Shanghai success

By Ben Moore The success of the annual Intertextile China international fabrics and textile trade fair has reaped rewards for the city of Shanghai throughout its six-year history. Last year, however, was better than ever before. More than 23,000 visitors from 64 countries attended the three-day show, a 45% increase on the 1999 event. The number of overseas visitors was also up to 15% of the total, led by Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Such a dramatic rise forced event organiser Messe Frankfurt (HK) to stage Intertextile in two venues for the first time in its history. Total floorspace, which was up from 12,000sqm in 1999 to 22,000sqm, was spread between ShanghaiMart and INTEX Shanghai. The former accommodated two-thirds of exhibitors from the apparel fabrics and accessories industries, while the latter hosted home textile exhibitors on its first and second floors. According to Messe Frankfurt (HK) managing director trade fairs Mr Wolfram Diener, the close proximity of the venues to each other made them an obvious choice to be used for the expanded show. "In previous years, Intertextile has been held solely in INTEX. This year the huge swelling in size necessitated an additional venue. ShanghaiMart is located directly next door to INTEX, making it extremely convenient for visitors," Mr Diener said. Despite the obvious difficulties in staging an international exhibition in China, Mr Diener praised the support of Messe Frankfurt (HK)'s local partners and the infrastructure in Shanghai. "Staging any event in China is difficult for an overseas organiser, but we are lucky to enjoy strong organisational support from our Chinese partners," he said. "Shanghai itself is a wonderful venue for exhibitions, as it is perhaps the most advanced city in China with excellent infrastructure and facilities. With two airports and several international standard hotels, it is rapidly becoming just as easy a city to visit as Hong Kong. "However, Shanghai is lacking a truly international standard exhibition venue." Intertextile was also the stage for the China Fabric Trends and Showcase of China Top Fashion Fabrics, a supplementary event that featured static displays and catwalk fashion shows. The event was designed to highlight the quality of Chinese-made fabrics to both domestic and international garment-makers and help increase the competitiveness of Chinese fabrics in the world market. Catwalk models played to a packed auditorium at every performance. "Our aim was to provide an international standard, professionally organised trade fair at which foreign manufacturers could market their products to the huge buyer base in China," explains Mr Deiner. "Ultimately, many of the local Chinese fabric manufacturers also joined the event, highlighting its general appeal to the textile industry throughout the mainland. Despite the show's success in previous years, the 2000 event still impressed those closely involved with it. Officials at Messe Frankfurt (HK) believe Intertextile's secret lies in the combination of the right concept at the right time. China represents the most important country in the world for textile and garment production, while Shanghai is the most important centre for the industry in China. "The need for the event is demonstrated by the overwhelming interest shown in the market. Foreign manufacturers recognise that now is the time to establish and nurture business interests in China," Mr Diener said. "We have formed an alliance with a very important Chinese partner, which is extremely strong in the areas of organisation and visitor promotion. For our part, we have utilised our worldwide network to market the event. All these factors together have contributed to the show's success." The show's success has sparked plans to stage a similar annual event in Beijing from spring next year. "Beijing is an important city for the textiles and garment industry in China and we feel considering the growth in Intertextile's size and reputation, a second annual event is necessary," said Messe Frankfurt GmbH board member Dr Michael Peters. "Feedback from our Intertextile exhibitors has been very positive so far and we are very confident about the launch of the new show." The debut of Intertextile Spring will take place from March 28-31, 2001 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing.