Exhibitors expressed their satisfaction with this year’s fair 

“We decided to exhibit at Intertextile because we depend on this fair to promote our new products. This fair provided a much-needed business platform for the industry as many trade shows were cancelled in the first half of the year. The pandemic has brought great changes to the market trends as well. For instance, customers are now focusing more on their health and safety, so products with anti-bacterial properties are becoming increasingly popular.”, said Mr Gerry Xue, Head of Home Segment, China Textile, Lenzing Fibers (Shanghai) Co Ltd, Austria

Mr Yiyun Tao, Deputy General Manager, Global Textile Alliance (Hangzhou) Co Ltd, China, stated: “We’ve been exhibiting at Intertextile since 2015. This fair is a prominent trade event in the industry and even the most important one in China, so we continue to exhibit here. We are pleased that the fair can attract such a high visitor flow despite the COVID-19 impact. We were able to meet existing clients and new buyers, and their quality is excellent too.”

And Mr Jian Wang, General Manager, Beijing Designers to JIA Home Decoration Articles Co Ltd, China, said: “The fact that this year’s fair continues to take place despite the challenges presented by the pandemic is very helpful to the industry. As a long-term partner of the fair, we fully support this decision. Although the pandemic has impacted our business, we are optimistic about the future as the demand for home textile products has always been steady, and we believe everything will return to normal soon. We also participated in the online business matching platform which is very useful for us too.”

Furthermore, Ms Scarlett Lu, Design Director, Ranger Art Design (Hangzhou) Co Ltd, China, stated: “We are a design studio and our target clients include textile brands and manufacturers. Our contemporary collections featuring abstract, geometric patterns, as well as earthy, textured designs are very popular among our customers this year. As the Spring Edition in March was postponed, the August fair is a valuable opportunity for the industry, including manufacturers, editors and design studios like us to showcase our latest collections.”

Visitors’ experiences

“I came to this fair to find new developments, new marketing ideas, interesting filling and fabric composition blends. It's quite promising for the bedding segment in general, and I was able to find a couple of really good and useful suppliers. This year I was pleased to see some trends at Intertextile. I'm happy to see quite a number of Chinese companies cooperating with the inventors, and becoming innovation leaders”, said Ms Elena Salsera, Quality Director, China Branch General Manager, Togas Group, USA. And Ms Wang Yan, Business Manager, Shanghai Mou Deng Interior Design Co Ltd, China, said: “Our company is specialised in interior upholstery, and we came to this fair with a goal to gain a better understanding of the upcoming design trends and the current market conditions. We also visited some of our long-term partners to see their new collections. Many global trade shows were cancelled or postponed early this year due to the pandemic, but Intertextile 2020 was able to take place as scheduled and attract quality exhibitors, which helped us understand the market trends and customers’ needs.”

Speakers’ insights

“Intertextile and I have been working together for six years. Over the years, we have built a strong relationship. For the 2021 Intertextile Trend Forum, I invited five renowned designers, including Ben Chen, Ben Wu, Meng Ye, Paul Pang and Xie Ke to share their own thoughts on the concept of “BOUND”. Every designer has his own interpretation, which I think is a lovely thing. Events like this allow me to meet old friends and make new friends. It’s a precious thing, particularly in these times”, summarized Mr Shen Lei, Founder and Chief of The Interior Architects Design, China.

Additional hygiene precautions were in place onsite

As trade fair co-organisers, Messe Frankfurt’s number one priority always remains the health and safety of fairgoers. To maintain a clean and hygienic environment for visitors and exhibitors to meet in, the fair implemented extra measures this edition. These included real-name registration, onsite temperature checks, frequent sterilisation of public areas and distancing measures for forum / seminar audiences, amongst others.

The next Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is the Spring Edition held from 10 – 12 March 2021, concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo Spring.