Virtual Event Develops Into a Global Affair
The first Virtual Edition from Texworld USA, Apparel Sourcing USA and Home Textiles Sourcing is officially a wrap.
Nearly 500 suppliers hailing from 16 countries were in attendance, making the event a truly global experience. While the Virtual Edition was not intended to replace a physical event, the three-day show delivered a networking platform for global textiles, apparel and fashion professionals to engage with each other online and ideally for long after the event concludes.
The Virtual Edition also included an AI-powered matchmaking feature offering manufacturers and buyers with suggestions on who to meet, what sessions to attend and which virtual booths to visit. The more that attendees interacted with the AI, the more accurate the platform’s recommendations became.
For 45 days after the live event’s conclusion, attendees can continue to access the networking platform and all sessions to learn more about the topics covered, ranging from the role sustainability plays in COVID-19 recovery to demand planning to running a fashion startup.
The opening ceremony is among one of the top sessions that can be streamed after the event. This opening panel including Julia K. Hughes, president of the U.S. Fashion Industry Association (USFIA); Olaf Schmidt, vice president textiles and textile technologies/fairs at Messe Frankfurt; Konstantin von Vieregge; president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt North America; and Xu Yingxin, president of The Sub-Council of Textile Industry, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT TEX).
As part of the Lenzing Seminar Series, Mercedes Gonzalez, director of Global Purchasing Group, shared why businesses should be nearshoring amid the uncertainty of COVID-19 and tariffs. While “Made in the USA” rhetoric has pervaded due to the supply chain turbulence triggered by these events, Gonzalez believes nearshoring is a better, and frankly, much more realistic option for U.S. apparel businesses.
“There’s not enough sewers. There’s not enough dyers. There’s not enough printers. There’s not enough machines, and it’s incredibly expensive,” Gonzalez asserted. “I’ve reached out to so many apparel companies in California and their capacities are over what the factories can handle. My $8 duty-free t-shirt in the U.S. now costs me $22 to make in L.A. You can’t make any money doing that.”
And in one of the top Textile Talks sessions moderated by Sourcing Journal president and founder Edward Hertzman, some of the most prominent thought leaders in the retail and apparel industries shared their opinions on buying trends for the upcoming back-to-school season, including Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research; Kayla Marci, market analyst at retail data analysis firm Edited; and Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, retail at The NPD Group.
“Consumers now are buying in what I call the ‘here and now,” Cohen said. “They’re buying for this week. They’re not buying for this month, and they’re not buying for this season. They’re buying for what they need at the moment.”
The Texworld USA team hopes to see everyone at the next event, whether it’s online or in person!