APLF Bringing A Complete Event for Leather, Materials and Fashion

Hong Kong, Feb. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Now approaching its 33rd edition, APLF continues to be a complete event integrating leather, components, materials -- both advanced and performance -- as well as fashion accessories and the latest trends being dominated by active wear and athleisure.

APLF Bringing You a Complete Event for Leather, Materials and Fashion

The trade fair will be complemented by a series of fringe events of topical interest to the professional visitors and exhibitors, thus making APLF a truly integrated event combining marketing, commercial, intelligence and educational activities. Two annual trade conferences -- Global Footwear Retail Conference 2017 and Sustainability in the Leather Supply Chain Conference will both take place again on the 2nd day of the fair. 

APLF covers the whole supply chain, from raw materials to manufacturing to fashion trends, in two trade fairs that make up the complete event. These are:

• APLF Leather & Materials+
• Fashion Access

APLF was rebranded as APLF Leather & Materials+ in mid-2016 so as to move with the changing trends in manufacturing. The leather exhibits and their supply chain will be unaffected by the relocation of the materials and components sector to Halls 3F - 3G but there will still be synergy between the two sectors as leather and synthetics come together to manufacture much top range sports footwear. Moreover, many potential customers will be exhibiting at the Fashion Access concurrent event held on Level 3 of the venue.

The relaunch of the materials and components sector as Material+ is in response to the growing trend of athleisure / streetchic. Active wear has been taking a larger share of the fashion sector, especially for millennials, and now, gradually, Generation Z. There will be more demand for performance and advanced materials as used in athleisure footwear and clothing. The phenomenal growth of this sector continues on all major continents and has to be satisfied by increased supplies of suitable materials and components.

The APLF Leather fair is sold out two months before the event takes place and so far 21 group pavilions have confirmed their participation at what is more than ever the Meeting Place for the Global Leather Industry.

The Organisers expect more than 1,100 exhibitors from 42 countries and regions, including Uganda as one of the new exhibiting countries at APLF. At least 16,000 professional buyers and technicians from the international tanning and manufacturing sectors will visit APLF Leather & Materials+.

Fashion Access

In March 2017, Fashion Access will bring into focus athleisure or sports fashion, a trend that continues to gain strength, particularly amongst Asian youth.

The athleisure trend has been and is still be driven by millennials (consumers born in the early 1980's and also labelled Generation Y). In the case of China, its active wear / athleisure market is booming and being driven by a cultural shift towards fitness. From 2014 to 2015, China's sportswear market grew from US$23.9 billion to US$26.6 billion, according to Euromonitor Mintel. In 2015, the market grew at 18 percent. "It is reasonable to forecast the market growing to about US$32.81 billion by 2020," says Matthew Crabbe, Mintel's director of research for Asia Pacific.

In recognition of the importance of the designer fraternity Fashion Access will feature a new section at the fair called Designer Street that is made up of new and up-and-coming fashion brands primarily from Asia.

Global Footwear Retail Conference 2017 (GFRC)

The 3rd Global Footwear Retail Conference 2017 (GFRC) will be hosted once again at Fashion Access after the success of its first two editions.

Footwear retail is changing year-on-year and is now a multichannel business and not just limited to tradition brick-and-mortar outlets. More consumers are buying online as e-commerce continues to expand worldwide.

This year's conference will have as its main segments discussing the following topics:

• Political choices reshaping the world: what impact on the footwear retail industry?
• The evolution of footwear distribution in China: offline/ online
• Disruptive technologies in footwear retail: Virtual Reality, Live streaming, 3D printing. Will they bring customers back to the stores or keep them home?
• Footwear consumer's preferences: Athletics, Activewear, Smart footwear, unisex style...

Previous speakers from renowned companies such as Alibaba, Belle, KPMG, Footwear Distribution Retailer Association and more will be present at this year's conference. Click here for the full programme and register now for complimentary media entry.

Design-a-Bag online competition

This is the opportunity for young and up-and-coming designers to bring their designs into the international spotlight. The bag designs submitted online will be judged by a panel of experts.

This year there are 160 design entries from 26 countries including Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Estonia, France, Greece, Hong Kong (SAR), India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

The favourite design polling is now open on Facebook until 10 February; designs are available on the Design-a-Bag Facebook page so a wider audience can participate. Three finalists will present their design prototype at Fashion Access for overall winner judging. For more details, please visit: www.designaccess-fa.com.

Media registration now open

Media registration for the fair is now open, register for a complimentary press badge to access the two shows. By mid-February there will be a detailed announcement on APLF and Fashion Access' programme of activities to keep the international media up to speed.

Notes to Editors

About APLF Limited (http://www.aplf.com/)
APLF Ltd is a joint venture between SIC Group and UBM Asia. For over two decades, Hong Kong-based APLF Ltd has been providing the global leather and fashion industries with its most important meeting and trading place.

About SIC Group (http://www.sicgroup.com/)
SIC Group has been organising international professional events since 1926 for companies working in the leather sector. Its role is to support businesses in their development and offer them work platforms in areas of the world with high potential. With four shows organised each year, SIC Group and its partners can take advantages of expertise that is unique in the world.

About UBM Asia (http://www.ubmasia.com/)
Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is the largest trade show organiser in Asia and the largest commercial organiser in China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global presence in 24 major cities with 32 offices and 1,300 staff.

With a track record spanning over 30 years, UBM Asia operates in 19 market sectors with 230 events, 28 targeted trade publications, 18 round-the-clock online products for over 2,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world. We provide a one-stop diversified global service for high-value business matching, quality market news and online trading networks.

UBM Asia has extensive office networks in China, Southeast Asia and India, three of the world's fastest growing B2B events markets. UBM China has 12 offices in the major cities in mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Guzhen and Shenzhen, where we organise 90 events. In ASEAN, UBM Asia operates from its offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines with 70 events in this region. UBM India teams in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai organise over 20 events every year across the country.

UBM Asia was awarded 'Asia's Most Reliable Trade Show Organizer Award' in Hong Kong's Most Valuable Companies Awards (HKMVCA) 2016.

About UBM plc (http://www.ubm.com/)

UBM plc is a leading global events-led marketing services and communications company. We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online and in print. Our 5,000 staff in more than 20 countries are organised into specialist teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to www.ubm.com; for UBM corporate news, follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc and go to http://media.ubm.com/social for more UBM social media options.

For fair details, please contact:
Ms Perrine Ardouin, Director
Email: Perrine.Ardouin@ubm.com

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Kennise Pang, Senior Marketing Communications Executive
Email: Kennise.Pang@ubm.com

APLF Limited
17/F China Resources Building,
26 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel:    +852-2827-6211
Fax:   +852-3749-7346
Website: http://www.aplf.com/

About PR Newswire PR Newswire is the premier global provider of news release distribution and multimedia platforms that enable marketers, public relations officers and investor relations professionals to engage with their key audiences: businesses and consumers, the media, and investors.