Decosit ends strong
Business makes up for slower traffic
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, October 10, 2005
Brussels, Belgium — Despite a slow start and lower attendance, the Decosit upholstery fabric show here came to life the second day and wound up a good market, proving that not everybody is chasing price, said exhibitors, buyers and organizers.
Some suggested the fabric show in Shanghai, China, held just two weeks earlier may have hurt attendance, along with higher fuel costs, generally poor economic conditions and a very quiet retail summer in Europe. The buyers who did come to Brussels, however, were serious shoppers. Official attendance figures weren't ready at press time, although some exhibitors and attendees estimated a 25% decrease over the usual number.
Gary Inoff, vice president of sales and marketing for upscale fabric converter Bartson Fabrics, said, "The show was great for us. We found even more than we expected of the upper-end goods we were looking for from both the Italian mills and the Turkish mills."
Inoff's company, like many others, is renewing its commitment to upscale sources such as the ones that show at Decosit because "the whole world doesn't shop at Wal-Mart. Buyers at the high end make decisions quickly and pay on time. The furniture industry tends to forget the segment at the high end. It's always healthy."
Innovation, a hallmark of Decosit introductions, got the attention of buyers Ed Martin and Judith Garran of Fifield Fabrics, who praised raffia constructions at Naturtex and pile fabrics with performance characteristics at Fortissimo.
First-time Decosit exhibitor Istanbul Menuscat Sanayi, or Ismen, was delighted with response at the show, said Fatih Altunyurt, sales manager. "Everyone comes to this show," he said, a comment echoed by Ali Agirbasoglu, owner of the Turkish company, who noted, "Decosit is the most important fair for upholstery manufacturers."
"Attendance was broader and deeper than we expected," said Irwin Gasner, president of Wearbest Sil-Tex Mills. "We saw lots of buyers from Australia and the Middle East, and everyone's crazy about our silk line and our new Bella-Dura performance fabric collection."
"We had more U.S. customers than usual on the first day," said Craig DeLeo, CEO of DeLeo Textiles, which exhibited at DecoContract, and which partners with Turkish producer and Decosit exhibitor Kadifeteks, or KETS, where DeLeo showcased a broader-than-ever display of its line.
Corrado Piovano, owner of high-end Italian producer Piovano, said business was good here and that he saw plenty of serious buyers.
U.S.-based Tietex International launched its Tietex Europe division here, introducing Dirk Hagemeijer, European sales director, and showcasing its velvets and other pile fabrics. Mike Durham, president of the Tietex Interiors upholstery fabric division, said he saw buyers from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
Decosit also was good for Microfibres, which does a large export business to Western Europe, Russia and the Ukraine.
Some exhibitors and visitors were surprised to find the reception desks moved from Hall 11 to Hall 6, but General Manager Patrick Geysels said the move was made in response to exhibitors who wanted the entry to be more organized. Some exhibitors in Hall 11 were concerned about low opening-day traffic, but by the second day plenty of buyers had worked their way to Hall 11.
Some exhibitors said that more Chinese mills are being allowed into the mostly European show. This year, there were five Chinese companies here, including one that supplies several major U.S. fabric sources.
"We must acknowledge the global market," Geysels told Furniture/Today. "We will visit the (Chinese and Indian) companies that apply, look carefully at what they produce and select the ones we will allow to come in.... It will then be the responsibility of the Chinese mills to prove to the market that not every Chinese company is a 'bad guy' (as far as intellectual property rights and copying)."
The reality of the global market is understood and accepted by the majority of Decosit exhibitors. Mike Shelton, president and CEO of Valdese Weavers, said, "Having the Chinese mills here doesn't really bother us.... We don't sell our fabrics on the basis of price. Our customers come to us for the added value of service and style."
"Our results were good," said Jack Eger, vice president of sales and marketing for American producer Craftex Mills. "Although the traffic seemed light, we were happy with the quality and quantity of who we saw. We wrote some business and put ourselves in position to capture some future business."
