South Asia’s only international sourcing show on yarns, apparel fabric, denim fabric and clothing accessories was held at the Sri Lanka Exhibition & Convention Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 16th & 17th November, 2015.

Intex South Asia has been designed to strengthen South Asia’s textile and clothing industry, providing access to industry developments, networking opportunities and strategic initiatives to help expand industry and business, all under one roof.

123 exhibitors from 11 countries participated at Intex South Asia, coming from Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Korea.

The organisers of Intex South Asia created the ‘Yarns & Fibres Zone’; ‘Denim World’ and ‘Accessories World’ which enthused exhibitors as well as buyers visiting the fair, helping them to connect easily with their target audience. The highlight of the show was the ‘Trends Zone’ which showcased the Spring/Summer 2016 collections.

“Korean companies exhibiting at Intex were satisfied with the buyer quality, to the extent that 2 Korean companies have already committed for Intex 2016 and KOTRA will form a larger pavilion as well for Intex 2016,” said Dan Kim, KOTRA Colombo.

“We are extremely happy with the response we received from the fair, got active leads and are now in talks with 5-6 large companies which we met at Intex South Asia,” said Li Yan, Shanghai Deck Lace Weaving Co., Ltd, China.

Buyers from 13 countries visited Intex South Asia. They came from India, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, South Africa, UK and Russia. The principal reasons to visit the event were to see the industry’s innovative products and trends, meet trade partners/suppliers and network to find and connect with new suppliers.

Top buyers who attended the fair in Colombo included Brandix, Hiradamani, MAS Holding, Next UK, Gap USA, Speedo, Decathlon, Max, Intraport UK, Columbia Sportswear, New Universe UK, Styku USA, Etam Sri Lanka,Arugam-Bay Sri Lanka, Eskimo, George UK and Eskimo to name a few.

“I visited Intex to find quality suppliers and was pleased to find some well-known brands present as well as some new ones I did not know. I met with 10 suppliers of which two were short listed. It was also nice to see some new innovations,” said Janet Best, Natific, UK.

Exhibitors were satisfied with the quality of buyers at the exhibition. They were pleased that most of the buyers visiting Intex South Asia were serious, professional buyers who knew exactly what they wanted and pursued inquiries accordingly. The exhibitors’ overall experience was positive with quality leads being generated during and after the show.

Intex South Asia 2015 was inaugurated by Chief Guest Hon’ble Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of Development Strategies & International Trade. Guests of Honour were Mr. Arindam Bagchi, Deputy High Commissioner of India and Ms. Indira Malwatte, Chairperson & Chief Executive, EDB. Intex South Asia 2015 was ably supported by Apex bodies from across South Asia and South East Asia.