“Preview in Seoul 2012 (PIS),” the Seoul International Textile Fair, wrapped up a three-day run on Sept. 7 with the participation of 261 exhibitors, its biggest event ever.
PIS 2012, which took place at COEX from Sept. 5-7, attracted 9,928 spectators, according to figures compiled by the Korea Federation of Textile Industries (KOFOTI).
The figure represented a 9.9 percent rise over the number of PIS 2011 spectators. The number of foreign buyers, however, declined somewhat due to the effects of the global economic downturn, but Korean spectators increased.
Nancy Smith, assistant manager of fabric R&D at BCBG Max Azria Group, depicted the fair as “a novelty.” She added that the textile fair was smaller than she expected, but she was impressed with such new items as knitted and jersey products.
Harada Yasumasa, an official in charge of procurement at Yagi & Co, said the quality and function of the exhibits has improved compared to those at previous fairs.
Some buyers from Europe and North America, who are staggering from the recession, expressed their intention to substitute Korean textile items for European and Japanese products, a sign of a possible trade boost.
Active negotiations centered around major Korean and foreign outdoor brands’new items with specialized features. In particular, Dong-il Group’s TransDry, a patented, high-performance moisture management application, and other high-tech textile products as well as Samil Spinning Co.’s ECOSIL yarns of Lenzing Modal, Micro Modal, Tencel, Rayon, R/T, T/R, blended fibers, and Porexil (100% synthetic materials) made a strong showing at the fair.
The textile fair also coincided with the Korean-German industrial textile seminar designed to explore the trends of Germany’s advanced textile technology and the development of the Korean textile industry, and the Korean-Japanese industrial textile material symposium designed to share the trends of Japan’s industrial textile products and information on Korea’s maritime industry textiles.
KOFOTI signed an MOU on promoting cooperation in mutual public relations and marketing with JFW Japan Creation.
First organized by KOFOTI in 2000, “Preview in Seoul” has become Korea’s leading textile exhibition through active promotion and mutual partnerships between the overseas visitors and the Korea textile companies. The fair is a textile trade show, which offers high-quality textiles that are both multi-functional and eco-friendly.
In 2011, a total of 252 companies participated in the textile fair and 9,037 visitors from 45 countries visited to find distinguished textiles in Korea. Along with the growing presence of overseas exhibitors and visitors, the fair is gaining increased recognition as a global textile exhibition. More importantly, the fair continues its endeavor to present the preeminent sourcing platform for global brands.
TRIPARTITE TEXTILE COOPERATION
Leaders of KOFOTI will hold a meeting with their counterparts from the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) and the Japan Textile Federation (JTF) at the Chosun Westin in Busan from Nov. 27-28 to discuss ways of promoting mutual cooperation.
A 30-member Korean delegation, including KOFOTI Chairman Roh Hee-chan, will attend the third such meeting with 20 delegates from the CNTAC and 20 delegates from the JTF. The three countries held the first such meeting in Japan and the second meeting in China last year.
