From the Sector

• CHIC Shanghai, March 17 to 19, 2021 (due to new regulation to control the infection rate)
• 905 exhibitors are present at CHIC
• Parallel: CHIC ONLINE as a digital platform with upgrade of the CHIC
• APP
• CHIC GARDEN: puts fashion and sustainability in the limelight

The CHIC spring event takes place from March 17th to 19th under strict hygiene guidelines in the National Exhibition & Convention Center in Shanghai parallel to Intertextile Shanghai, Yarn Expo and PH Value.

The Chinese economy has recovered again after the pandemic in China and already reached pre-crisis level with 6.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2020. McKinsey estimates are a 5 to 10% growth in sales in China in 2021 compared to 2019. Thanks to good sales in China, the fashion luxury brands in particular have been able to improve their sales figures. But also regarding online trade, Chinese ecommerce sales were in first place worldwide for the eighth year in a row. The average per capita income of consumers rose by 3.8% last year.

905 exhibitors and 932 brands will present themselves on site at CHIC. Around 95,000 trade visitors from all retail areas, including all relevant online sales platforms, are expected. The CHIC's online and live streaming events, which run parallel to the trade fairs, have recorded an average of 150,000 clicks on each show since April last year.

CHIC Garden
China is to become climate neutral by 2060, which of course also affects the fashion sector. Overall, the awareness of Chinese consumers has developed even more towards high-quality, sustainable collections. In their "State of Fashion 2021" report, McKinsey & BoF analyze the awareness development in China that consumers and producers are increasingly recognizing the importance of joint efforts by all participants in the value chain to work together in order to achieve sustainability in the fashion industry.

The CHIC flagship event visualizes this topic with the "CHIC Garden" theme. With the help of garden design experts, the fair is transformed into an inspiring garden paradise that reflects closeness to nature and the appreciation of natural resources.

As an exception, the CHIC autumn event, CHIC Shanghai will take place in August this year (25th to 27th August 2021).

From 25 – 27 August, 2021, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition will join forces with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition, Yarn Expo Autumn, PH Value and CHIC to showcase the latest products and services within the entire textile sector. Collectively, the fairs are set to offer valuable synergistic effects for the home décor, apparel, yarn and fibre industries.

Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, the Autumn Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles 2020 was able to go ahead as scheduled to support the industry’s recovery. The three-day show welcomed a total of 26,673 trade buyers from 43 countries & regions, as well as 643 exhibitors from 11 countries & regions. What’s more, the show’s virtual events drew 558,179 attendees from across the world.

“We are delighted that Intertextile 2020 was able to run as planned and received positive feedback from participants. It is a confirmation of our leading position in the Asian industry, and our unwavering commitment to providing the best trade platform for our exhibitors and visitors that reflects market demands,” said Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. “As we continue to navigate through these challenging times, we look forward to developing more creative and flexible solutions to adapt to the ever-changing business environment. The 2021 edition will continue with the hybrid format that combines both physical and virtual events, in order to facilitate contacts between suppliers and buyers worldwide, and open up new opportunities in the post-pandemic era.”
 
“Additionally, we decided to hold Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo next year. Holding these three events at the same time and place will generate exciting synergistic effects, as well as provide a comprehensive sourcing platform for participants. And, of course, the show will present a series of high-quality fringe events for fairgoers to gain the latest market trends and insights,” Ms Wen added.

Discover a new season of inspiration at Intertextile
At the upcoming fair, exhibitors will fill four halls at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), occupying an area of 100,000 sqm. To offer a more efficient and convenient sourcing experience for buyers, the fair will once again feature an array of product zones and country & region pavilions including:

• Country & region pavilions: presented by Belgium, India, Pakistan, Taiwan and Turkey.
• Carpet zone: featuring renowned domestic and international providers of carpets and floor coverings.
• Editor zone: offering high-quality upholstery fabrics from prominent European manufacturers.
• Finished product zone: international suppliers will showcase their latest finished goods for a variety of applications.
• Textile design zone: leading design studios will exhibit their creative ideas and products for all areas of the interior markets.
• Textile technology zone: presenting cutting-edge textile technologies which can achieve flexibility, efficiency and sustainability.
• Contract business: leading suppliers will offer a vast portfolio of functional fabrics catering to different interior settings such as hotels, restaurants and public spaces.

