Korea is able to increase exports to the Chinese market while at the same time China will be able to grow its textile industry by acquiring Korean textile technology and design knowledge through this Show.
Notably, Korea's clothing brands are judged to get a lot of help in striking root as a renowned brand within China through Preview in Shanghai. First off, the two countries are assessed to have hardened a cornerstone for accompanying the development of the textile industry through which Korea and China can exchange closely each other by means of such a Preview in Shanghai.
Korean apparel brands got an opportunity to make inroads into the Chinese market through this exhibition in large numbers. Actually, Korean brand numbers which made inroads into the Chinese market from the middle in the 1990s to past 2002, was no more than a total of 20 brands.
However since the Show has been held for the first time in late 2003, Korea's inroad brand number into China market is presumed to reach to approximately 100 brands right now.
It can't be overlooked that Korean brand's awareness degree has also risen through this Preview in Shanghai alongside of Hanryu fever. In a recent on-thescene survey regarding overseas brand preference, France, Italy and Korea were ranked as the first, the second and the third position respectively. In particular among the younger generation in China, Korea appeared to take the foremost place.
Pavilion composition centering on convergence
The 5th Preview in Shanghai this year was above all composed by far abundantly in terms of substance though that is a similar scale in comparison with last year, according to the Korea Federation of Textile Industries(KOFOTI), the host of this show.
In relation to the peculiar trait of this exhibition, officials involved in the 5th Preview in Shanghai said: "The Federation will hold especially Korea Brand Planning Sales Exhibition by teaming up with three staple department stores in Shanghai with a view to fostering a boom about Korean brands over the exhibition period."
It is said that brands to represent Korea such as EXR, Beaucre Merchandising, Ssamzie, Indong Apparel, and more will take part in this special planning exhibition, which will not only publicize Korean brand's image, but also link up to sales.
Moreover, trade show for buyers too will be enlarged according to officials of the Korea Federation of Textile Industries(KOFOTI). This trade show is aimed to provide buyers with a wide array of information about display materials as 40 companies this year present their clothing amounting to 120 suits of clothes in comparison to 6 companies last year.
Alongside of this, the Invitation Buyer Business Reception will be held separately during the same period as the show for smooth business meetings between buyers and participating companies.
Instead of fashion maestro Andre Kim who has proceeded its Opening Show over the past four years in a row, Korea's famous designer Mr. Lie Sang-bong presents a new collection to the visitors at this year's Opening Show.
This forthcoming Opening Show's theme Swing In The East expresses the encounter of the Orient and the West anew, based on the silhouette in the 1960s and futurism Mr. Lie interpreted.
Regarding this upcoming Preview in Shanghai's concept, officials of the Korea Federation of Textile Industries pointed out: "As a neo-minimalistic tendency, which pursues convenience and simplicity settles down all over the world, now is the trend spiritual and physical environments surrounding a human being coexist freely."
Accordingly, the Secretariat of the Preview in Shanghai has set this forthcoming exhibition's concept to be Convergence, among which it is divided into four groups -- Nature Convergence, Sense Convergence, Boundary Convergence, and Technology Convergence.
Win-Win relation between textile industries
As this year's Preview in Shanghai greets the fifth as of this year, the persons concerned note that the Show crosses to the second term beyond the first term of China market inroad.
They assessed that nowadays participating companies hatch successful business model through localization strategy befitting to onthe- scene circumstance though the companies have suffered from a raft of point of problems over the past four years.
Starting from this year, the Secretariat of the Preview in Shanghai plans to forge its long-term roadmap so that the event can be expanded up to another region centering around Shanghai in the coming second term.
With regard to the elements that Korean brands are appealed to China market, the Korea Federation of Textile Industries' officials named cultural and a figure's similarity as the same Orientals. They added that since Korean brands use style and pattern befitting to Asian figure, Chinese will be able to feel convenient when wearing Korean clothes.
In addition, it is said that unique Korean brand in terms of design, crack material and processing, and diverse and characteristic point are getting good marks from Chinese consumers, according to on-the-scene buyers in China.
In a nutshell, the difference between Korea's fashion industry and China's fashion industry is that Korea's fashion industry has advanced into the age of maturity whereas China's fashion industry is entering into its growth stage through an introductory stage just now.
As Korea's domestic market swells with a fast speed over the thirty years from the second half in the 1970s till the present, its market scale that was no more than 2 trillion won at the end of the 1980s, showed an astonishing growth pace beyond 20 trillion won in recent years.
In the light of the fact that China's domestic fashion market holds a very big potential in terms of growth potential in the coming years and China's fashion industry will greatly develop, thanks to international event host such as the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai Expo plus the nation's income level improvement, Korea's textile industry circle also needs to accelerate China market inroad with the view of constructing the future's collaboration groundwork of textile fashion industry between Korea and China in the long run. Regarding to the textile trade scale between Korea and China last year on one hand, Korea's textile export to China showed US$2.85 billion and our import from China was US$4.99 billion.
