A German fashion house has clinched a 500,000 Emirati dirhams supply deal with Carrefour at the Motexha Spring fashion, textile and retail trade show, which runs at the Dubai International Exhibition Center until Thursday night.
German Stuttgart Fashion says the deal, negotiated on the opening day of the show, kicked off a flurry of on-site contracts, which include deals from Splash, Lamcy and SANA Fashions. "We honestly did not expect this much business," said German Stuttgart’s Director Mir Salim Raza. "Next year I will double the size of my participation because the show is definitely worth it."
Meanwhile, lingerie producer Bye Bye Brazil said the show, organized by IIR Exhibitions and Conferences, also produced major breakthroughs into the Lebanese, Kuwait and Saudi markets. "We came to just test the water but the result has been fantastic," said Bye Bye Brazil’s director, Amin Mazloum. "We are also in promising talks with a Dubai distributor."
Motexha Spring 2003 features 150 companies from 18 countries and nine national pavilions. Turkey has the largest pavilion at the show organized by the Aegean Exporters Union, which has disclosed the Saudi and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are its largest Middle East markets.
"The Middle East has continued to grow for us, with our exports to the region up by 12 percent on the year," said AEU Director Cigdem Onsal. "Saudi is the most important market in the region for us with our exports to the Kingdom grossing over $19 million last year compared to $17 million in 2001. The UAE is our next most important market in the region and we expect it to grow further."
Meanwhile Turkish exhibitor Sheela Collection said it is to open a second boutique in Dubai and is eyeing Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) expansion. "We already have a shop in Al-Mamzar Centre and the response to that, coupled with the reaction we have had at Motexha, led us to fast-track a second boutique planned for Jumeirah. We are also seriously considering investment in Qatar, Bahrain and Lebanon," said Sanem Uvendire, manager,
Sheela Collection.
Brazil too reported an excellent response at Motexha with pavilion organizer Arab Brazil reserving triple the space for next year. "The buoyancy of the regional fashion and retail industry is underlined by results from Motexha Spring and the fact that some 6,000 square
meters has already been reserved for Motexha Autumn," said Chris Hudson, Event director, IIR Exhibitions. "Motexha has emerged as the definitive regional show for these important industries."— (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
