Price Shock Followed by Strong Orders at HK Fair

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 30, ISSUE 3, MAR. 6, 2006
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
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International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Price Shock Followed by Strong Orders at HK Fair
VISITORS ATTENDING THE HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FUR & FASHION FAIR last week expressed shock at the price lists handed them by exhibitors as they viewed the new collections but, by the fair’s end, the manufacturers tallied up strong orders. While the garment prices had been expected to be appreciably higher because of the soaring auction prices of mink and most other furs, buyers virtually reeled when they saw the actual numbers which, in some cases, were as much as 40% higher than at last year’s fair.
The ‘sticker shock’ appeared to be more pronounced in the case of North American and other Western buyers than with Russians and those from other developing markets. The latter are still dealing for the most part with a new clientele whose recently improved economic status enables them to afford such luxuries as furs. And, with little prior exposure to prices, these new customers are not expected to put up much resistance. In the more established retail markets, however, where customers can recall what they paid for a mink coat several years ago – or what their furrier quoted them last year – there is some concern. This despite the fact that similar concerns regarding last year’s big increases proved to be unwarranted.
BOTH THE ATTENDANCE AND THE BUSINESS BOOKED SET NEW RECORDS FOR THE EVENT. That the visitors now come from all fashion and price strata is testimony to the fair’s development as a showcase for style and quality, which is in sharp contrast to its beginnings 24 years ago as a place to shop mainly for commercial products at a price. This year’s fair fielded 208 exhibitors on 220,000 square feet of space in three halls of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center, which was 25% more space than last year, when the fair housed 172 exhibitors.
IN THIS ISSUE:
’Sticker Shock’ in Hong Kong…
…but No Bar to Good Business
Fair Draws Record Crowd
Russia Seen as Biggest Buyer
World Retail Sales at $13 Billion
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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