APLF Limited will hold its annual spring trade fairs focusing on the leather and fashion industries from 28 to 30 March 2012 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
These events include: Materials, Manufacturing & Technology (MM&T), the premier event for the global leather industry; Fashion Access (FA), the leading international trade fair for bags, footwear and “head-to-toe” fashion products; and Prime Source Forum (PSF), the annual meeting for the global apparel industry, the profile of which has now been extended to include footwear.
Turkey, a major player in the global leather industry, will be the focus country for APLF 2012. “We expect a record number of Turkish tanneries in their pavilion for the APLF 2012,” revealed Mr. Lemi Tolunay, president of Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association and Turkish Leather Council. “The Turkish leather sector is an important player in the global leather industry, with a focus on design, innovation and quality production, we are excited to showcase these strengths,” he added.
Other Pavilions include those from India, Italy, Korea, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and the USA. England, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany are all recognised powerhouses in leather innovation and design and their continued presence at the fair, since its launch in 1984, is confirmation of MM&T’s premier position in the international leather business community.
The relevance of MM&T to the fashion industry is reflected with its increasing number of manufacturers exhibiting non-leather and natural raw materials, components and accessories, as well as processing, chemical and equipment manufacturers. “We are confident that we will have a higher exhibitor count in 2012 than the 1,235 registered in March 2011. Already, we have seen an increase of 16% in stand bookings compared to the same period last year.” according to APLF event director Perrine Ardouin . “At the same time, we hope that with this interesting mix of products and companies, we will be able to attract an increase in the number of buyers and we expect more than 20,000 buyers to attend in March 2012.”
MM&T in March 2012 will feature the colour and material trends for Spring-Summer 2013 as developed by Olivier Guillemin, President of the Comite Francais de la Couleur. The trends will be showcased in the Material Trends Space, a special service to visitors.
Fashion Access (FA), continues to strengthen its position as a must-attend event for exhibitors and buyers of bags, footwear, small leathergoods, fashion accessories, travelware, leather garments, and lifestyle products. This “head-to-toe” fashion concept allows buyers the convenience of one-stop sourcing, all under one roof.
FA has established itself as the most international fair of its kind in Asia, In March 2011, exhibitors came from 30 countries while buyers represented nearly 100 different nationalities.
Ten country pavilions in FA have been confirmed to-date. These include representations from Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Pakistan, Taiwan and Thailand.
Mdm. Ardouin explained that the show serves two different types of exhibitors and buyers: “We have the traditional Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) / Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) exhibiting mostly in the main hall, who are looking for volume buyers while exhibitors in Fashion Avenue mostly carry their own brands and are looking for boutique and department store buyers or franchisees.”
For March 2012, the goal is to increase the number of brands exhibiting in Fashion Avenue in a bid to attract the “lower-quantity, higher-price” buyers from more exclusive, high-quality fashion retail stores. Japanese buyers are a particularly important target market for this sector.
FA March 2012 will focus on collections suited for the Fall-Winter 2012-2013 season. The Fashion Trends Space is set up to guide buyers on the colour and style directions primarily for bags, footwear and fashion accessories.
Prime Source Forum has grown significantly in importance since its inception in 2006 when the major challenge facing the apparel industry was the end of WTO quotas. The March 2012 round of workshops and forum sessions promise interesting discussions on a host of challenges and opportunities facing the apparel and footwear industries.
About APLF Limited
APLF Ltd is a joint venture between SIC Group and UBM Asia. For over two decades, Hong Kong-based APLF Ltd has been providing the global leather and fashion industries with its most important meeting and trading place.
About UBM Asia (http://www.ubmasia.com/)
Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia operates in 17 market sectors with headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia, including UBM China in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Beijing. We have over 200 products including trade fairs, conferences, trade publications, B2B/B2C portals and virtual event services. As Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in the two fastest growing markets in Asia: China and India, we stage the leading events of their kind across Asia. Our 150 events, 34 publications and 14 vertical portals serve a 1,000,000 plus quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world with high value face-to-face business-matching events, quality and instant news on market and industry trends and round-the-clock online trading networks and sourcing platforms. We have 1,000 staff in 21 major cities across Asia, stretching from Japan to Turkey.
About UBM plc (http://www.ubm.com/)
UBM plc is a leading global company. We inform markets and bring the world’s buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,000 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.
About SIC Group
SIC Group has been organising international professional events since 1926 for companies working in the leather sector. Its role is to support businesses in their development and offer them work platforms in areas of the world with high potential. With nine shows organised each year, SIC Group and its partners can take advantage of expertise that is unique in the world.