Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles

This year’s Autumn Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles opened its doors from 27 – 30 August, 2018 filling seven halls at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai with quality products and proactive industry conversations. The halls welcomed around 41,000 visitors from around 100 countries and regions (2017: 38,964), creating a unique platform for 1,040 suppliers from 26 countries and regions (2017: 1,096) to meet their business targets. Many exhibitors provided good feedback, noting multitudes of new contacts, meetings with current clients and onsite orders.

A common topic of conversation during the fair was the demand for home textiles in the China market, and increasingly, the demand in the contract business sector. “The contract business market has proved to be a firm point of interest for many home textile suppliers, and our new feature, Contract Business 360°, was introduced to help buyers find suitable exhibitors. It’s a burgeoning market, particularly in China, that is brimming with potential as the country’s commercial construction, hospitality and tourism sectors continue to expand,” said Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.

“Over the fair period, we saw suppliers meeting countless potential partners and even receiving onsite orders. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is a prime location for suppliers looking to promote their brand awareness and ultimately expand their business.”

Fringe programme inspires with innovation and insight

One important feature at the fair is the comprehensive Trend Forum, which continued to receive good feedback and attendance this year. “It’s easier to apply the trend concept when designing products after visiting the trend area and attending seminars given by different industry experts,” said one visitor at the Future Talk feature, Hu Hongmei, Design Director, Jiangsu Ruiaifu Textile Technology Co., Ltd. Interest also gathered around the Digital Printing Micro Factory, which held two live demonstrations throughout the fair, and a variety of seminars and panel discussions. Not only did the fair create new business partnerships and deals, but it also provided a comfortable space to look forward to industry trends and innovations.

Digital printing solutions to manage excess stocks

Customisation has been the emerging trend for all products and home textile market is no exception. Instead of mass production, on-demand manufacturing has become so prevalent that traditional machinery has to be updated. Identifying this trend is garment & textile machinery expert Global Fortune Limited, introduced their latest advanced textile solutions to the industry. Some of the top suppliers were set-up a Micro Factory in Intertextile Shanghai, illustrating a streamlined workflow:

• Beijing Leatech: Provides 3D simulation software that allows flexible design and efficient production.
• Kornit Digital: The leading digital textile printer showcased its Kornit Allegro system, which combines printing & drying in single step. The system eliminates unnecessary machineries, shortens production time and is widely applicable on multiple fabric types.
• Bullmer: World-renowned for single and multi-ply cutting applications and the corresponding material handling and storage systems.

Intelligent curtains for Smart Home

The August fair featured the Theme Pavilion of Intelligence, Life and Future for the first time with the US brand Lutron, France’s Somfy group and local enterprise Jiangsu Mingcheng demonstrating their advanced systems for Smart Home. Lutron is one of the global leaders in the lighting control industry and offers a wide selection of energy saving dimmers and lighting control solutions; Somfy Group specialises in automatic control of openings and closures in homes & buildings; and Jiangsu Mingcheng is the expert of sunshading & energy-saving technology with products allowing users to control the curtains by computer, remote, mobile applications. The following Chinese exhibitors will also participate in the Curtains Zone:

• Shidian Blinds: Presenting audio control systems for the entire house. Its sun protection solution offers different light exposures.
• Zhejiang Chen Hong Textile Technology: Functional products including Roman shades, which are digitally printed, bacteria-free, mouldresistant, flame-retardant and waterproo.

User-friendly leather from domestic suppliers

• ARZ Co Ltd: Aniline leather that keeps the natural texture of cow leather, with perfect outlook and high permeability. They also featured leather products which are water-proof, dirt-resistant and protective from wine & coffee.
• Haining Snail: Showcasing faux leather, linen type cloth, bronzing cloth and flannel that can be widely applied on chairs and sofas.
• Hangzhou Pick Textile: Possesses advanced 3D molding technology that produces fabrics with leather textures. Products were abrasion-resistant and free from peeling, with durable colour. They have passed international safety certifications.
• Tongxiang Dinuo Textile: Leather manufactured by nanotechnology.

• Haima Carpet: Using latest jacquard technics to present extraordinary patterns and colours. Various layers allow a 3D effect with no shedding.
• NingBo LYKA Carpet: Offers customized service and connects with end-users directly. They accept small quantity orders and products can be delivered within 24 hours.

The next Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is the Spring Edition, which will take place in March 2019. The next Autumn Edition will be held in August 2019. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Home Textile Association (CHTA).

Exhibitors’ observations

Thomas Luys, Sales Manager, Libeco, Belgium “We see this fair as an investment to raise our brand awareness in Asia. This fair is a good gateway to the Asian market – this is our only opportunity to meet potential Chinese customers. We have a good location, we are in the International Halls – these are the best halls for us.”

Niki Zhang, General Manager Assistant, Prestigious textiles China Co., Ltd, China “The visitor flow in international hall is high and we received a number of onsite orders. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is renowned in the industry and we can see the attending visitors are more professional with specific sourcing target.”

Stefano Laurenzano, Export Area Manager, Enzodegli Angiuoni Spa, Italy “We think that Intertextile Shanghai is the best fair in China. We are continuing to invest in the China market, and this is the only way to always be present. We have got a lot of good contacts so far, but we are sure that more serious partnerships will be visible over the next month.”

Nishant Kumar Singh, General Manager – Sales, GM Syntex, India “We target converters, wholesalers and distributors and we can meet enough quality buyers through the four days to generate steady business from them. There are a lot of buyers here who don’t attend the European fairs, so it’s worth us to be here to reach these buyers.”

Sammy Hong,Yee Saint Enterprise Co., Ltd, Taiwan “We have been exhibiting in Intertextile Shanghai for around 10 years and we’ve managed to meet both new and existing customers every time. Intertextile Shanghai has always been the trendsetter for the home textile industry and buyers are becoming more international and professional.”