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“A huge success”, confirmed by the numbers, but also by the general environment at Alfândega do Porto, “which surpassed all expectations”. This is how Mário Jorge Machado, the president of ATP – The Portuguese Textile and Clothing Association, summarizes the two days of MODTISSIMO58, noting that “the growth in terms of foreign buyers rose by almost 40%”.
The growth both in Portuguese costumers, but mostly in foreigners roaming the building’s corridors is indicative not only of the fair’s success, but mainly of the business growth waiting ahead. Those numbers were “at least 30% above the ones registered at the September 2020 MODTISSIMO, and the growth in terms of foreign buyers rose almost 40%”, notes the president of ATP.
In total, around four thousand professional buyers attended the fair, of which around 500 were foreigners. “This is the result of the teamwork of Selectiva Moda, AICEP and the exhibitors themselves, but it is also the result of a new trend: many buyers prefer to visit smaller and closer fairs, and MODISSIMO benefited from this”, says Manuel Serrão, director of the fair. “All the physical trade shows we’ve been attending, such as Première Vision, Munich Fabric Start or Momad, had less than half of the usual exhibitors. Here, a record was broken in the number of exhibitors, which is a validation of Portugal as a pioneer in terms of sustainability”, the director explains.
For Mário Jorge Machado, ATP’s president, the buzz registered at the event’s corridors will help exceed, at the end of 2021, the total exports of the textile and clothing sector in absolute values, surpassing the numbers reached in 2019.