30^th edition

The Shanghai World Expo Convention & Exhibition Centre

This was the 30^th session of SPINEXPO Shanghai and a fitting way to celebrate 15 years of SPINEXPO in China. Over this time we have witnessed significant growth and improvement in the China textile industry and in particular its increased quality and unique creativity. We are proud to have been part of this journey and also to empower and enable our regular exhibitors to develop their offering.

“There is nothing constant except change” and this cannot be more evident than in the way in which SPINEXPO has matured adapted and grown over the years. Part of this has been in response to the change and diversification inour exhibitor profile as well as a marked shift in the business dynamics between China and Europe. For centuries, China has been producing a wide range of the world’s highest quality fibre products and selling these to European businesses who have taken credit for their origination. With the rise of China and the opening of access to markets and technology, Asian spinners have begun to establish themselves on a world stage. In the knitwear manufacturing sector we have seen large-scale plants move from purely production to becoming sophisticated and vertically integrated brands with spinners, designers, technologists and R&D capacity, allowing them to offer their own unique style.

The 30^th session offered more diversification of products than ever before, with the addition of a “functional” yarns section and some important fibre manufacturers such as Invista and Aquafil, being welcomed as key exhibitors. With the impact of active-wear on knitwear, many spinners have focused their collectionswith more modern varieties of yarns; fitting the new demand where active and fashion now combine. In addition we have seen a growing interest in shoes and socks, with these items becoming an important part of collections.

The knitwear pavilion is also an important industry hub for the show. Many manufactures being partners with exhibiting spinning mills are able to showcase their use of specific types of machinery and both collaborating and co-creating across spinning, machinery and design skills,and expertise.

SPINEXPO has always strived to be a show for the market and we now provide a wider offering than ever before with spinning mills excelling in natural fibres, functional fibres, hand knitting yarns, and circular knits that can be seen more and morein collections.  We are starting to see weaving yarns in knitwear collections and we believe this is consistent with the evolving industry today. Everything mixes; fibres and sectors, with sourcing teams wanting to diversify their purchase to offer the market newer and more modern products.  

The results of this session were similar to the past two sessions, with 10696 visitors over three days and an important presence of the buyers attending for more than one day. The number of Chinese visitors was lower, with 8896 visitors versus 9697 for the former session, but most overseas countries having a stronger presence.  Hong Kong was up 35%, which was surprising as the territory recently faced a number of typhoons that significantly impacted flights. The European number of visitors has also been on the rise, with a jump in visitors from the Russian Federation, as well as South American and Bangladesh attendances increasing.  

Regarding the numerous trend directions presented at the show, we have noticed a growing visitor interest in stitches, accompanied by a marked improvement in the exhibitors’ offering. We are at a time when exhibitors are investing a lot in ideas and development, becoming the real partners of their clients in suggesting direction and development that adds to the quality of their yarn products.  

Exhibitors are also investing a lot in genuine stock service, with this season experiencing a record in how late orders were received by the mills. We have seen this becoming a trend in the industry with a wide range of spinning and knitwear mills considering stock service capacity as a response to an ever-increasing demand for shorter lead times and a greater interest in bespoke product.

SPINEXPO will back for the Spring/Summer 2019 Season with the following two shows:

A new Spring/Summer 2019 presentation in Paris from 6th to 7th February2018 at Cité de la Mode

In addition SPINEXPO Shanghai will return a bit later than usual, due to Chinese Lunar New Year Calendar, taking place from 13^th to 15^th March 2018 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition Centre in Pudong.