• Looking to the future – Frankfurt Fashion Week is positioning itself with a consistently sustainable agenda and propelling the transformation of a modern, resource-efficient fashion industry.

The Conscious Fashion Campaign (CFC), working in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), will be the presenting partner and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be a prerequisite for all exhibitors by 2023. And the Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit by CFC is set to become the leading international conference for sustainability in the fashion world. The future of fashion has begun – and its key players will be coming together in Frankfurt am Main from 5-9 July 2021.
 
Frankfurt am Main, 2 December 2020. Joining forces to improve the fashion industry: Frankfurt Fashion Week is positioning itself as the host of the future of fashion and actively driving forward the transformation towards a future-oriented, more sustainable fashion and textile industry. All decision-makers looking to instigate this change will be coming together in Frankfurt am Main from 5-9 July 2021. The initiators of Frankfurt Fashion Week – Messe Frankfurt and the Premium Group – have achieved a real coup: Conscious Fashion Campaign, working in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, will be the presenting partner. Messe Frankfurt will build on its collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships and establish Frankfurt Fashion week as the platform on which to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and help guide the fashion industry into the 'Decade of Action'.
 
“Frankfurt will play host to the whole world. We are seeing a very positive response indeed,” confirmed Peter Feldmann, Senior Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main, at today’s digital press conference, before going on to say: “The fact that the initiators are able to rethink the concept of a Fashion Week in such a way is extremely impressive and proves that the fashion industry is correctly interpreting the signs of the present and future. The time has come for value creation and values to be reconciled. Consistent alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals is an important step in this direction.”
 
“Frankfurt Fashion Week aims to play a crucial role in finding solutions for macrosocial challenges and supporting the goals of international politics such as the European Green Deal. The fashion and textile industries are also expected to be climate-neutral by 2050. If we want to achieve this, we all need to pull together. Frankfurt Fashion Week is inviting all initiators and supporters of sustainable concepts and congresses or shows dedicated to sustainability to meet in Frankfurt, partake in discussions and make tangible decisions for the greater good. We will connect the most relevant players and pave the way for a future-proof fashion and textile industry,” says Detlef Braun, CEO of Messe Frankfurt.
 
“Given its global reach, the fashion industry is uniquely positioned to collaborate and engage on the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular on climate action and responsible production and consumption,” said Annemarie Hou, Acting Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. “Frankfurt Fashion Week and the Summit will serve as an important platform for education and engagement of the fashion and textile industry in the Decade of Action,” emphasised Ms Hou.
 
The aim of Frankfurt Fashion Week is for all exhibitors, participants and partners to align with the Sustainable Development Goals by 2023. The SDGs will also be incorporated into all formats of Frankfurt Fashion Week. This will help to make the UN’s sustainability goals visible and tangible for the Fashion Week audience, therefore bringing its claim, goals and specific proposals for implementation to an international opinion-forming fashion and lifestyle community. During a one-day Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit presented by Conscious Fashion Campaign, topics like gender equality, clean water, climate protection, social justice and their significance for a forward-looking fashion industry will be examined in greater depth. Another point on the sustainability agenda: Frankfurt Fashion Week is launching a Sustainability Award for outstanding, innovative, sustainable design, alongside other categories with a global appeal for the fashion and textile industry.
 
"We are committed to setting the wheels of transformation in motion. Not only does the overall mindset have to fundamentally change; the entire industry also needs to have the courage to be transparent and honest. It’s important to see values and value creation as opportunities rather than contentious. We are doing what we do best: connecting the relevant players at all levels. With its ecosystem, Frankfurt Fashion Week will become the enabler. We are creating a platform that will orchestrate industry-wide change. With this as our inspiration, we are also developing our tradeshow formats from a ‘marketplace of products’ to a ‘marketplace of purpose and ideas’,” explains Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the Premium Group.
 
