It's Time for 'Preview in Shanghai'

6th annual Korean textile, apparel show to run April 22-24 in Shanghai to make further inroads into China

The Korea Federation of Textile Industries (KOFOTI) will hold its Preview in Shanghai 2009, the annual textile and apparel show to help Korean fashion and fabrics penetrate the Chinese market, from April 22-24 at Shanghai Mart in China's second largest city.
There will be 150 exhibitors at 400 booths at the Korean fashion event, which will be comprised of fashion shows, exhibitions and seminars organized by KOFOTI and sponsored by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
This year's Preview in Shanghai has extra strength because it opens simultaneously with the 6th China International Textile & Apparel Trade Fair at Shanghai Mart, which will have a huge number of viewers, creating a spillover effect for the Korean event, as it is to be held next door at the mart.
Apparel to be shown at the show will include women's wear, men's wear, casual wear, sports wear, kids wear, inner wear, furs, leather and wedding wear, KOFOTI said.
Additional items on display will include trimmings, accessories, embroidery, hats, neckties, scarves, shoes, etc. KOFOTI said the event will provide one-stop sourcing for the latest top-quality collections of textile products and the most up-to-date fashion trends, combined with international standard Korean textile technology.
The textile federation said the annual Shanghai event is also a window for business contracts between Chinese buyers and Korean exporters equipped with well-established business skills and insight into the textile industry.
The event is also meant to set up a cooperative foundation for the Korean-Chinese textile industries to proceed as business partners and lead the Asian fashion industry in the 21st century, the organizer said.
Some of the Korean textile apparel makers to be at the show include E-Land, EXR, Bokre Merchandizing, Arte International, Indief, Tomboy and Ssamji, among others that already operate in China. The participants also include newcomers hoping to crack the Chinese market such as MK Trend, Jessey New York, Leadmark, Ivy Star, Samyang Leather, and Chamzone Apparel, among others. E-Land already has 480 sales outlets in 124 cities and 1,700 corners in department stores across China. The company is one of the most popular foreign companies among young Chinese college graduates including those from Beijing and Qinghua universities to work for due to its dominant position in the neighboring country's retail market.
KOFOTI said it expects some 35,000 spectators will come to the fashion show event this year, most of them buyers from all over China, which is not so much affected by the economic crisis with its economy expanding 6.8 percent during the fourth quarter last year and 9 percent for the whole year, compared to 1.4 percent on average for advanced countries and 6.6 percent for developing countries last year.
The IMF said Korea's economic growth would be -4 percent this year due to sluggish exports and domestic demand and 4.2 percent next year thanks to the economic recovery in major market countries for Korea.
The Chinese government's policy to perk up its domestic economy will allay fears of reductions in foreign investment and maintain consumer spending on a sound basis. Korean textile makers pin high hopes on the Chinese textile market as exports will be sluggish this year due to the economic slowdown around the world, especially in the U.S., and EU, while demand at home is also expected to be weak.
Korean textile makers look toward China, as the country is the closest neighbor and has maintained close relations historically and shares similar cultural traditions.
In this context, the Preview in Shanghai 2009, which is the sixth annual event to be held in Shanghai, is expected to be a key platform for Korean textile exports to China. Therefore, KOFOTI said the upcoming event has been put together so that Korean textile makers will have truly good opportunities to meet Chinese buyers and talk business with them. nw

Chairman Ro Hee-chan of the Korea Federation of Textile Industries.