Organisers of Prestige 2005, a leading high fashion trade fair, say this year’s exhibition attracted 25 per cent more visitors and first-time exhibitors compared to last year.
The show, recently held at Dubai World Trade Centre, featured more than 150 leading international fashion and footwear brands including 80 first-time participants, and welcomed over 2,000 trade buyers and retailers from around the GCC.
According to Reinhard E. Doepfer, Managing Director of the European Fashion and Textile Export Council (EFTEC), the biggest fashion names are moving to take advantage of the Gulf’s rapidly growing population, booming tourist numbers and its maturing retail market.
“Prestige 2005 was an indispensable platform for buyers, retailers, manufacturers and distributors to interact,” said Doepfer. “The fashion market in the Gulf keeps on booming.
“Last year, fashion manufacturers from the 15 EU member countries exported apparel to the GCC market worth US$862 million; that’s an increase of 12.7 per cent compared to 2003. The top exporter was the UK followed by Italy and France. These growth figures coupled with the local retail boom show the potential for new and existing international brands in the region. Trade fairs like Prestige provide the perfect base for expansion to the GCC.”
Around 80 new international labels seeking to enter the Middle East fashion market showcased their latest collections at Prestige 2005. The brands included - from Germany - Carlo Colucci, Mustang Jeans, and Jean Paul. Scabina of Lebanon, Schedoni from Italy, Portuguese label Jersey Company, Nando Muzi, Suwen International from Turkey, and Daniel Hechter Studios from France were also among the new brands at Prestige 2005.
“Prestige provides brands predominantly from Europe with a fast-track entry into the lucrative GCC markets. We are very selective and make sure only high quality and reputed brands are part of the show. A large percentage of this season’s exhibitors have already agreed to participate in the next Prestige,” said Michael Mueller, Managing Director, planetfair Dubai LLC, organisers of the event.
First-time exhibitor Mustang Jeans from Germany aims to open showrooms across the region soon. “This is a new market for us. We have made excellent contacts with serious retailers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Offers need to be discussed and a decision will be made very soon. We are definitely entering the GCC market and should finalise franchise agreements over the next few months,” said Heiner Sefranek, CEO of Mustang Jeans.
UAE-based Dutchkid, which showcased clothing for women and children and a variety of accessories from Holland, is one of the many companies planning a bigger presence at next year’s show.
“We felt the overall quality and presentation of the stands was superb, and we’re planning to book a larger space next year. Our participation proved highly valuable and helped us penetrate a fresh market,” said Sencha Chung, Managing Partner, Dutchkid.
Premium Turkish nightwear label Kanpolat exhibited at Prestige with brands Buse and Bondy.
Rasim Kanpolat, General Manager, said: “We met several potential customers at the exhibition and are thrilled with the response we’ve received. This exhibition is an ideal meeting place for serious prospects.”
“This year, Prestige saw a large number of exhibitors from Germany and Italy. Next year, Turkey has agreed to host a pavilion, and Canada, USA and Hong Kong are all looking to strengthen their involvement,” said planetfair Dubai’s Mueller.
Held from September 17-19 at Dubai World Trade Centre, Prestige 2005 welcomed exhibitors from Europe, North America, Australia, Hong Kong and the Middle East.
The three-day trade fair introduced womenswear, menswear, lingerie, footwear and leather accessories, and provided an opportunity for retail buyers to place advance purchases for new lines and collections.
Other highlights of the show included a seminar on the development of store partnerships and franchise concepts, which was held alongside the exhibition. The seminar included presentations by international retail experts on best practice.
