"It has never been a better time than now for international players of intimate apparel industry to dive in the booming Chinese market. China’s lingerie market is expected to reach a retail value of $25 billion by 2017—double that of the US—and will grow to $33 billion by 2020. Spending on discretionary categories in China will show strong growth in the coming years."
It has never been a better time than now for international players of intimate apparel industry to dive in the booming Chinese market. China’s lingerie market is expected to reach a retail value of $25 billion by 2017—double that of the US—and will grow to $33 billion by 2020. Spending on discretionary categories in China will show strong growth in the coming years.
Organised by Shenzhen Shengshi Jiuzhou Exhibition and owned by Tarsus Group, the joint trade fair ‘China (Shenzhen) International Brand Underwear Fair & Shenzhen international Underwear OEM/Materials and Fabrics Fair’, also known as SIUF, has made its way to become the most influential fair in Asia. Nearly 825 exhibitors and 105,600 industry visitors from 27 countries visited last year for the 11th show. The latest edition of SIUF is schedule for April 19 -21, 2017 in Shenzhen, China. This year, international hall will be launched including four sectors viz: country pavilions, brands, fabrics & accessories and B2B meeting room. “We need to thank our international brands and suppliers for inspiring us with this excellent idea. We will do our best to meet their expectation of a tailor-made service. We see it as our mission to help them expand their business in China rapidly with our buyer’s network and media support.” said Fengwei Zhang, CEO, Shenzhen Shengshi Jiuzhou Exhibition. Professional buyer resource means everything for SIUF. “Our key value is to help our exhibitors maximise their return, which could only be achieved by attracting the most representative professional buyers to join the fair,” he elaborated.
Evolving through the years
Incepted in 2006, SIUF has made its way to become the most influential lingerie fair for the whole China. Talking about China’s lingerie market, Zhang says “Chinese consumers, especially women, developed a mindset of buying things for their own good instead of flashy display. Spending on discretionary categories in China will therefore show strong growth in the coming years. Lingerie is going to be among the next hottest topics. The sales now are robust, foreign players are making inroads and local favorites are refining their offerings and branding. The era of lingerie is coming now.”
SIUF is much more than a fair. The whole package consists of a series of activities including China’s most authoritative distributor awards, the ‘Kingcraft Awards’, brand awards, the ‘Golden Dudou Awards’, underwear and home wear design contests, the ‘Oriental Charm’, trend forums, brand fashion shows and the ‘Super-model Talent show’ over the three-day fair.
SIUF has an extensive network of buyers covering the most important distribution channels of lingerie products, such as top distributors, retailer groups, chain supermarkets and shopping malls, as well as e-commerce platforms. “Professional buyer resource means everything for us to stand out from our rivals. Our key value is to help our exhibitors to maximize their return, which could only be achieved by attracting the most representative industry buyers to join the fair.” Zhang. Matsuoka of Atsugi, Japan’s most popular stocking brand, also commented his experience at SIUF, “I don’t know anywhere else that one could meet the key distributors all at once. The fair also offers chances like awards and gala dinner for us brands to build business network. We made a lot of useful contacts.”
Expanding Tier-II cities a great opportunity
While competition in Tier-I cities gets tougher, China’s fast growing Tier-II cities offer great opportunities for brands where traditional retail channels like franchised and multi-brand stores still dominate the underwear market. SIUF’s annual pre-show event ‘PHOENIX Dancing’ held in Tier-II across China aims to strengthen the connection between retailers and brands by inviting them to discuss the most leading edge topics and helping them build strategic partnerships.
As a show presenting the entire supply and distribution chain of intimate apparel industry, SIUF also offers the full range of machinery and electronic products related to the underwear industry. Product machinery, testing equipment, POS hardware and software, new technology as 3D printing and wearable electronics are to be found at the 73,000 sq .mt. exhibition ground.
The line up
Convening over 650 brands, many with enlarged and upgraded booths, there will be more product launches and trends on display than ever before in this edition. Participating exhibitors include: Invista, Lenzing, Taubert, Muehlmeier, Penn Textile Solution, Pressless, Creora, Asahi Kasei, Toyobo, Eurojersey, Bemis Hong Kong, Bluesign as suppliers and EmbryForm, Aimer, Maniform, Enweis, Roesch Fashion, Atsugi, Cosmolady, Regina Miracle, Oleno, Bodibody as brand owners. Zhang commented, “We have seen from other shows, how increasingly important having an all-in-one platform become for the niche market. Showcasing a wide portfolio of products from raw materials to brands, we bring the whole industry together to talk about the most leading edge topics and build strategic partnerships. We will continue empowering the buyers visiting the show by bringing them up to speed on emerging trends, featuring the newest developments and giving them first-rate accessibility to all the products, services and solutions that can help keep their businesses up to speed and competitive.” Registrations can be made online on: www.siuf.com/en/.