HONG KONG — April 6, 2017 — Yarn Expo Spring concluded its 2017 edition last month with high satisfaction from both exhibitors and buyers. Held from March 15-17 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), the fair attracted 22,579 visitors from 94 countries and regions (2016: 20,527, 77 countries and regions) to source a large variety of yarn and fiber products brought by a total of 393 exhibitors from 12 countries and regions (2016: 309, 11 countries and regions), a 10% and 27% increase, respectively. The top 10 overseas visitor countries and regions were Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Delighted with the results, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. Wendy Wen, commented: “This edition we have seen a noticeable increase in the optimism of our exhibitors about the market situation in the coming year, so we are excited about what the year holds for the industry. As well as this, many of the exhibitors we spoke with during the three days were full of praise regarding aspects of the fair that are most important to us: the quality and diversity of buyers, as well as a buyer profile that matches with exhibitors’ offerings; the opportunities to develop new business and strengthen existing relationships; the ability to expand their brand to an international audience; and the chance to grow their business in new, trending product sectors.”
Industry leaders thrilled with fair results and see Yarn Expo as the most effective marketplace in Asia
Yarn Expo has always been known by the global yarn and fibre industry as the must-join trade fair for companies eager to tap into or intensify their businesses in China as well as Asia. Trusting the influence of Yarn Expo, industry leader Birla started participating regularly since it entered the China market three years ago. “Yarn Expo has highly boosted the awareness of our brand and fibres among the textile market over these few years,” said Peter Dong, Marketing & Business Development Senior Manager, Birla Group. “Three years ago when we first entered China, there weren’t many people that knew about us, but, today, Birla is a well-known company with an increasing number of fashion garment brands appointing us to be the main supplier of their products.”
Gathering six partner companies, Birla organised its own Birla Planet pavilion once again to highlight two of its key product lines – Birla Modal and Birla Spunshades – with pleasing results. “We, including our members, are all satisfied with the overall results this time. Our booths were packed with visitors throughout the fair. Besides China, there were also buyers from Europe, America, Japan and many more. Amongst these visitors were our key target groups, such as mid-range garment manufacturers as well as fashion brands like H&M. They all hold quite strong will to have future cooperation with us.” Dong further explained: “Nowadays, more and more downstream customers, for example fashion brands and garment manufacturers, are keen to work directly with raw material suppliers to develop new products. As such, we can use this fair to directly approach these types of buyers to introduce our products. No other similar fairs can offer such opportunities nor draw as wide a variety of buyers as Yarn Expo does. That’s why this is an unparalleled marketplace for the industry.”
The India Pavilion also experienced success, with results exceeding the pavilion organisers’ expectations. Ravindranathan Narayanasamy, Joint Director of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL), the pavilion organiser, commented: “The result this year is better than we expected! The strong visitor flow kept our exhibitors busy for all three days, and many reported to us that ample opportunities were found here. After a short period of downturn, we can clearly feel that the demand for Indian products, especially in China, is growing again since last October, and we are gaining a larger market share.”
Narayanasamy continued by sharing the diverse range of buyers the exhibitors met during the fair. He added: “We saw customers from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, the US, as well as some Middle East countries like Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Our exhibitors were also delighted to meet with a number of new and direct customers, such as knitting and weaving manufacturers, who are keen to buy from us directly rather than through agents.” Agreeing with Birla’s compliments on Yarn Expo, Narayanasamy said: “I would say Yarn Expo is the best yarn and fiber fair in the world in terms of scale, quality and the buyer profile. The China and Asia markets are important with unlimited business opportunities, and Yarn Expo is the most significant and effective platform to seize them.”