A new start in Frankfurt: In summer 2021 the entire fashion industry will be coming to the metropolis on the Main river to inform themselves, be inspired, discuss, negotiate and celebrate. “There’s a huge need to finally meet in person again, to exchange ideas and be inspired. At the same time, digital tools and formats have become an integral part of the fashion industry,” says Markus Frank, Head of the City of Frankfurt’s Department of Economic Affairs and therefore also responsible for its creative industry. “To implement such a future-oriented, all-encompassing overall concept, Frankfurt’s business and creative scenes offer an almost unique concentration of different expertise with its internationally networked agencies, universities and museums. The city’s multifaceted, high-end club, bar and restaurant scene, diverse hotel industry and internationally renowned retail landscape will become the stage for this. This network will be a key factor in the successful implementation of Frankfurt Fashion Week and the way in which it will expand into the public space as a cultural and social happening.”
 
A number of major publishing houses are also showing their commitment to the new Fashion Week in Frankfurt with conferences, events and awards: Textilwirtschaft, the leading professional fashion journal by the Deutscher Fachverlag publishing house, is moving its traditional meeting of the industry’s top decision-makers – the TW Forum, the presentation of the renowned Forum Award, as well as its subsequent conference – from Heidelberg to Frankfurt’s Palmengarten botanical gardens, and will therefore be kicking off Frankfurt Fashion Week on Sunday evening and Monday morning. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung will be hosting its traditional fashion party for the first time in Frankfurt and publishing a special edition of its FAZ Magazin on Frankfurt Fashion Week. And the ZEIT publishing group is holding its ‘UNLOCK Style by ZEITmagazin’ conference, which was established in 2014, and the ZEITmagazin Fashion Week party in Frankfurt for the first time and will dedicate the whole new issue of ZEITmagazin Frankfurt to Frankfurt Fashion Week. Condé Nast will also be involved in next summer’s Frankfurt Fashion Week with an exclusive event by GQ. And the Burda publishing house will also be represented with various event formats from its lifestyle and fashion brands.There will also be talks with SHINE  Conventions, the organiser of GLOW, about what a mutual collaboration could look like.
 
Frankfurt Fashion Week is also delighted to have the Fashion Council Germany (FCG) on board.  The FCG is theinstitution when it comes to German fashion design. It promotes designers, is committed to gaining more political relevance and strengthens the international visibility and awareness of German fashion. At Frankfurt Fashion Week, the FCG will contribute selected formats, such as its already established Fireside Chat, and a future-oriented accelerator format to support German designers.
 
“What really impresses me about Fashion Week is the whole networking aspect: the creative industries will meet the financial world and sustainability is the common denominator. The Green Finance Cluster is another project that we could link with Frankfurt Fashion Week in the future. This will provide new inspiration in the fashion industry, which will certainly extend way beyond its own horizon of Frankfurt and Hesse. After a very difficult year for the trade fair industry, the concept is an encouraging breath of fresh air,” sums up Tarek Al-Wazir, Hesse’s Minister of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development and Deputy Minister-President of the state of Hessen.

• Die anhaltend schwierige Lage rund um Covid-19 und die aktuellen Beschlüsse der Bundesregierung machen die Planungen für die Neonyt erneut unmöglich – das physische Event, vom 19. bis 21. Januar 2021, findet nicht statt.
• Ein kleiner Trost: Das digitale Community-Format „Neonyt on Air“ geht dafür in die zweite Runde.

