Paris Textile Exhibition looks at the prospect of quality and quantity of exports to Europe

Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Commerce has supported three overseas exhibitions organized by the Chinese side for three consecutive years. The Paris Exhibition is the only textile professional exhibition selected.

Currently, the EU market is showing signs of recovery. According to data released by Eurostat, the Eurozone economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter of this year, up 2.1% year-on-year. At the same time, the GDP of the 28 EU countries also increased by 0.6% in the quarter, up 2.2% year-on-year.

In 2016, EU apparel sales were 335 billion euros. In 2016, EU textile and apparel imports increased to 110 billion euros, of which textiles accounted for 29 billion euros and clothing accounted for 81 billion euros. 76.4% of EU apparel imports are from Asia. From 2016 to 2017, EU apparel imports maintained an average annual growth rate of 3.7%. The growth rate of imports is twice the growth rate of clothing consumption, and the share of the EU's local clothing market is declining year by year.

Correspondingly, China's exports to the EU have gradually improved this year, and the export volume has expanded month by month, and achieved a growth of 3.7% and 1.1% in June and July respectively.

Recently, sponsored by the China National Textile and Apparel Council, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Textile Industry Branch, Frankfurt Exhibition (France) Co., Ltd. jointly hosted the four-day 2017 China Textile and Apparel Trade Fair (Paris) Autumn Exhibition and Paris International Clothing The Apparel Sourcing Fair (CTAF/APPParis) (hereafter referred to as the "Autumn Paris Exhibition") was closed at the Bourget Exhibition Center in Paris, France.

Then, in the face of a good trend and broad prospects for exports to Europe, what are the gains from participating Chinese companies and what should be paid attention to when opening up the EU market?

Exhibitors have a big harvest

Since this year, the Ministry of Commerce has launched an export brand growth plan, which will support three overseas exhibitions organized by the Chinese side for three consecutive years. This year's Paris Exhibition is the only textile professional exhibition selected.

As one of the implementation platforms for the Ministry of Commerce's export brand growth plan, the Paris Exhibition not only continued the traditional trade function, but also organized and implemented the “Chinese Brand Promotion Project” at the Paris Exhibition. Including the pre-show to 12 companies to shoot VR promo, early exposure in the European media, set up a Chinese brand exhibition area at the exhibition site, and through the holding of special catwalks, brand promotion, professional forums and other activities to increase the Chinese independent brands in the European market propaganda power.

At the Paris show in the fall, the number of domestic exhibitors should not be underestimated, and cover the various types of ready-to-wear market. There are a large number of buyers from Europe and the United States, including professional buyers from developed countries such as the United States, Britain and France.

Huang Ping, the person in charge of Sichuan Jindi Clothing Co., Ltd., said in an interview with the media that the exhibition was very effective. Jindi apparel has added the elements of brocade in the design and is very popular among European customers. The down jackets and ready-made garments brought by Jindi are highly regarded by European customers. China's Shujin has a history of 3,000 years. Huang Ping hopes to bring China's Jin Jin to Europe and introduce Chinese Jin Jin to European customers, especially Chinese cheongsam, as well as pendants and sachets.

Zhou Bin, the person in charge of Ningbo Aimei Group Co., Ltd. said that this is his 10th participation in the Paris exhibition. Despite the financial crisis, the scale of the Paris exhibition is still growing steadily year by year, which proves that the Paris exhibition has a solid industry foundation. “The three characteristics of this exhibition are also the three value-added services of the organizers: VR for the company before the exhibition, presented at the exhibition site; show the show for the participating brands, focus on the display of clothing; hold professional forums, let each enterprise according to their own situation Choose to participate.” Zhou Bin talked about expressing his feelings.