Exhibitors praised fair’s effectiveness for generating high-quality new business and its diverse buyer profile
Both overseas and domestic buyers were content with the number of quality new business contacts and the fair’s diverse visitor profile. “Around 90% of the contacts we received are new. This included buyers from China, Brazil, Thailand, Egypt, et cetera. We are extremely satisfied with this result, not only because of the quantity but also the impressive quality of these buyers,” said Sandjojo, Marketing Representative of the new Indonesian exhibitor PT. Bintang Asahi Textile Industry. Another new exhibitor Chemosvit Fibrochem from the Slovak Republic agreed, with its Sales Executive Lukas Haragos sharing: “A lot of visitors here were representing name-brands, and we’ve already made a number of new, high-quality contacts on the fair’s first day. While most of them were from China, buyers from Egypt, Japan, Poland and other places also visited our booth.” Haragos also mentioned their reason for exhibiting in Yarn Expo. He explained: “For us, Yarn Expo is one of the most influential yarn and fibre trade fairs in Asia, bringing the company lots of new and big opportunities. To develop future business in China, one of the most promising markets, Yarn Expo is absolutely a must.” Returning exhibitor Indus Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Ltd. highly values the fair’s impressive buyer profile, with its Sales & Marketing Manager Abedin Ahmed Rizvi complimenting: “We are happy with the outcome this year as we met many of our target buyers from China as well as Europe, and many of them have already placed orders with us. The diverse buyer profile is no doubt one of the most remarkable traits of Yarn Expo.”
Domestic exhibitors were just as pleased as the overseas exhibitors. Jiangsu Shenghong Science and Technology Co Ltd, a well-known domestic supplier and the co-organiser of the Shenghong China Fibre Trend Area 2017-18, shared the company’s rewarding three-day fair. Its Marketing Department Specialist Chong Gu said: “We are thrilled with the visitor flow and their quality. Many genuine buyers from India, Pakistan and the US were very interested in buying our products. In fact, we have also deepened the cooperation with famous brands such as Nike, Under Amour and Decathlon by introducing our products directly to their designers. Since we first joined Yarn Expo six editions ago, the fair has effectively elevated our brand awareness among the industry and led us to the international market.” Fancy yarn exhibitor Suzhou Zhengda Textile Mill Co Ltd thought the same, with the company’s General Manager Chunrong Gu adding: “Yarn Expo has been our primary source of key customers. The majority of buyers we met this time are our target. They are all in high quality and some of them even placed orders on the spot.” In recent years, the company has been actively developing its export business; therefore, Gu was also delighted with the fair’s buyer profile. He said: “We even established some initial cooperation with fabrics manufacturers from Indonesia, India and Korea, as well as some local trading companies.”
China’s demand for Uzbek cotton growing steadily
Uzbek exhibitors affirmed the demand for Uzbek cotton in the China market continues to grow. Foremost Uzbek supplier JV “Quva Tekstil” LLC has exhibited in Yarn Expo for four years, and has witnessed the rise in popularity of Uzbek cotton at the fair. Oybek Ergashev, General Manager of the company’s Export & Import Department, said: “Cotton from Uzbekistan is very competitive and getting more popular in the China market. As such, more and more Chinese manufacturers are keen to use Uzbek cotton and this demand will grow even higher in the future. We were really busy and productive throughout the fair, and we are satisfied with the overall outcome.” Ergashev concluded by encouraging more Uzbek suppliers to join the fair. He expressed: “I recommend factories from my country to participate in Yarn Expo. This is the most effective platform for us to benefit from this high potential market.” New Uzbek exhibitor KO’KCHA Tekstil agreed, with its Sales Manager Abdurakhimov Mukhammadsiddiq stating: “Our cotton yarn is becoming more favoured among the Chinese fabric and textile manufacturers, so our export volume increases every year. Hence, we decided to take part in Yarn Expo, the most influential platform in the industry, to have direct communication with our customers and showcase our products to more Chinese buyers.” Mukhammadsiddiq further recapped their first Yarn Expo experience. He shared: “We had no time to rest during these three days because there were so many visitors in our booth. We can clearly feel their enthusiasm towards our products, and a lot of them placed sample orders.”
Baoding Kaiyuan Cotton Spinning Co Ltd is just one of the buyers who visited the fair to specifically source Uzbek cotton, with the company’s General Manager Yechao Sun sharing: “My main goal for visiting Yarn Expo is to purchase yarns from Uzbekistan suppliers. Uzbek yarns reach 80-90% of the market share in Hebei, the area I come from. For us, we think their cotton is much more attractive in terms of the price and quality. I’ve already met with some high-quality exhibitors here and will consider to have further cooperation with them.”
