Aus der Branche

Asia’s leading trade platform for the home and contract textile industry, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles, is ready to welcome over 600 exhibitors to China’s commercial hub from 24 – 26 August. As China’s economy continues its recovery, the upcoming fair will serve as a key platform for the industry to reconnect and prepare for the seasons ahead. Taking consideration of current international travel restrictions, Intertextile has launched a brand new online business matching platform, enabling participation for those who cannot travel to Shanghai.

Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd commented: “2020 has been a difficult and unpredictable year for every business and industry across the world, so we are pleased to be providing a platform for the home textile industry to connect and recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is the first physical trade event for the sector held by Messe Frankfurt since January, so we hope that the fair assists the sector to join forces and overcome this challenging year together.”

Ms Wen continued: “Our first priority is to create a clean and hygienic space for all participants to source and network. To achieve this goal, the fair will implement extra health care and hygiene precautions onsite. On the other hand, we are aware that a number of travel restrictions are still in place across the world. With this in mind, Intertextile will offer a series of online services for those who are unable to travel to Shanghai, allowing the fair to reach as wide an audience as possible.”

2020 fair highlights

To provide buyers with greater efficiency, the fair, which covers four halls, will be divided clearly by product categories: Household Hall (hall 3), International Brands / Upholstery Hall (hall 4.1), Brand Fabrics Hall (hall 5.1) and Sofa Fabrics Hall (hall 6.1).

In addition, the Contract Business 360° concept will return this year, with over 40 premier upholstery exhibitors presenting their latest textile products and furnishing solutions for contract use. Exhibitors include Guangzhou Yuanzhicheng Home Textile, Haining Julai Textile, JAB, Morgan Shanghai, Symphony Mills, Suzhou Roufang, Ter Molst International, Zhejiang Hexin and Zhejiang Maya Fabric. Furthermore, top brands such as Agmamito from Poland and Wollsdorf Leather from Austria will be exhibiting for the first time at Intertextile.

Online business matching platform offers new sourcing landscape

Although face-to-face interaction is irreplaceable, a virtual complement has become more important as a result of the worldwide pandemic. To support the industry during these unprecedented times, Intertextile has launched a brand new online business matching platform. With this free service, participants are able to source and network at their fingertips. The virtual platform will offer many new features including:

• Easy sourcing: exhibitors are categorised by product groups including Sofa / Decorative Fabrics, Curtains and Accessories, Bedding and Finished products, Shading and Accessories, and Editors
• Live-streamed product presentations of exhibitors
• Smart recommendations: pre-selected exhibitor lists will be provided to buyers based on their personal preferences and interests
• Convenience: participants are able to use the service through computers or portable devices without the need to download any software

High quality fringe programme covers comprehensive topics
 
The fair’s event programme will once again provide the industry with the latest trends and insights in four topics: Design Inspiration, Business O2O, Textile & Technology and Industry Empowerment. One of the highlights will be the 2021 Intertextile Trend Forum, led by Shen Lei, the Chinese representative of the Intertextile International Lifestyle Trend Committee. The forum will bring together five prominent Chinese designers including Ben Chen, Ben Wu, Meng Ye, Paul Pang and Xie Ke, who will delve into the theme of 2021 Intertextile Trends–“BOUND”, as well as the Chinese market conditions. The event will be held on day 1 of the fair, from 14:00 – 17:00 in hall 5.1 booth C18, and streamed live online.

Another not-to-be-missed event is the Ride the Storm – Home Textile Digital Printing Forum, which will include an array of educating seminars that cover the latest digital textile printing trends and technologies. The forum will be held on day 2 of the fair, from 13:20 – 17:20 in hall 3, booth M12.

Furthermore, joining forces with Tmall Global, the largest cross border B2C online retail platform in China, the fair will host a series of seminars delivering the solutions and strategies for industry digitalisation during the afternoon of day 1. In addition, the well-received Furniture & Home Textile Direct Negotiation Event will return to provide an excellent opportunity for furniture companies and fabric brands to collaborate.

Additional health care and hygiene precautions will be in place

As trade fair co-organisers, Messe Frankfurt’s number one priority always remains the health and safety of fairgoers. To maintain a clean and hygienic environment for visitors and exhibitors to meet in, extra measures will be in practice at the fair. These include: real-name registration, onsite temperature checks, frequent sterilisation of public areas and distancing measures for forum / seminar audiences, amongst others.

August’s Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles embraces the revitalised home textile market in China
As China’s economy is getting back on track with the GDP growth rate standing at 6.9% in 2017, the home textile market is also showing strong signs of recovery before Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles returns this August.

With 23 years’ history, the show is well regarded as the most influential home textile trade fair in Asia. Over 1,000 suppliers from around 30 countries and regions will showcase a wide variety of home textile products ranging from bedding, bath, table & kitchen, curtains & upholstery and textile designs & technology to editors, whole home, sun protection, wallcoverings and carpets & rugs. In turn, over 38,000 trade buyers are expected to source at the fair.

According to Askci Consulting, one of the leading Chinese industry research institutions, China’s home textile market has been growing steadily with an average rate of around 10% between 2010 and 2015. The overall size has increased from USD 18.4 billion in 2010 to USD 29.5 billion in 2015, and is expected to reach USD 38.3 billion in 2020. What’s more, the consumption of home textiles only accounts for about 29% of the total textile consumption of the country. Given the fact that the relevant ratio in developed countries such as the US and Japan is between 33 to 38%, there still lies huge room for the Chinese market to expand. Foreign analysts share this optimism, with Euromonitor expecting an annual increase of 5.3% and 5.9% for China’s entire home textile and bedding product markets respectively.

Thanks to the improving quality and competitive price, there is also growing demand for China’s home textile products from buyers around the world. Customs statistics show that the export value for home textile products increased 2.25% to USD 39.5 billion in 2017. Among all China’s export countries and regions, the US has the largest share, followed by the EU, ASEAN and Japan.
With all these favourable conditions in place, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles, to be held from 27 – 30 August, serves as an ideal platform for industry players to capture these business opportunities. “The rapid urbanisation and the consumption upgrade is unleashing unprecedented purchasing power in China. Participants can expect to benefit from this huge potential at our show,” Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd added.

Contract business sees big potential in Chinese market
The constant growth of Chinese consumers’ disposable income not only results in increased spending on home textile products, but also stimulates the development of tourism. A report from the General Office of the State Council of China stated that the annual number of domestic trips has nearly doubled, from 2.1 billion in 2010 to 4.4 billion in 2016. It is expected that domestic travel-related consumption will reach USD 869 billion in 2020 and contribute to over 5% of GDP.

The hotel industry in particular has benefited from this development, with the number of limited service hotels increasing 30% in the past seven years. This also implies remarkable opportunities for the home textile industry players doing contract business since quality products including furnishing fabrics, bedding & towelling and more will be sought after by the hotels.
Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Home Textile Association (CHTA).

To find out more about this fair, please visit: www.intertextilehome.com.
For more information about Messe Frankfurt textile fairs worldwide, please visit: http://texpertise-network.messefrankfurt.com.