New York — Domestic textile trade show organizers are expecting the number of exhibitors and attendees flowing through their convention halls to rise during the first half of the year, despite increasing foreign competition from countries like China.
According to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Apparel and Textiles, Chinese fabric imports in the first nine months of 2005 rose 48.5 percent to $625.1 million, compared with $421.1 million during the same period last year.
Tim von Gal, executive vice president with Urban Expositions, which produces the Material World shows in Miami and New York, said he has seen interest in shows steadily increase during the past few years.
“We’ve probably grown 30 percent over the last two years in terms of our exhibitor presentation,” said von Gal. “I think it’s a function of a show maturing and evolving. Any show takes a period of time to establish itself.”
An integral part of Material World’s evolution has been partnerships with other apparel and textile industry organizations. “Our association alliances have been extremely essential,” said von Gal, pointing to the show’s relationships with the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the American Apparel Producer Network, the National Textile Association and the Textile Distributors Association. “That doesn’t begin to touch on the international associations,” said von Gal.
The Korean Fashion Textile Association will be a feature of Material World’s show taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, April 4-6. More than 450 companies are expected to exhibit, including manufacturers from Asia, Central America, Europe and South Africa.
Latin American countries are a large part of the Miami show due to its location. Manufacturers from Colombia, El Salvador and Nicaragua, as well as the Caribbean countries, will be exhibiting at the event.
“For the region, DR-CAFTA has been a huge point of interest,” said von Gal. “Obviously we’re serving many of those countries that are affected and benefiting from that.”
Technology plays a large part in the Miami show as well, accounting for 20 percent of exhibitors, according to von Gal. It’s an area whose importance keeps growing. “[Technology] has become an even more important aspect of the supply chain in light of the ever-changing landscape of sourcing locations and the necessity of bringing product in as quickly as possible,” said von Gal.
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Smaller regional shows face larger hurdles when it comes to attracting exhibitors and attendees. Marsha Brenner, executive director of the Apparel Industry Board, which produces the Chicago Fabric and Trim Show, said attendees are willing to pay higher prices for smaller quantities of desirable goods.
“Our attendees are willing to pay more money to get less if they can find good quality items,” said Brenner.
Chicago Fabric and Trim will run May 22-23 at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza. Brenner anticipated exhibitor levels to remain steady from the previous year, with between 40 and 50 manufacturers showing goods. Although most exhibitors are local, Brenner said companies from Los Angeles, New York and Canada will also be represented. More than 500 people are expected to attend.
“It’s basically for local users,” said Brenner. “We instituted the show to be a service to the small and young designer. We see something totally different.”
One of the shows expecting to experience dramatic growth this year is fabric@MAGIC, which will run at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Feb. 21-24.
Approximately 160 companies are expected to exhibit, roughly twice the number that participated in last year’s show. The event benefits from the massive draw of the MAGIC Marketplace. The August edition of MAGIC reported more than 101,000 attendees, a 60 percent increase over the previous year, according to Janice Callado, a show spokeswoman.
The size of the the fabric show is one of its biggest advantages, said Callado, who pointed out that exhibitors get exposure to 3,000 branded and private label companies.
“Designers, sourcing managers and product development teams from branded exhibitors and private label retailers attending the MAGIC Marketplace have an invaluable resource to find the materials they need to complete their apparel and accessory collections,” said Callado.
The show also works with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel to connect customers with sourcing leads.
“Safeguard restrictions are a major concern for the industry,” said Callado. “Diversity of offerings is more important than ever.”
Direction, a textile design show, will be held Jan. 17-19 at New York’s Penn Plaza Pavilion. Exhibitors at the show sell artwork that can be applied to apparel and upholstery fabrics through processes such as beading, embroidery and printing. The show is expected to draw approximately 100 exhibitors.
European Preview, scheduled to run in New York Jan. 25-26 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, will once again give attendees an early look at what will be on hand at the Première Vision show in Paris. More than 100 companies are expected to exhibit.
Other shows slated for the first six months of the year include the Turkish Fashion Fabric Exhibition Jan. 17-18 at New York’s Grand Hyatt Hotel; the China Textile and Apparel Trade Show, running at New York’s Jacob Javits Convention Center June 13-15, and the Los Angeles International Textile Show, running April 24-26 at the California Market Center.