Fair reflected high potential of the synthetic and fancy yarn markets
Besides Uzbek cotton, synthetic and fancy yarns are also the rising stars in the industry, which several exhibitors verified in the fair. Sandjojo from PT. Bingtang Ashai mentioned: “As synthetic yarns are more cost effective, the demand is obviously much stronger now. The majority of buyers we met were looking for synthetic yarns.” Domestic exhibitor Zhangjiagang Glory Biomaterial Co. Ltd. agreed, as the company’s newly developed synthetic fibre (a high elastic plant synthetic fiber for functional fabrics) received very positive feedback during the fair, with its Business Manager Simon Zhang explaining: “Our target is the sportswear fabrics manufacturers, but we realised that there was a significant increase in e-commerce buyers sourcing our products this year. The demand is growing, and we were able to connect with a large amount of new buyers and received many high-quality enquiries over these few days.”
Driven by the hot fancy yarn market, the Fancy Yarn Zone was one of the busiest areas in the fair. Hainan Ge, General Manager of Suzhou High View Industrial Co. Ltd., commented: “So many visitors came to our booth, and they were all genuine buyers who know exactly what they need. I can feel the demand for fancy yarns is rapidly growing as there was a significant increase of buyers sourcing new types of fancy yarn this year. Xinhua Ma, President of Sundeli Dyeing Technology Co. Ltd., felt the same and shared: “It’s obvious that there were more buyers interested in our fancy yarns, and this Fancy Yarn Zone maximised our exhibit results as it helped to draw the right buyers to us.”
On the other hand, buyers affirmed the promising future of the synthetic and fancy yarn markets. Industry-leading company Zhejiang Huafu Melange Yarn Co Ltd, a leading exhibitor at the concurrent Intertextile Shanghai fair, visits Yarn Expo every year to source new innovative cotton yarns and fibers, and the company’s Deputy Manager of Product Purchasing Department Qing Qian shared: “I discovered a wide range of cutting-edge chemical fibres and fancy yarns in the fair. These kinds of yarns and fibres have very bright market prospects, and I’m eager to buy from these suppliers.” Another buyer, Chaoyang Lin, Purchasing Manager of Xiamen Feeling Textile & Garment Co Ltd, was impressed with the selection of fancy yarns on offer. He said: “The market’s sourcing volume of fancy yarns is rising recently, and I’m really excited to see such a wide selection of new fancy yarn products included in the Fancy Yarn Zone.”
Concurrent fairs add value to participants’ experiences
Yarn Expo was held concurrently with four other textile trade fairs, and a number of exhibitors praised this arrangement for offering them additional business opportunities. “We also have some knitting yarn exhibitors, and this sector is becoming more important in the market. Therefore, having the knitting fair PH Value held concurrently generated more business potential,” said Narayanasamy, organizer of the India Pavilion. “I think PH Value brings 50% more visitors to these knitting yarn exhibitors. The synergy between these two shows is prefect.” Birla gave positive feedback about the concurrent events as well, with Dong saying: “Having other textile fairs held alongside makes Yarn Expo an even better place to be. This organisation gathered industry players from the entire supply chain, creating more opportunities for us.”
Buyers also benefitted from the arrangement. “I’m visiting Yarn Expo from PH Value. The joint exhibitions are helpful for learning the whole picture of the entire industry chain, and have enriched the range of sourcing options,” said Yongmin Zhou, General Engineer of Wuhan Winsome Knitting Industrial Co. Ltd. “I found some very good quality exhibitors and placed sample orders with them already.”
The next Yarn Expo fair, Yarn Expo Autumn will take place October 11-13, 2017. Yarn Expo showcases a wide spectrum of natural and blended yarns including cotton, wool, flax/regenerated flax, silk, and man-made fibers and yarns, as well as specialty products including elastic, and fancy and blended yarns.
Yarn Expo Spring was organized by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; The Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; China Cotton Textile Association; China Wool Textile Association; China Chemical Fiber Association; China Bast & Leaf Fibres Textiles Association; and China Textile Information Centre.
Posted April 11, 2017
Source: Messe Frankfurt Hong Kong
