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The All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE) and its collocated fairs, China International Footwear Fair (CIFF) and Moda Shanghai, enjoyed record crowds that kept the Shanghai New International Expo Centre abuzz with trading activity throughout its 3-day run from 4 - 6 September 2012.
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The fair organisers, APLF Ltd and the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) launched ACLE 15 years ago as a business platform aimed at the Chinese market. Since then, ACLE continues to attract Chinese and international exhibitors that wish to penetrate it and find new customers. For Chinese exhibitors the opportunity exists for them to sell to the major domestic buyers that come to Shanghai but at the same time benefit from doing business with other exhibitors. Trade between exhibitors is quite usual at a fair such as ACLE where the whole supply chain of the leather industry is represented.
Complementing ACLE are the finished goods fairs, CIFF and Moda Shanghai, where many of China’s best known footwear and leathergoods brands are exhibiting.
Director of APLF, Mr. Michael Duck noted that “the success of the fairs and their potential as windows to the huge Chinese leather and leathergoods market has attracted more and more international exhibitors, including tanneries as well as leather machinery and chemical companies.”
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In turn, CLIA Chairman, Mr. Su Chao Ying, acknowledged the unstinting support of domestic exhibitors that have made the 3 Shanghai fairs China’s most important leather industry event.
Mr. Su likewise reported that the total production value of China’s leather, fur, leathergoods and footwear sectors (derived from above-scale enterprises with annual sales revenue above USD3.17 million) in the first half of 2012 amounted to USD82 billion, an increase of 14.6% year-on-year. Exports for the same period totaled USD33.46 billion, up by 9.1% year-on-year.
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Exports of semi-finished and finished leather in the first half of 2012 reached 20,000 tons, valued at USD230 million, representing a 1.6% decrease over the same period in 2011. Imports, on the other hand, were at 443,000 tons at USD2.02 billion, representing a 0.3% increase.
For leather shoes, Chinese exports for the period was at 390 million pairs, with a value of USD4.87 billion, a decrease of 1.1% over 2011 first semester sales. The value of leather shoe imports placed at 9.61 million pairs increased by 29.3%.
No doubt, that the steady performance of these sectors stems in great part from the business done in ACLE, CIFF and Moda Shanghai. The enthusiastic mood and exciting activity seen at the fairs augur well not only for China but for the global leather and leathergoods industries.
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ACLE - More Than Just A Leather Fair
Besides representing the whole supply chain of the leather industry ACLE is also a venue for gathering information from both colleagues and competitors during the event. It is more than just a trade fair - it is an event where vital information can be found which may help in planning a company’s business strategy.
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Brazil, In addition to the significant number of its tanneries exhibiting, also earned a lot of interest in ACLE with its informative presentation dubbed the “Leather Space Preview” at the Centre for the Leather Industries of Brazil stand. The presentation featured Brazilian hides illustrating Summer 2014 leather trends as developed by Brazilian leather and fashion experts.
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In addition, ACLE offered an interesting seminar programme dealing with hot industry topics such as sustainability and chemical innovations that are of great interest to technicians, designers and marketers who visit the fair.
This year, an important event held alongside ACLE was the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 18th conference covering its involvement in the leather industry. Such a high level conference attracts policy makers and market specialists since it is at these meetings that the direction of the leather industry, especially in emerging nations, is set.
It is of these invigorating moments that trade fairs are made. ACLE has the ability to pull in the decision makers, create an excitement of its own and send tanners home with a fully refreshed agenda.
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