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CENTRESTAGE ends on a successful note

"CENTRESTAGE, the new fashion brand promotion and launch platform of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) ended last Saturday on a high note. The four-day international fashion event was house to some 200 fashion brands from 20 countries and regions showcasing their latest fashion collections. In all, the trade show attracted close to 8,300 buyers from 71 countries and regions, with nearly 40 per cent of buyers coming from Asia other than Hong Kong."

 

CENTRESTAGE ends on a successful note

 

CENTRESTAGE, the new fashion brand promotion and launch platform of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) ended last Saturday on a high note. The four-day international fashion event was house to some 200 fashion brands from 20 countries and regions showcasing their latest fashion collections. In all, the trade show attracted close to 8,300 buyers from 71 countries and regions, with nearly 40 per cent of buyers coming from Asia other than Hong Kong.

CENTRESTAGE ends on a successful

 

HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau said that CENT RESTAGE was s an ideal promotion and launch platform for international, especially Asian, fashion brands and designer labels. The HKTDC is pleased that the event has captured the attention of the Asian fashion industry successfully attracting fashion brands and buyers keen on expanding their Asian business to come and promote, source and launch new collections and explore cooperation opportunities. And it provides a platform for local new designers to showcase creative designs to media and buyers in the region. He added that CENTRESTAGE was an effective event for driving regional fashion exchange and development while solidifying Hong Kong’s position as a fashion capital.

Excellent Response

In order to understand the industry players’ views on the outlook for the fashion industry and product trends nicely, the HKTDC commissioned an independent market research agency to conduct on-site surveys during CENTRESTAGE, interviewing some 270 exhibitors and buyers. The survey found that most respondents were cautiously optimistic about overall sales in 2017. Nearly 60 per cent of respondents expect overall sales in the coming year to remain steady, while 27 per cent expect overall sales to increase.

Thirty three per cent of respondents were of the view that production costs or sourcing prices would increase but 65 per cent of them said that they would not increase the FOB price or retail price indicating that the industry is generally reluctant to transfer the increased costs to customers or consumers. In terms of markets, the respondents expect Hong Kong, Japan and Korea to have the best growth prospects among traditional markets in the coming two years. 60 per cent of respondents considered that the Chinese mainland to be most promising among emerging markets.

The survey also sought to understand the product trends of the fashion industry. 60 per cent of respondents consider women’s wear to have the best growth potential followed by men’s wear and kids’ wear. Nearly half of the respondents said that they have engaged in e-tailing business selling mainly women’s wear (69%), casual wear (41%) and fashion jewellery (12%).

Besides the stalls, a number of trend seminars were held during the event. Michael Leow, Asia/Pacific Sales & Marketing Head for Fashion Snoops, said Nowstalgia will be a key trend in the coming year. The trend blends nostalgic and contemporary elements while incorporating the convenience of modern technology.

In another seminar, Erica Ng, WGSN’s Senior Editor, Retail Intelligence, Asia Pacific, said the millennial lifestyle was transforming traditional retail. Retailers will need to find synergies between mobile apps, online shopping, physical retail and social media to effectively capture market share among this generation.

Hong Kong best place to contact new suppliers

The survey also found that nearly 90 per cent of fashion buyers consider Hong Kong trade shows a major channel to contact new suppliers. At the same time, 92 per cent of exhibitors use Hong Kong trade shows to find new buyers. These findings indicate that CENTRESTAGE being a regional fashion promotion and launch platform was an important channel to promote industry cooperation and generating business opportunities.

For the first time, French women’s fashion brand Edward Achour Paris was exhibiting in Hong Kong. Edward Achour, the brand’s designer commented by saying that CENTRESTAGE offers a great opportunity for their brand to open new markets. The results have been encouraging. Here, we met many buyers from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Indonesia and other countries. Four Chinese mainland buyers even placed orders on-site.

Hong Kong’s Anagram, a brand that specialises in upmarket women’s fashion collections, had come to CENTRESTAGE to develop its international market. Its Brand Director, Winnie So, said that international buyers have shown keen interest in our brand. It was here where his company could establish connections with wholesalers from Malaysia, Singapore and the US and a distributor from Vietnam. A buyer from New York has already confirmed orders and expects more orders after the show. And it was an awesome experience when CENTRESTAGE opened its gates to the public on the last day.

China’s street fashion brand Ilovechoc also attended the event. The brand has a sales network of more than 300 retail stores across the mainland. Gu Yu, the brand’s Vice President said that they were participating in CENTRESTAGE to broaden their sales presence in the international market. The show was instrumental in drumming up extensive interest and helped the company to establisg contact with many buyers from Southeast Asia.

He also informed that a number of buyers from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia even wanted to explore cooperation. Hong Kong is a major fashion hub in Asia and CENTRESTAGE can bring together industry players from around the world. This platform can certainly facilitate our business expansion, he added.

Finding new brands

La Rinascente, a long-established high-end department store group in Italy, saw CENTRESTAGE as an ideal opportunity to explore business opportunities in Asia for the first time. They found that the event was an ideal platform to find new brands and understand the fashion industry in Asian markets. Commented Andrea Bonecoo, Buying Manager, la Rinascente SpA that the business matching service introduced Hong Kong’s I.T Group to them. Officials of the company held useful talks to exchange ideas and establish initial contact. Finally he exclaimed by saying that this show was the start of the company’s effort to get to know more about Asia.

Indonesian fashion boutique, Lucy House, joined CENTRESTAGE to source more new brands for its customers according to Lucy Kurniawan who operates the company. In all, he found that the event offers a good platform to meet designers and was instrumental in generating good business opportunities. He further informed that he was now negotiating with a Hong Kong designer for the evening wear collection. An initial order would involve about 100 pieces in different styles.

Fida Alkaud, a buyer from Harvey Nichols, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia came to CENTRESTAGE to look out for contemporary evening wear. She said that she felt very happy to have found new brands which suit the tastes of their customers which include Marquess & Homa, Guy Laroche Furs, Shelina and Camelia. She was all praise of HKTDC's business matching service because it saves one a lot of time finding the right brands. Fida went to the extent of saying that the fashion shows at CENTRESTAGE were also very fascinating.

Also attending the event was Meili Inc. one of the mainland's largest fashion e-tailing brands. Margaret Yao, Business Cooperation Director said that she visited CENTRESTAGE to find new brands and explore cooperation opportunities. She expressed her happiness of the business matching meetings arranged by the organiser as they helped in generating positive results. She was aso of the say that she found a Hong Kong designer and a US brand offering some suitable products to sell on her website. She also established contacts with four fashion brands from Thailand saying that she would be in further discussions with them.

Korea’s biggest department store operator Lotte that runs 40 stores across the country also made its presence at CENTRESTAGE. Lotte’s buyer Hyeon Ji Sun observed that she visited CENTRESTAGE to find new brands, especially sportswear and lifestyle wear brands. People in Korea love sports and outdoor activities. Hence demand for related fashion items was very strong. She was very happy to inform that she was very happy to have established contact with two brands from Hong Kong.

 
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