China Hosiery Purchasing Expo show-CHPE a show for high end hosiery products like socks, tights etc, last month, was full of optimism inspite of the challenges China is facing in export business. Exhibitors and visitors felt China is facing a number of challenges at the moment and as a result becoming more expensive. Wages have gone up leading to a shift in manufacturing to other countries. Emphasizing on this, Ahsan Ghazanfar-Dynamic Sportswear (socks manufacturer) from Pakistan says, “We have to make use of this opportunity. So we have to become more aggressive in marketing.”
As far as the business environment is concerned, the market is witnessing growth in different countries. Although the economic situation is not so good still the business mood is positive. Organizations are pinning their hope on 2014 for better growth. Sharing this optimism, Ghazanfar sats, “The buying power in Europe and US has gone down. Cost of production in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is rising. We have to be more competitive on price points.” On the other hand the business environment in China is getting better and better in the domestic market but the same cannot be said for Russia. Richard Wang, Invista-China office hopes to maintain business. “People who are not focused will have a difficult time. The focused ones will be the clear winners. In a country like China which has many opportunities it’s easy to lose focus.”
Talking about the business perspective, Wang, said, “The global economy is good. Business is not a problem since everyone needs clothes. The question is how you meet the customers’ needs. You need to do innovation and pay attention to details.” Invista is focusing on promoting fusion Lycra fibre. It’s a new product and has been in the market for around three years. “It can improve the durability of hosiery and India will soon hear of it,” says Wang.
