Online fashion retailer Zalora was just one of the success stories from last week’s Hong Kong Fashion Week.
Several buyers from Zalora Thailand made their first visit to the Spring/Summer edition and head of business development, Sittharat Tiranasak, said while further talks lie ahead, the goal was to sign up 10 new suppliers to the eCommerce site to meet growing demand for quality apparel products within Zalora’s Asian base.
Tiranasak said she will be finalising orders in coming weeks to agree on contract terms.
ITC Limited, which operates two fashion labels and a retail network of about 500 stores in India, joined the fair for the first time. Category manager Sachin Mohan said he had already identified some 20 potential suppliers from Hong Kong and the mainland and was considering placing orders with five of them, with the total amount of orders being in the range of US$80,000 and US$150,000.
And Japanese exhibitor Fortuna Tokyo sales manager Yosuke Miwa said he had received an order from a Philippines buyer on-site.
Miwa considered the Hong Kong Fashion Week a good platform to connect with international buyers and learn about the tastes and needs of different markets. He said he would be returning in January for Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter.
Australian department store David Jones came to the fair looking for leather goods, bags and footwear products. GM Lee Rees-Oliviere said he met some potential suppliers on the first day through a business-matching meeting arranged by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and he was optimistic about concluding some deals. He said the amount of orders could be up to several million Australian dollars.
Japanese exhibitor Maruhisa was promoting its botanical-dyed cotton fabrics and T-shirts at its first Hong Kong Fashion Week attendance. The company leveraged the fair to break into overseas markets.
Eiji Mizobuchi, senior manager, said buyer response had been positive; an Australian buyer had shown great interest in their special fabrics. Mr Mizobuchi found the fair effective for meeting more international buyers.
Organised by the HKTDC, the fair welcomed more than 16,000 buyers from 65 countries and regions. Buyers from the Chinese mainland, India, Vietnam and Japan recorded positive growth compared to the previous year.
“In recent years, many young and budding fashion designers around the world have made it their goal to launch their own labels,” said HKTDC acting executive director Benjamin Chau.
“This edition of Fashion Week welcomed more than 100 designers to present their creations and products and, at the same time, explore different sales channels at the fair such as online retailing. Many e-tailers were attracted to source at the Fashion Week.”
