(Hong Kong, 26 March 2010) Senior Executives from around the world involved in sourcing, manufacturing and servicing for the global apparel industry will converge on Hong Kong for Prime Source Forum 2010 scheduled 29-31 March.
Prime Source Forum 2010 is proudly sponsored by CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements, the product brand for the world’s finest loose cut crystals manufactured by Swarovski.
Launched in 2005 and currently in its fifth year, Prime Source Forum is now globally acknowledged as the definitive meeting place for the apparel industry with annual Forum participant registrations increasing year on year.
APLF Director, Michael Duck, believes that this year’s Forum will focus on the effect that the world financial crisis is having on the industry and the steps that the industry is taking within the worldwide drive to make manufacturing and retailing more sustainable.
Workshop sessions on 29 March are also crucial to promoting the exchange of ideas and solutions, both identified and as yet unrecognised, and impacting upon the continued global growth and expansion of the apparel industry in the 21st Century. The Prime Source Sustainability Workshop session will address a number of key issues facing the industry into the future, including ways to drive costs out of the supply chain amid the economic crisis still affecting many countries outside the Asia region.
The first Forum day on 30 March will launch with an address by keynote speaker Mr. Andrew Y. Wu, Group Director LVMH China, focusing on “Cultural Understanding of China in Rapid Transformation - Beyond Luxury Consumption".
With more than 65 speakers and panellists, each an acknowledged leader and expert in their respective industry, scheduled to participate at Prime Source Forum 2010, the industry will address many crucial issues currently facing the global apparel industry in the foreseeable future.
“In view of the crises, we were anticipating a reduction of delegates coming from overseas, as most organisations are cutting down on corporate spending. However, the number of registered delegates today is higher than the number last year, so clearly the Forum is still seen as a must attend event by many of the movers and shakers in this industry across the world,” stated Duck. The Organisers expects over 400 delegates to attend the three-day event.
A special address on the second day of the Forum will be presented by Professor Dr. Helmut Merkel, Managing Shareholder, EurAsia Global Concept Ltd., and Mr. Hans-Werner Scherer, CEO, The EOS Group, will focus on 'Global Sourcing after the Crisis - Lessons learnt - Is China still the "No. 1" Sourcing Country?'
“The Forum has undeniably become a ‘brand’,” stated Professor Dr. Helmut Merkel. “It is a meeting venue for retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers and is highly accepted by the whole industry because of its sharp profile.”
Worldwide demand is another issue of concern across the apparel industry. Key considerations to be addressed at this workshop include such questions as: Has the current economy truly recovered from the recession? When will consumers be back? Are American consumers still driving global demand? What can Europe do to stimulate consumption? Are China, India and other emerging countries strong enough to drive a recovery?
“Currently retailers are quite optimistic about the economy so they are adding additional inventory but there is still a lot of financial uncertainty especially with the unemployment in USA at its all time high,” stated TAL Apparel Director of Sales, Roger Lee.
Furthermore, Lee predicts company sales this year will “be much better than 2009”, but if the customer demand doesn’t meet the supply, this would really hurt the business of companies.
Trade policies also continue to affect the apparel industry. The global economic recession has triggered new calls for, and new fears of, protectionism. New measures have been proposed or implemented in dozens of countries. The Forum’s Trade Policies Workshop will exchange views on how government officials and corporate stakeholders are reacting to changing policies and how will they impact the global apparel industry. Also of particular interest to Forum participants will be the workshop session focusing on Global Sourcing Strategies, in particular which countries have been winners and which losers since 2005, who will win in the future and the issue of production migration back to Europe or the Americas.
For any organisation involved in the international apparel industry, attendance at Prime Source Forum 2010 is key to sustained growth and profitability in the future.
ENDS
For media registrations, contact: -
Ms. Bianca Chan
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Sales and Marketing Executive
+852 2585 6125
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For other enquiries, contact: -
Ms. Josephine Ching
Forum and Conferences Manager
+852 2516 2195
josephine.ching@ubm.com
www.primesourceforum.com
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