Nachdem sich die Lage rund um Covid-19 vielerorts über den Spätsommer weitestgehend entspannte und Kontaktverbote sowie Reisebeschränkungen gelockert oder gänzlich aufgehoben wurden, stand für die gesamte Industrie und damit auch die Messe- und Eventbranche ein Neustart an: „Von „business as usual“ konnte zwar keiner sprechen, aber wir haben gehofft, dass es keinen zweiten Lockdown geben wird,“ sagt Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies der Messe Frankfurt. „Doch genau vor diesem Szenario stehen wir nun wieder und mussten im Sinne unserer Aussteller, Besucher und auch Mitarbeiter entscheiden.“ Aufgrund der weiterhin steigenden Infektionszahlen und der aktuellen Beschlüsse der Bundesregierung gibt es für den Messeveranstalter keine andere Möglichkeit, als die Winterausgabe der Neonyt abzusagen.

Restlos auf die Neonyt verzichten, muss die Sustainability-Community jedoch nicht. „Das Bedürfnis unserer Aussteller und Besucher, sich auszutauschen und zu kooperieren, hat sich in den vergangenen Monaten nur verstärkt,“ sagt Thimo Schwenzfeier, Show Director Neonyt. „Ein Bedürfnis, das wir nach einem Jahr Zwangspause nur allzu gern vor Ort und face-to-face erfüllt hätten, nun tun wir es in reduzierter Form virtuell.“ Analog zum vergangenen Sommer wird es auch im Januar wieder das digitale Format „Neonyt on Air“ geben – in zahlreichen Talks, Panel Discussions und Master Classes diskutiert die Community in der Woche vom 18. bis 22. Januar 2021 über die neusten Entwicklungen und Innovationen der nachhaltigen Mode- und Textilbranche. Nähere Informationen zum Rahmenprogramm folgen in den kommenden Wochen peu à peu auf der Neonyt-Website und im Newsletter.

Auch das Order-Business der Aussteller wird in den angepassten Plänen berücksichtigt: Durch die erneute Kooperation der Neonyt mit dem B2B-Marketplace „The Brand Show Circular“ haben die Brands die Möglichkeit, sich trotz Kontaktverboten und Reisebeschränkungen in einem internationalen Umfeld zu platzieren, bestehende Geschäftskontakte zu pflegen und Neukunden zu gewinnen. Die digitalen Services der B2B-Plattform reichen von klassischen Marketing- und Order-Tätigkeiten bis hin zu virtuellen Showrooms mit multimedialem Content. Interessierte Aussteller wurden bereits vollumfänglich über die Konditionen einer Zusammenarbeit informiert.

The textile industry, one of the major industrial sectors worldwide, is going through a significant revolution, with changes taking place in various sections of textile processing. Biotechnology and biomimicry, for example, are continuously playing an important role in redefining the influence of the textile industry on society, and so is progress made in auxiliary chemistry, with advances investigated and then applied in almost every section of textile processing.  The outcome is amazingly promising.

Modern, real science is inextricably intertwined with environmental consciousness and they are definitely not mutually exclusive.

At RUDOLF GROUP modern, real science means pushing R&D so to constantly explore new technology and innovations that help transform the textile and fashion industries. We work to reduce the overall dependency on traditional and virgin resources.  Getting textile manufacturers as well as brand and retailers on board is key to achieve real change. By 2030 we aim for a significant fraction of our products to be either sourced through paths alternative to the traditional petrochemicals, or by upcycling waste and/or byproducts from other industries.

“This is the kind of genuine, tangible, environmental consciousness that truly defines us and that entails that RUDOLF GROUP has a responsibility for the needs of society as a whole.” Said Alberto De Conti, Head of Rudolf Fashion Division “We have a maniacal attention to the environmental impact of our operations and products. We have truly embedded in ourselves the notion that “sustainability” is a key issue and critical to the long-term survival of our company and of society at large. “

The combination of modern, real science and environmental consciousness leads to what RUDOLF GROUP call aspirational chemistry something unique and something that positions us as shining example and guiding light throughout the industry. That is, in fact, BETTER CHEMISTRY.

Two are the innovations rooted in aspirational chemistry that RUDOLF HUB1922 presents. The first one is our WASHLESS technology and the second one is a brand new launch: LASER SMOOTHER, which supports laser technology and helps creating much better denim looks.

