GERMANY IN SIGHT
It is the most appealing market of the Old Continent. Therefore, more and more companies of fabrics “made in Portugal” direct their efforts to current and potential German clients. And Munich Fabric Start assumes itself as the best platform to operations’ centre.
The Portuguese fabrics record high demand in Germany, which occupied the second position in the ranking of main buyers between January and November 2011, in a total superior to 50 million Euros. The category of fabrics with synthetic or artificial fibres is the most exported to Germany (about 18.7 million Euros in the first eleven months of 2011), where it is the best Portuguese customer, followed by woollen fabrics, whose exports reached 8.58 million Euros in the same period (plus 6.6% in comparison with 2010). And the trend will be reinforced since the number of companies that is betting in this market, through the participation at Munich Fabric Start, industry’s main show in the country, is strong and valuable: Living Colours, Arco Têxteis, Fábrica de Tecidos Vilarinho, Troficolor, SanMartin, Paulo de Oliveira, Teviz, Somelos Tecidos, Adalberto Estampados, A Penteadora, Lemar and Tintex.
«It is a very interesting trade fair, that not only embraces the German market but also the neighbouring countries», says Mário Jorge Silva, administrator of Tintex, a company specialized in dyeing and finishing knits. A strategy that is also strictly followed by fabric companies such as Teviz and SanMartin. «Above all, we want to consolidate our position in the German market and get into the Dutch market through this show, that is also visited by neighbour countries», unveils commercial director Paulo Loureiro. On its side, Filipa Almeida, international market manager at SanMartin, explains that «essentially, we want with this bet to consolidate our presence in the German and Austrian markets, where we already have a strong client portfolio».
Consequently, Autumn/Winter 2013-2014 collections were prepared in detail and novelties pullulate. «We are presenting, for the first time, a small range for women, mainly composed by viscose/polyester and viscose/acrylic. Besides that, we are showing cotton/wool and wool/polyester blends, especially in false plains. The traditional flannels are also, once more, in this collection», states Teviz’s commercial director. In SanMartin fabric proposals for the cold season, laces have the main role in their multiple personalities: with stones, renascence style, noble, but also simple and modern, with a second skin effect or guipure; as in knit’s offer of Tintex, the spotlight still is company’s bestseller, knits with Tencel, but there’s also place to wool, silk and cashmere rich knits. «Our products are perfect for German and neighbouring markets, since we are investing a lot in ecologic fibres with functional finishing», underlines Mário Jorge Silva. «More than get new clients, this trade fair give us the opportunity to be even closer to our everyday customers and to show personally to them our collection, which is so differentiated of our competitors, and to live their enthusiastic reaction to novelties», concludes Filipa Almeida.
These 12 Portuguese companies are at Munich Fabric Start with the support of Associação Selectiva Moda, under the project From Portugal financed by EU funds (QREN). This fabrics trade fair is one of the 68 international actions in 25 different markets predicted for this year, that also include in the second semester Milano Unica, in Italy, Première Vision, in France, Textillegprom, in Russia, Jitac, in Japan, and Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, in China, in a total investment of 8.85 million Euros.