Long Silk Fashion Co., Ltd., also from Ningbo, is the third time to participate in the Paris exhibition. Wang Hua, the person in charge of the exhibition, believes that Paris has a leading position in the high-end fashion industry, and is very particular about the fabrics and styles. Long Silk Fashion has always been focusing on high-end quality. At present, the company is in the stage of transformation and upgrading. The main participation in Paris is to seek new market entry points.

Exhibitor Shanghai Sanjing Garment Accessories Co., Ltd. is a Japanese-funded company established in China in 1986. Due to its high production quality, its customers are international first-line brands, high-end cooperative brands, and the price of full cashmere coats is as high as 400-500 US dollars. Coats are also between $200 and $300. The person in charge of the exhibition said: "The positioning of the Paris exhibition is in line with our business direction and has gained a lot."

Wu Xuejun, the person in charge of the Bolijie Group of Ningbo Enterprise, said that the biggest feeling of participating in this exhibition is the support of the exhibition to famous independent brands. So far, in addition to some old customers, Brigid also received large-scale intention customers, and there are some buyers from developed countries in Europe and America. The effect of the exhibition exceeded expectations.

It is particularly worth mentioning that Jiangsu Changshu Bosideng Import & Export Co., Ltd. is exhibiting for the first time. Wang Chengshun, the person in charge of the exhibition, felt that the flow of visitors to Paris exceeded expectations. “Bosideng is currently focusing on domestic sales, accounting for about 80%. Bosideng will focus on developing the European market on the basis of deepening the domestic market. The company is optimistic about the development potential of the European apparel market. This Bosideng wants to establish a brand by participating in the Paris exhibition. Influential, while further expanding sales in the European market. One of the British customers provided design artwork on the spot and finalized the sample production plan."

Good prospects for trade with Europe

According to statistics, there are currently 170,000 textile and apparel companies in Europe, employing 1.6 million people. According to the person in charge of the Paris exhibition project, the strongest areas of the European textile and apparel industry are luxury goods, ready-to-wear and technology, and innovative textiles.

It is understood that the EU is the world's second largest textile exporter with an export value of 60.8 billion euros (including EU internal exports), second only to China. The EU is also the second largest garment exporter, after China, with an export value of 112 billion euros, of which 45 billion euros is exported to countries outside the EU. European local garment manufacturers meet the 1/4 consumer demand in the EU apparel market.

"On the import side, the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the impact of the Brexit, the possibility of US tariff adjustments, and the insecurity of certain production links and exchange rate fluctuations will inevitably be on EU clothing. Imports have an impact," the official said.

She further mentioned that the EU mainly imports trousers, pullovers, T-shirts and ski wear, which account for 49% of the EU's total imports. On the contrary, the least are men's shirts, women's coats and tooling. Therefore, she suggested that enterprises start with the development of key categories and develop the EU market in a targeted manner.

She believes that Paris is the best springboard for Chinese textile and apparel companies to explore the EU market. As a global fashion center, Paris brings together global fashion trends and related business opportunities. Exhibitors and sellers like Paris very much, they can not only really feel the fashion atmosphere, but also feel the strong business atmosphere. And, for European buyers, Paris has a moderate location and can travel back and forth within a day.

Moreover, at the moment when China's textile economy promotes supply-side structural reforms, Paris Exhibition has become the preferred exhibition for the transformation and upgrading of textile and garment enterprises. The exhibition also provides personalized services based on the needs of regional pavilions and companies.

With the increase in consumption of housing, transportation, health and electronics, the budget for clothing consumption is declining year by year. It should also be noted in the development of the EU market that European clothing consumption currently accounts for 3% of total income. For example, the French consumer spending budget fell more between 1996 and 2016, and is now 2.9%.

When interviewed by the Paris textile and apparel sales market, the reporter found that this trend just caters to the suppliers in the nearby area, they can produce fashion clothing in small quantities. A quarter of the clothing in the European market is supplied by the surrounding area (within the EU), and the remaining 3/4 is mainly supplied by the Asian region.

Today, price is one of the most important factors affecting European buyers' orders.