Despite the fact that the new venue on the outskirts of Shanghai – The National Exhibition and Convention Centre – attracted much criticism as many felt that the huge complex was still not ready to hold a show of this magnitude, yet the event recorded the distinction of being the highest ever attended Intertextile Shanghai, spring edition ever. According to official records, more than 62,000 trade visitors from 88 countries and regions, including China, came to source the latest apparel fabrics and accessories from 2,637 exhibitors representing 24 countries and regions. This was a major jump from the last spring edition of 40,214 visitors and 1,469 exhibitors, respectively.
While the fabric section was dominated by Chinese players, the yarn section saw many players from India and Pakistan showcasing not only basic commodity cotton yarn, but also some mélange and dyed yarn with different finishes. As expected, sustainability was a major theme running through the fair and many companies claimed to be working on sustainable fibres. One of the leaders in sustainable fibres Lenzing launched a new micro fibre for knitting. “We have seen a measurable increase in the demand for cellulose fibre and speciality fibres and the retailers are now driving the market towards environment-friendly options,” said Christina Kreuzwieser, Lenzing’s Head of Marketing Communication. She was very happy at the quality visitation and felt that by combining fairs in a concurrent event attracts more quality customers. “I think the buyers that come here are looking for quality products,” she added.
Muhammad Shafiq (CEO) of Hareem Textile (Pakistan)
Huge crowd thronged the venue, and many exhibitors shared that enquiries generated were mostly genuine. “The number of buyers who visited our booth doubled compared to even the autumn fair last year with 200 to 250 customers visiting us each day. We’ve met hundreds of new customers from Europe, US, Japan and of course China,” said Yagi Ryota, Assistant Manager of Sunwell (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Japan. It was also observed that there were fewer agents at the fair and more direct customers. In fact, this large increase in the number as well as quality of buyers was attributed to the new venue location by the fair organizer. “Our main reason for moving to this new fairground was to allow easier access to the fair for domestic trade buyers from around the country, and the significant increase in the visitor figure confirms this was the case and that the relocation was the right decision to make,” said Wendy Wen of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. She ensured the exhibitors that all loopholes would be ironed out before the upcoming autumn edition of the show.
Europe was well represented at the fair in the ever-popular Salon Europe where around 180 suppliers of premium fabrics and accessories including 11 trend forecasters, the Milano Unica Pavilion from Italy, the Portugal Pavilion, the Germany zone, and the France and Premium Wool zones were major attractions. The area was cordoned off and entrance was the prerogative of the exhibitors. But it was the Chinese mills that surprised and attracted visitors with innovations. “Earlier the Chinese mills were known for good quality, huge volumes, but standard products with little innovation. But now we see many mills from China giving innovations almost at par with the European mills. This trend has picked up in the last five years,” says Hrash Bindra, Manager-Merchandising, Norwest Industries, Bangladesh. Bindra was in Shanghai specially looking for new fabric sources for his product development team.
Major presence of Pakistan mills…
At the yarn section a number of Pakistani mills were offering a coarse yarn for denim weaving. “While India is specializing in finer counts and better quality yarn, Pakistan mills have found greater acceptance in fabrics where lower counts are required and that is why many Pakistani Mills are supplying to Bangladesh, where denim manufacturing is one of the biggest growth areas,” says Muhammad Shafiq, CEO Hareem Textile, Pakistan. The company besides having 55,000 spindles also has 150 looms to supply grey and printed fabric. Endorsing the view, Faraz Ahmed Malik, Director of Global Textile Networks, which represents many mills in Pakistan in the international market says, “There is no real competition between India and Pakistan, even though both countries are looking at the same markets, because the product specializations are different and also since Pakistan is more cost-competitive in coarser counts, most Indian mills do not touch the category.”
A major player in the Bangladesh market Winco Marketing, Pakistan is supplying both raw cotton and yarn to many big companies like NASSA, Sasha, and Partex. Besides standard yarn the company is also supplying mélanges and double yarn. “We are sourcing all our yarn from Pakistan and now looking to increase our focus in China, which is one of the reasons to be at the fair,” said Khalid Rasheed, MD of the company. Also looking to market mélange yarns, Saif Group of Pakistan, which was represented by Zaheen-ud-din, COO felt that the days for supplying basic products were over. “It is important for companies to differentiate and we have established a factory in Egypt also to offer a wide variety of yarns, including those that are not produced in the country,” said Zaheen-ud-din. The company has 130,000 spindles in Pakistan and 60,000 spindles in Egypt.
Earlier the Chinese mills were known for good quality, huge volumes, but standard products with little innovation. But now we see many mills from China giving innovations almost at par with the European mills. This trend has picked up in the last five years. While the Pakistani mills saw inquiries in coarse yarn mostly for denim fabric, Indian mills were popular for finer count yarn.
While many of the Pakistani Mills are either already working with Bangladesh or interested to work with Bangladesh, but there are strong reservations. “The banking system in Bangladesh is very difficult and payments are a major issue. For business, one can only thrive on good relations,” says Luqman Bin Arif, HOD Marketing, Naveena Denim. The company is constantly increasing its presence in the country, but prefers to work with established players. The company has a capacity of 1.4 million metres of denim fabric per month using differential finishes. They are also one of the biggest suppliers for Levi’s in Pakistan. Since denim has become a fashion product, one of the biggest challenges for the company is meeting shorter lead times.
For all the exhibitors from the Indian sub-continent, China is the biggest market. Among the bigger mills represented at the fair from Pakistan was Hussain Mills, which has 100,000 spindles and 150 airjet looms. The company offers bottom weight fabrics like chinos and twills besides sheeting. Hussain Ahmed Fazal, Director, Hussain Mills feels that the huge capacity that the company has is one of its biggest advantages. “We can offer not only timely deliveries but also huge quantities which is the requirement especially in China, he says. Hussain adds that the textile industry worldwide is going through a difficult time and the real challenge for any manufacturer today is the ‘cost v/s price’ dilemma.
India strongly represented by yarn manufacturers with very few fabric suppliers…
Even though most of the big mills from around the country were present like Alok, Century, Neo-tex, Alps Industries, Tirupati Yarns, NSL Textiles, Loyal Textile to name a few, the product of focus was cotton yarn. Also present were trading houses like Texperts and Square Corporation. “China is an important market for cotton yarns and though last year, they slowed down buying, we see the market reviving which is a good sign. What matters to the Chinese companies is reliability and quality. If any company can offer these two elements then the quantities that the Chinese need can provide work for everyone,” says Dr. K Rajasekhar Reddy, Chairman & MD, SLN Spinning Mills. The Guntur-based company is so upbeat about opportunities in China that it has opened an office in Shanghai for follow-up after the fair.
Of the few companies showcasing fabric, Exotica Exports from Mumbai fascinated the visitors with very high-end fabric with innovative designs, mostly done by hand. “We are manufacturing for the international market and what better platform than China. But then we are looking for boutique buyers who want around 100 metres and we are pleasantly surprised that despite China’s reputation as a bulk buyer, we have met many companies that have shown interest in our huge collection of over 350 designs on display,” said Ravi Khemka, Director, Exotica Exports.
Also attracting attention was Linocel, by Texperts, a yarn which looks like Linen and feels like Linen, but has softer hand-feel. “The fabrics made out of this innovative yarn not only retain the look, feel, comfort, skin friendliness and creasing like quality of Linen, but also stay in line with the sustainable movement, which is taking the textile industry by a storm,” says Manish Mehta, Director, Texperts. The yarn is being used to develop both woven and knitted fabric, for both men’s and ladies’ wear.
