Bringing together manufacturers from eleven different countries including UK, India, China, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Pakistan, France, Finland and Bangladesh to display their collections for the season of Spring/Summer 2012 to the London fashion crowd, The London Garment Expo, a three-day international trade event is launching at Kensington Olympia, this month. The event will be a global mix of varied sectors under one roof ranging from textiles, garments, ready-to-wear collections, garment manufacturing, and accessories like buttons, sequins and embroidered fabric.
“The Expo was founded with the idea to provide a platform which encourages trade between external manufacturers and UK buyers. We aim to develop an international community of professionals that share a common interest. In time we would like to be seen as the trade show for market entry into the UK, Europe and Eastern Europe,” claims Alexander Hartog, Operations Manager, The London Garments Expo.
Planning an inaugural event at a time when the UK market is under recession, the organizers share with AO that given the current financial climate it is now more important than ever to establish firm trade links between countries and manufacturers that can provide the most competitive prices. Based on concrete research, face-to-face contact is still viewed as one of the most effective marketing tools and 87% of buyers prefer to make an order based on actual contact with the manufacturers where the event will be playing its prime role. In order to ensure and encourage attendance, extensive marketing campaigns on the London Underground, placing banners on Drapers Online and developing an exciting series of catwalk shows are being looked forward to.
Joining hands with the event is AEPC, organizing an Indian pavilion for a delegation that consists of almost thirty companies ranging from ladies garments, dress makers, children’s wear menswear and casual wear. To promote Indian fashion and what the country has to offer worldwide, Perfect Management London the organisers of the expo will be holding the AEPC members catwalk on the opening day. “We are thrilled to be hosting such an important event, showcasing the talents and innovations of the Indian garment manufacturing sector, I believe that the diversity of the exhibitors collections will bring the colour and vibrancy of India to the heart of London,” added Alexander. Other associations involved are Thai Garments Association (TGMA); The Finish Garment Association (Finatex); The Turkish Clothing Manufacturers Association; The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) and The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA), along with other exhibitors attending the expo without any Government subsidy.
Being a first time event, the expo has gained a lot of support from retailers and designers from across the globe such as Ivy Lim Singapore children’s wear designers, who are looking forward to network and find potential business partners said, “London Garments Expo is an attractive opportunity for me and I hope to source manufactures for my latest collections.”
The expo will also be playing host to a number of organisations including The Society of Dyers and Colourists. “We are delighted to be involved with The London Garments Expo as their desire to improve knowledge mirrors our own,” viewed Andrew Filarowski, Acting Chief Executive at the Society of Dyers & Colourists.
[bleft]Manufacturers from all over the world will be displaying their collections targeting new and big buyers from UK, spread across various categories from women’s wear, menswear and children’s wear, in both woven’s and knits[/bleft]
Indian participants ready for the Expo…
Even at a time when UK is going through an economic slowdown, Indian participants seem to be confident about the event. “Considering that clothing is a necessity today, I believe this fair will be a huge success despite the ongoing recession. Business being our priority we are looking forward to meet sourcing heads of various companies,” said Zakib, Proprietor of Cotfab, who will be displaying a women’s wear collection with a lot of print and embroidery in shapes like tunics and caftans incorporating the most trendy concept of placement prints.
Another participant who is enthusiastic to participate is Naveen Duggal, Director, Kokeva Designs who said, “We were previously dealing with buyers in the UK, but we lost a major part of our business during the recession 4 years ago. This has been the most compelling factor for us to attend this fair. This is the perfect platform for us to regain our lost customers. Even the price charged for participation is very tempting. Apart from the participation of the European buyers, this fair has provided us with the perfect opportunity to showcase our new developments.” The company will be displaying a collection that focuses on ethnic stone wash garments, prints, whites and solid colours in casual shapes like skirts, dresses, tops, shorts and capris.
Other companies like Paras Industries and Khemka K Klothings are looking forward to the fair as a good market to tap a new customer base in UK in order to expand their buyers. “Our main aim is to explore the market, buyers and the export scenario in general. We have already been dealing with UK buyers on a very small scale, but this fair will provide a huge opportunity to deal with buyers who don’t come to India especially for business. This fair is also very useful for the general exports of India. Our collection will mainly comprise of casual women’s and kid’s wear for summer as well as winter. We plan to focus more on winter wear for next year once the fair is a success for us. Skirts, tops and dresses in floral prints, washes and denim look are popular at this time, and we intend to move ahead with these trends in our latest offerings,” elaborated Khemka, MD of Khemka K Klothings.
Developing their own strengths in a more westernized design interpretation to suit the need of a European buyer, Paras Industries will be showcasing lines for both winter as well as summer 2012 which will be heavily embellished, with the use of animal print, lace and embroidery. “Due to recession even though the customer is not affected much, still the buyers will be looking for competitive and affordable prices which is crucial to match to make this event a success for us,” concluded Chirag Jhaveri, Business Development Manager of the company.
