15,075 visitors thronged the aisles at the “Fairyland for Fashion”, which brought together Messe Frankfurt France’s trade shows dedicated to the fashion industry. This was 400 visitors less than in September 2017. For some countries, travel was made difficult for a variety of reasons: bad weather conditions, obtaining visas and unfavourable exchange rates.
“We set a record in September 2017, and, considering the economic situation in the sector, we are still satisfied with this session’s final figures, which are stable, and with the relaxed and positive atmosphere felt by all. Where our visitors are concerned, two things have struck me: there are no large continental regions that predominate but positive results which vary according to nationality and, despite the tough situation in the clothing industry, visitors did attend for the purpose of conducting business at our shows. I am delighted with the steady and appreciable increase in French visitors”, comments Michael Scherpe, President of Messe Frankfurt France.
With over 80% of visitors coming from outside of France, these shows remain all-important for the global fashion industries.
TOP 5: 1 – France, 2 – the United Kingdom, 3 – Spain, 4 – Italy, 5 – Turkey
Spain and Italy each move up one place, relegating Turkey to the bottom of the table. There are no longer regional blocks for each continent that predominate. We observed a variation in visitor numbers according to the country to different degrees, however not very noteworthy overall except in the case of France, which is always a fan of the concept adopted at Messe Frankfurt’s Paris shows, with an increase of 11%, Italy up 5%, Russia 7%, Switzerland 16% and generally strong for Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
When it comes to Asia, India, which is a rapidly developing market, scored high with an increase of 17%, South Korea up by 15%, Lebanon 14% and with some lacklustre figures for countries such as China, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Indonesia despite their good record of attendance.
As for America, although the United States remains top with stable figures, Canada scored high with an increase of 7%, Argentina was up by 8% and finally Colombia up by 5%. The economic and political situation in Brazil was reflected in a 24% downturn in visitor numbers, although Brazilian buyers were still in second place for the American continent. Where Africa was concerned, we noted healthy results for the countries that supply Europe with Tunisia up by 11% and Mauritius by 8%.
As for Asia Pacific, Australia is on a steady course with an increase of 2%. The trade fairs organized by Messe Frankfurt France continue their successful track record by staying in tune with market needs and evolving their offer to match the expectations of business, as witnessed by the tremendous success of South Africa, the guest of honor at the first Leatherworld show.