WASHLESS

HUB1922 WASHLESS, which can be applied to both denim and non-denim, is the simultaneous application of
-    proprietary fluorine-free DWR (Durable Water Resistance) based on biomimicry to repel dirt
-    anti-microbial, anti-bacteria and anti-viral, non-migrating chemistry to stop body odour.
The combination of the 2 translates into garments that don’t require to be washed as much.

Life cycle assessment studies on clothes, detergents and washing machines show that home laundering is always the most energy‐demanding period during these products' life cycle, even higher than production or transportation phases.

“WASHLESS aims at changing consumer habits in clothing maintenance to a more environmentally friendly direction and represents a change that is the most feasible and efficient. Making washing machines obsolete is impossible, but even though the technologies in clothes cleaning have improved greatly, the washing frequency has not been reduced. We own more and more clothing and wash it more frequently. This increased amount of washing counteracts the technological improvements in home laundry. “ said De Conti.

It is only by understanding the climate change impact associated with home laundering that product innovations and consumer education can be explored. Studies consistently show that a carbon dioxide reduction of 105 MT and electricity savings of 142 thousand GWh can be obtained by reducing home laundering, on average, by 1/3. This is roughly equivalent to removing 12% of the 140 M passenger cars in the US, or taking 23 coal power plants off the grid. In addition, more than 60% of water consumed while laundering (2,000 billion liters) can be reduced through these strategies.

LASER SMOOTHER

Laser denim is the current dominant technology available to the denim industry to create locally abraded areas, vintage effects, whiskers, patterns, patches, and even intentional holes and tears in a garment. Laser technology uses less water, harmful chemicals (such as potassium permanganate) and energy to create a wide variety of denim looks.

However, laser is not always able to produce the desired look, on the desired fabric, in the desired time. Therefore, chemical companies have been developing laser boosters that can be pre-applied to the garments in order to intensify the effect of the laser to mimic heavier bleaching applications. Unfortunately, laser boosters can create blurred images where the definition is lower and the overall image less natural.

The brand new RUDOLF HUB1922 LASER SMOOTHER is an all-in-one formulation, very easy to pre-apply to garments before laser burning and that return a very natural image which is very similar to the highly desirable hand scraping. Laser smoother can be applied by traditional exhaust or through nebulization and it dries at normal temperature in normal tumble driers.  Advantages of LASER PRIMER are:

•    Remarkable enhancement of the fabric’s characteristics (heightening of material)
•    Overall effect much more natural and similar to manual scraping (craftsmanship dimension)
•    Reduced required laser power to achieve the wanted effect (conspicuous energy saving)
•    A faster laser burning process (significant time saving, depending on the final effect)
•    Any other chemical spray is not required (environmental friendliness)
•    Reduced cost compared to other solution (financial viability)

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. will be offering two virtual opportunities for customers to learn more about the company’s innovative non-contact spray finishing systems. These technologies will be showcased in October during an in-depth webinar event, as well as during the Innovate Textile and Apparel Virtual Trade Show.

The interactive and free webinar “How to Deliver Sustainability with Non-Contact Spray” will be held twice on October 13, with a recording provided for all who register for later viewing. During this event, industry veteran Rick Stanford, Baldwin’s Business Development Leader for textiles, will discuss the sustainable functionality of the Precision Spray and Ahlbrandt Rotor Spray technologies.

The Innovate Textile and Apparel Virtual Trade Show will take place online October 15 to 30. In Baldwin’s virtual booth, the company will showcase its non-contact spray systems for finishing and remoistening. Its TexCoat G4, TexMoister G2 and Ahlbrandt Rotor Spray technologies are designed to save chemistry, time and production costs, while enabling sustainable textile production.

“We are excited to present our revolutionary non-contact spray systems during the webinar and the virtual Innovate Textile and Apparel show,” said Stanford. “Participants will learn how non-contact spray has become a game-changing technology in sustainable textile finishing. It dramatically cuts chemical waste and energy consumption, while increasing productivity and quality. We will show attendees how our systems work and in what applications they are ideal for, as well as take questions. These are great opportunities to experience innovations that drastically improve both the process and product quality, while saving time and chemistry, and contributing to a more sustainable future.”

