The 16th International Shoes & Leather Exhibition - Vietnam is set to take place from July 16 to 18, 2014 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Ms Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, Secretary General of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), to learn more about this event. Tu Giang reports.
What are the purposes of the exhibition?
The exhibition is organised by Lefaso in cooperation with Top Repute Company to facilitate companies to introduce their export-oriented leather footwear and handbags to international customers.
The exhibition is also an opportunity for foreign firms to introduce materials, equipment and technologies to Vietnamese companies.
This annual event is a chance for domestic and foreign firms to exchange, study market tastes, demands and trends to serve their production for export and for domestic consumption. This is an effective trade promotion event where attendances can introduce their products and sellers and buyers meet each other.
This is the second year the exhibition is hosted by Vietnam. Could you tell us more about this year’s event?
The show will be a very favourable opportunity to assemble companies concerned to visit display booths and introduce products. They can meet, exchange and capture market information through incorporated seminars and fashion shows.
This year's exhibition will showcase footwear, briefcases, machines, inputs and chemicals for production of companies from Vietnam and other markets like Italy, Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, China and Argentina. Many foreigners will go to the fair to seek supplies from Vietnam.
Could you kind enough to talk about drawbacks and advantages of the host?
Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbours such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Can Tho highly concentrate garment and textile companies, which account for 80 percent of the sector’s total exports. So, opening the exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City is certainly a good option.
However, many domestic companies are subcontractors to foreign customers who decide markets and input material sources; thus, they are not very interested in the event. In addition, many FDI companies may not attend because they are affected by chaotic demonstrations by workers in early May.
What is expected from the International Shoes & Leather Exhibition 2014 as well as the cooperation between Vietnamese leather and footwear companies with those from other countries?
The exhibition is a typical annual event of the Vietnamese leather and footwear industry. We expect that this exhibition will be a good opportunity for Vietnam to introduce its important industry to important trading partners with the world and gives practical benefits to Vietnamese businesses to expand production, open new markets and make new products to meet global market demands.
The linkage and cooperation between domestic footwear companies and foreign firms are expressed by production, processing, import and export contracts and especially increasing export turnover and widening global presence. We also expect that many foreign investors will locate their production and business operations in Vietnam, especially parts suppliers, to take the advantage of free trade agreements.
Vietnamese
October 2024
Hanoi
