Next Texworld at Paris Le Bourget

Texworld September 2006 session: Steady growth with visitor numbers up by 1%. Texworld attracted a total of 18,780 trade visitors from 108 different countries during the four days of its 19th session.

It continues to cruise along nicely with a 1% increase in numbers compared with the September

Approximately 71% of visitors came from Europe, which reflects the fact that the European Union is still the largest clothing market in the world with a value of nearly EUR 300 billion. It is therefore not surprising that European visitors from the EU constitute the most important Texworld visitor groups, with France leading the way in terms of numbers, followed by the UK, Germany, Italy and Turkey (+5%) and the Netherlands (+3%), which have both increased in importance, and then Spain and Portugal with somewhat fewer visitors.

There has been a significant increase in the numbers of visitors coming from Eastern Europe, a region that is currently showing exceptional economic dynamism, notably Poland (+8%), the Czech Republic (+21%) and Russia (+20%). 15% of visitors came from Asia, particularly from Japan (+7%), India (+34%), and 10% from the USA. Africa (+7%) also saw an increase with Morocco (+7%) leading the way.

These results show that Texworld, with its 678 exhibitors from 41 different countries, provides its visitors with an extremely wide and varied offer from ultra-exclusive ranges to lower-priced products that all exhibit the best possible quality/price relationship.

More than ever it's fine wool with "Stretch" fibers and increasingly washable wool fabrics that have been successful, as confirmed by numerous exhibitors. For instance, Doina Dziminshi, head of Design and Exports at the Romanian company Dorotanbul states: "We've been satisfied with the numbers of visitors, especially from Scandinavia, who have shown great interest in our washable and silicon-treated wools."

The same opinion is echoed by K. Muto, Director of Japanese fabrics trading firm Takisada Osaka Co., Ltd.: "We have welcomed 15% more visitors to our stand (particularly from Germany, France, Turkey and the United States) and have received an increased number of orders, so we are very happy with how this session has gone. We've been successful with our woollen knits and our brushed cottons with woollen aspects."

Denim is another fabric that has been in demand and was well represented at Texworld thanks to some excellent Pakistani and Turkish manufacturers, and of course the Indian company Raymond. Together with UCO from Belgium (the two organisations merged in August 2006), they presented a stunning collection of denims in a wide variety of finishes, e.g. in mixes with Kevlar, bamboo, linen etc. It's also interesting to note that during Texworld this dynamic Indian company renewed its 2-year contract with Konaka, one of the largest retailers in Japan with 400 shops located around the country. A Raymond factory in Bangalore is set to supply Konaka with more than 150,000 men's suits a year.

Another large Indian company, Arvind Mills, has also confirmed the demand for sophisticated denims: "We have developed a much lighter indigo which has benefited our entire denim range, not to forget our cottons for sports trousers and shirts. Our biggest markets remain the United States, followed by Europe and Asia," explains Vipul Mhadevia, Director of Marketing International.

Certainly the issue of next year's move was a frequent topic of discussion and everyone had their own opinion on this major change with Texworld relocating to the Paris Le

Bourget Exhibition Centre from February 2007 for its next session (Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 February). Most visitors have expressed their satisfaction with this move, as the new venue is larger, more spacious and more practical. The new space allows the show to be held on a single level and getting to it will be even easier, thanks to the RER B (suburban railway) and A1 autoroute.