Sustainable solutions that pack a punch  

With over 6,500 visitors and more than 2,000 participants at a total of 720 minutes of live presentation sessions and with many potential new customers in the live info chat, the virtual interpack conference organised by Sappi was a resounding success. Sappi presented its latest developments, future prospects and current range of packaging and speciality papers at the event. In addition to further networking opportunities, the visitors took full advantage of the chance to get in contact with the Sales team.

• For the packaging of the future: sustainable, high-quality paper
• Second-generation barrier papers ensure optimal protection of goods as food packaging
• Providing what the world wants: fully recyclable packaging

Based on the motto ‘Pro Planet: Paper Packaging – welcome to the new pack-age’, the market leader in functional paper packaging presented numerous opportunities at its virtual interpack 2020 conference for its customers to package their food or non-food products in sustainable, premium packaging. In doing so, the company is contributing to the UN’s sustainability objectives. With the Sappi Guard range, Sappi presented barrier papers that render additional special coatings and laminations redundant and can be recycled in the paper stream. Featuring integrated barriers, they ensure that the product quality of foods and other goods is preserved. The second generation of barrier papers, now even more environmentally friendly, was also introduced at the virtual event. Another area of focus of the virtual interpack event was sealable papers, suitable for a wide range of packaging applications in the food and non-food sectors.

Of course, the concept of sustainability was also a key issue at the conference. As a home-compostable paper, Algro Nature meets the current demand for fully recyclable packaging. Sappi thus remains true to its goal of presenting its customers with more and more environmentally friendly solutions for the benefit of people and the environment.

‘We were overwhelmed by the success of our first virtual interpack conference, but we look forward to having direct contact again in spring 2021 in Düsseldorf,’ says Thomas Kratochwill, Vice President Sales & Marketing Packaging and Speciality Papers at Sappi Europe, with regard to the delayed interpack conference.

ISKO presented its 100% responsible platform, R-TWO™.

The denim ingredient brand hosted a special panel to discuss some of the advancements in technology that are making the fashion industry more responsible: from R-TWO™ to automated laser technology.

With the fashion industry being considered one of the world’s most polluting businesses-sectors, collaborating and knowledge sharing are key in finding solutions for a better future. Fully aware of this scenario, ISKO was the headline sponsor at The Drapers Sustainable Fashion Forum brings together responsible players to discuss what can be done to tackle the industry’s environmental and social issues through innovation and creativity.

Sharing knowledge, collaborating for change.
As evidence of its Responsible Innovation™ approach, ISKO presented the R-TWO™ program, its latest
responsible achievement. Stemming from the mill’s holistic vision, R-TWO™ represents a great example of how reducing, reusing, and recycling strategies can be implemented in a textile business to improve its  environmental performance.
The R-TWO™ reduces the amount of raw material sourced by using a blend of reused cotton and recycled polyester – both certified –, improving sourcing efficiency throughout the entire field-to-fabric production.
Reused cotton is certified with the Content Claim Standard – or CCS – from the Textile Exchange. As for recycled polyester, it can be either Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) or Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified, depending on the content percentages. Together with this cutting-edge and fully responsible program, ISKO also uses automated laser
technology developed in partnership with Jeanologia.

“How technology can help make the fashion industry more sustainable”:
On March 11th, ISKO hosted a discussion about ways, to make the fashion industry more responsible
The panel was moderated by David Shah, consultant on design and marketing development, Publisher and CEO at Metropolitan Publishing BV and Associate Professor at ARTez (Arnhem, the Netherlands) and Associate Professor at Renmin University, (Beijing, China). The talk involved Keith O’Brien, ISKO Marketing & Business Development Manager, Victoria Soto, Jeanologia Custom Technology Consultant and Filippo Ricci, Fashion Open Studio Program & Partnership Manager.

