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The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is set to run a series of exhibitions and conferences this spring, covering various lifestyle sectors in the wake of increasing consumer demands in industries such as fashion, lifestyle and licensing.
“Hong Kong is a unique creative and cultural hub where East meets West and the city always excels in creativity, said Sophia Chonh, HKDTC’s deputy executive director. “The HKTDC has been committed to promoting creative and design industries, helping develop Hong Kong as Asia’s city of culture and creativity. This year, the HKTDC gathers a number of large-scale exhibitions in April, covering lifestyle products and licensing to strengthen cross-industry and cross-field cooperation, creating even greater synergy to the industries.”
The seven total events will run concurrently for the first time in their history from April 19 to April 22 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. At the time of this writing, events include the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair; Home InStyle, formerly the Hong Kong Houseware Fair; the Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair; Fashion InStyle, formerly Hong Kong Fashion Week; Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair; Hong Kong International Licensing Show; and Asian Licensing Conference. The Asian Licensing Conference is set to end on April 21, a day earlier than the other events.
“Since Hong Kong returned to normality, the HKTDC has organized several large-scale trade fairs and forums,” Chong continued. “Both domestic and international exhibitors and buyers showed support by attending the events physically, which is very encouraging. This time, the six major exhibitions attract over 3,800 exhibitors from 23 countries and regions, with 70 percent being non-local exhibitors who will participate in person. More than 20 international licensing leaders will also join the Asian Licensing Conference.”
The HKTDC has invited buyers from across the world through its 50 global offices and currently predicts participation rom 170 buying missions from 50 countries and regions including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Germany, France and the United States.
Cultural & Creative Corner to Debut at Gifts Fair and Home InStyle
The Hong Kong Houseware Fair has been renamed Home InStyle ahead of this new event, keeping with its latest developments and goal to bring more design and style-oriented products to buyers. Together, the upcoming Gifts & Premium Fair, Home InStyle, and the Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair will draw more than 2,650 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions.
New to the Gifts & Premium Fair and Home InStyle will be their new Cultural & Creative Corners, created to promote designer brands and products with unique styles. Additionally, the Gifts & Premium Fair will feature pavilions from a range of countries and regions including Mainland China and South Korea. At Home InStyle, a first-time participant – the Industrial Designers Society of Hong Kong – will feature 12 exhibitors and present multiple design-led crossover product series from its ReMIX Program, covering lifestyle items, accessories and decorations, electronic devices, furniture and household essentials. Each product will integrate “the essence of brand and unique creativity,” offering global buyers a “glimpse into local design scene,” per a release.
The fairs will also feature several themed zones. At Home InStyle, the Zhejiang Pavilion will feature unique products from provincial cities under the Zhejiang Ingenuity. Under the Culture and Quality theme, a one-stop sourcing experience will be provided for buyers and the Yuecheng District of Zhejiang Province will debut a pavilion at the Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair.
To accommodate those looking for branded products, the Hall of Fine Designs at the Gifts & Premium Fair and the Hall of Elegance at Home InStyle will showcase prominent designers and international brands. In addition, the Hong Kong Exporters Association will set up a pavilion at the Gifts & Premium Fair featuring 21 local exhibitors and award-winning products from the Hong Kong Smart Design Awards.
Several seminars will also be hosted covering various topics during the three shows as well. The seminar entitled “Feel the Pulse of the Upcoming Trend in 2023” will dive into the latest consumer trends for this year and cover topics like business-to-business marketing basics through ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Representatives from the Business Environment Council and local eco-friendly companies will also be on site discussing how best to integrate sustainable development into their products. Expert speakers from the Hong Kong Design Centre and the Hong Kong Interior Design Association will share experiences on creative designs, too, while the Hong Kong Retail Technology Association and several start-up representatives will analyze how e-commerce and metaverse applications can strengthen business resilience.
Fashion and Printing Technology Gets a Spotlight
In the first quarter of this year, the HKTDC Export Index surged by 9.3 points to reach 39.0, with the clothing industry being the most optimistic growth category, seeing an index jump of 27.7 points to 51.5. To help buyers and exhibitors alike capitalize on that growing industry, Hong Kong Fashion Week has been renamed Fashion InStyle and is set to bring together nearly 430 exhibitors covering the entire industry chain from upstream to downstream under its new title.
Highlights of Fshion InStyle include the InnoFashion and Trade Services spotlight, set to gather 12 exhibitors demonstrating cutting-edge fashion technologies like 3D printed fashion, AI technology and wireless radio frequency identification technology. One of the exhibitors, AiDLab, will also host the Innovation in Design Summit 2023, where industry experts from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Art will share how AI can be applied to the fashion industry. Another exhibitor, Stratasys, will unveil its latest 3D printing textile technology during the seminars as well. In addition, several fashion shows will be held during the fair’s period.
The Hong Kong International Printing and Packaging Fair – jointly organized by HKTDC and CIEC Exhibition Co. Limited – will feature more than 450 exhibitors. The fair’s highlighted zones – World of DeLuxe PrintPack and Green Printing & Packaging Solutions – will bring attention to a wide range of premium and eco-friendly printing and packaging solutions. A series of seminars and forums will be held with industry representatives aimed at sharing the latest industry insights and global trends. Topics will include ESG design and printing; new technology on print color control: CTV going green, innovations in sustainable packaging, and the latest trends and innovations in prepress.
Showcasing Diversified Global Licensing Projects
This year’s Hong Kong International Licensing Show will showcase more than 500 licensing projects and brands, featuring top global licensors and licensing agents such as CAA-GBG Global Brands Management Group, MediaLink, Wildbrain CPLG and more. In total, the show will highlight nine group pavilions including exhibitors from China, Macao, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan. Meanwhile, with the dedicated support of CreateHK, the DLAB Hong Kong Pavilion will showcase 45 local, original intellectual properties and brands to promote the “strength of homegrown design,” per a release. Brands taking part include SHIBAINC, Falling Cyan, Malut Design and 8EGGS Studio.
At the concurrent Asian Licensing Conference, more than 20 experts from the global licensing field will gather to discuss hot topics like the latest developments in global licensing, location-based marketing and sport licensing. Overseas speakers will include Ben Peace, vice president for the Asia Pacific at WildBrain CPLG; Maura Regan, president of Licensing International; and Yvonne Chou, head of global marketing at VICTOR Rackets Industrial Corp. The Licensing Academy, organized by Licensing International and supported by the Intellectual Property Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, will host a speaker from Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture. The speaker will share insights on how “royalty-free” marketing creates a win-win licensing model and how the intellectual property of prefecture mascot Kumamon is protected. The event will also feature a session entitled “Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity” in celebration of World Intellectual Property Day on April 26.
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