This is a busy time at APLF with the All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE) running Sept 3 - 5, and Fashion Access (FA), October 3 - 4. We'd like to keep you up-dated.
Seminars?
Pacific International, a long-time exhibitor at Fashion Access, have developed their business from largely synthetic bags to leather. At FA designer Olivier Grammont will display his new collection for Summer 09, made of canvas mixed with leather.
FA works for Brazilian footwear. They attended FA for the first time in March and, the exhibitors in the Brazilian national pavilion received orders worth US$206,000 with estimated sales by April 2009 of US$900,000. And the Brazilian experience in entering the domestic Chinese footwear market serves as the inspiration for a piece on exporting finished footwear to China. Perhaps the Brazilian soccer team at the recent Olympics might follow their lead.
Click here for a preview of ACLE.
Prime Source Forum (PSF) will run over March 31 - April 2, 2009. Check out the 2008 event and get a special 'Early Bird' price for prompt bookings for 2009.
ACLE stalwart and major international chemical manufacturer Clariant are showing a new range of leathers at the Shanghai event.
New ideas too from Associate Editor Mike Redwood in his immensely popular 'Cool Hunting' column.
A straw poll from UK Fashion Extra (Fe) found, among other things, that retailers thought sourcing unusual and innovative products were essential for survival. Fashion Access is the place to visit. Made even easier now that travel arrangements can be made at the same time as registering for the fair through APLF OAG Travel Planner.
The Beijing Olympics certainly caused many to re-think their perception of China. Brand China is becoming perceived less as cheap and shoddy and more as a reliable quality supplier. An article in China Daily on-line stresses the point.
