Business good at Decosit
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, September 30, 2001
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Business was surprisingly good at Decosit 2001, the 23rd edition of the annual upholstery fabric show that is considered the best of its kind.
Exhibitors expected that attendance might be down because of poor economic conditions around the world, and many did note a slight decrease in traffic. Attendance was further affected on Wednesday, Sept. 12, by blockades in Belgium and other European countries after the terrorist attacks one day earlier in America, which had already put commerce on the back burner for U.S. companies in particular.
Nevertheless, most exhibitors were surprised by their success at the show.
Chris Geiger, director of international sales for converter Covington Fabrics, said the first two days of Decosit "were very productive for us, and in fact a bit better than the first two days last year.
"We saw customers from around the world and we were busy throughout the first two days of the show," Geiger said. "In that period of time we literally wrote over 100 separate orders, so the vast bulk of people coming in to see us were actually seeing something that they liked. The last two days were, from a business sense, of course, not productive.
"However, in spite of the tragic circumstances at this point," he said, "it appears we did a little more business this year than last year. I think most people had a better show than they expected. I don't know why."
Wearbest Sil-Tex had a successful market as well. The company, which won three trend awards at the show, was located in a new — and prime — location just inside the main entrance of Hall 11.
"We had great traffic," said Irwin Gasner, president. "We've shown before in the U.S. pavilion, but this new space has been like a magnet."
"We've had a great show," said Luise Stomberg, the company's senior designer, "with customers from Korea, Japan and Dubai, and from Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as Americans from New York to California. We keep developing product till the last minute, so the things we bring to Europe are very fresh."
Business was good at U.S. powerhouse Culp as well. Ofer Zmiri, vice president of international sales and marketing, noted that as the textile industry in America changes, Culp is re-forming itself and addressing the importance of niche products with the goods it had at Showtime and brought to Decosit. Culp's hottest items in Brussels included flocked nylon velvets embossed to look like chenille.
"The late part of the show picked up and was actually a little stronger," said Rob Culp, chairman and chief executive officer. "Business is not like it used to be because of the strong dollar, but it was good and steady, and certainly worthwhile to be at Decosit."
At Mastercraft International, Pete Thompson, vice president, said that "interestingly, our numbers were actually equal to last year as far as written orders, although I think there was a slight dropoff in traffic." Mastercraft International is the international sales division for sister companies Main Street Textiles, Home Fabrics, Doblin and Circa 1801, all of which are owned by giant Joan Fabrics.
"The first two days were actually very good for Blumenthal," said Scott Furash, vice president, international, "due in part to the launch of our Villa NOLA collection, which was very well received.
"Over all," Furash said, "the crowds seemed thinner than last year, but the quality of the buyers was better and more selective when it came to better quality and design, which is what Villa NOLA catered to. Of course, Wednesday was difficult, with armed Belgian police walking the aisles."
At Quaker Fabric, President Larry Liebenow said the show "was extremely busy starting Saturday (the day before the official opening). I do have some sense there was possibly less traffic, but we did a significant amount of written business."
"Decosit is a good show," said Roger Berkley, Weave Corp. president. "There's great chocolate, great restaurants and nice people. We've seen folks from Australia, New Zealand and Jordan and all the big distributors and jobbers, but not a great many people from the U.K. They're saving it up for two big shows coming up soon in their own market."
Richard Downing, director of Metropolis Fabrics, a one-year-old fabric source with a mill in Duncan, S.C., said Decosit was well worth the trip. Business was "pretty good" until the news of the attacks, he said.
Metropolis shared a space with Carolina Decorative Fabrics, which also found Decosit beneficial as a way to touch base with its distributors and agents.
Rafael Pascual, managing director of Antecuir, said, "There has been a decreasing number of clients at Decosit in the past three years, but at the same time the quality of the meetings has increased due to better focus on real needs and less speculation.
"Needless to say, the show was over on Tuesday afternoon when clients and exhibitors were informed about the terrorist attacks on the U.S.," Pascual said.
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