King Jolly Textiles that works with organic cotton and has several ‘green’ labels “met mostly with European brands; the exhibition proved to be very conducive to business and excellent for making new contacts” according to the commercial director, Christine Jiang.
As far as the huge Bangladeshi company NZ Denim is concerned, this show was a success, as its director Tareq Mamun Chawdhury explains: “This show was really excellent, the major European ready-to-wear labels came to meet us, but some good American firms too. We also experienced considerable interest in our non-denim products.”
It is true however that exhibitors, in addition to the latest trends as regards techniques or style, also have supplementary collections on display, such as shirting. The Chinese firm Nanhai Deyao Textile Industrial, which exhibited a very imaginative capsule collection blending denim with indigo-dyed knit fabric or the range of printed denim bags with embroidery, for example, offered these ranges alongside their 100% denim products.
Texworld Denim is increasingly establishing itself as the trade show that delivers ready-to-wear brands and independent designers the denim addition they need in every fashion collection. The catwalk show on 14 February illustrated this perfectly.
The next Messe Frankfurt France shows: From 16 to 19 September 2019 in Paris, Le Bourget
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,500* employees at 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €715* million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