Retailers invest in emotionalisation and digitalisation +++ Top theme: linking online with offline shopping +++ Focus on sustainability +++ Accompanying Stages and Specials received very well

The World’s No.1 Retail Trade Fair, EuroShop 2020, drew to a close on Thursday (20 February 2020) after five successful days in Düsseldorf: 2,300 exhibitors from 57 nations reported of very good leads and concluded business deals. Furthermore, lively follow-up business is expected. 94,000 visitors travelled to the Rhine to gather information on the line-up of products, trends and concepts for retailers and their partners featured in 16 exhibition halls.  

“We are delighted that EuroShop once again successfully proved to be the most relevant platform for the global retail community when it comes to trends, inspirations and networking. Our exhibitors deserve the highest praise for their loyalty. With their innovative power they again proved the major attraction for an entire industry,” said Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, voicing his great satisfaction with EuroShop 2020 results.

Exhibitors especially applauded the high international attendance at EuroShop. 70% of the EuroShop audience travelled to Düsseldorf from abroad. Large delegations came for example from Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. Trade visitors from a total of 142 countries attended EuroShop 2020.

“This high level of international interest clearly documents the dynamism of the global retail world and the exceptional position EuroShop enjoys as its economic engine,” said Michael Gerling, Chairman of the EuroShop Advisory Board and CEO of the EHI Retail Institute Cologne.

“The success of eCommerce is a real encouragement for retailers: they have understood they have to give their shoppers good reasons beyond the ranges to enter their stores. This competition has taken retail as a whole to the next quality level. Investment is being made in shop fitting so as to create customer journeys,” explains Gerling who adds: “Beyond this, retail digitalisation is booming. It enables retailers to offer their shoppers even more services and link online and offline channels, on the one hand, while simplifying process flows, logistics and lots more, on the other.” At EuroShop 2020 digital transformation was therefore a key focus, also in terms of achieving the highest energy efficiency and sustainability possible.

Exhibitors underlined the high level of expertise among visitors at the event, especially their pronounced decision-making powers, because 70% of the trade fair guests were in international top management. Many of them also used their visit to EuroShop to learn about best practice cases and forward-looking trends in retail at the in total eight Stages. The varied programme of lectures held on the individual Stages on such topics as Retail Technology, Architecture and Store Design or Expo & Event was well attended across the board. Meeting with the same high level of approval were the numerous Specials at EuroShop, including the Start-up Hub, the Designer Village and Premium City.

Numbers speak for themselves here: 96% of trade fair visitors were satisfied with their visit to the trade fair. Just as many confirmed the outstanding position of EuroShop as a trend barometer, networking platform and largest event for the retail sectors.

Due to the current situation associated with the Coronavirus 19.000 visitors less attended this time than at the record event 2017.

The next EuroShop will be held in Düsseldorf from 26 February to 2 March 2023.  

A true New Eco High-Tech Force of Nature

At ISPO, AKA – Asahi Kasei Advance keept the planet fit and healthy at the same time. The cutting edge department of global material innovator Asahi Kasei, unveils ECOSENSOR™, the cutting-edge fabric collection boosting responsible innovation with a “New Eco High-tech Force of Nature” new generation of performance.

Harnessing AKA expertise in yarning a smarter future, the new range focuses on sportwear, urban and athleisure fabrics. “At ISPO we launch the energetic protein fitting perfectly in textiles for clothes with an active imprint, comfort touch and smooth style. From-yarn-to-dyeing and along the whole supply chain, the collection is 100% traceable.” Says Nishizawa Akira, President & Representative Director Asahi Kasei Advance corporation.

With ECOSENSOR™, Asahi Kasei Advance truly innovates at ISPO as the very first producers choosing the high-performance path with sustainable values.

Indeed, the flexible and multitasking range is the high-tech solution for sportwear, outerwear and beyond. The collection embraces the casual and sporty mood of active urban surfers as well as that easy-to-wear attitude for a relaxing free-time at home.