Dear readers, presenting here with a great pleasure, my interaction with Julien Schmoll – Marketing & Communication Director – Messe Frankfurt France, organizer of Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris, the shows within are – Texworld Paris, Apparel Sourcing Paris, Avantex Paris, Texworld Denim and Leatherworld.
Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris brings together, twice a year in Paris, a thousand exhibitors from the fashion industry. It offers professional buyers from all over the world a sourcing platform with a wide variety of products ranging from basics to the most creative and qualitative.
TextilesResources.com: Introduce yourself, your profile and the shows of Messe Frankfurt France.
Julien Schmoll: Hi, my name is Julien Schmoll and I am the Marketing-Communication director of Messe Frankfurt France. I have been working with MFF for more than 10 years now.
I work directly on our two main shows which are Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris, taking place twice a year, and Texcare France, every two years. The latter is a national show regarding the textile care industry.
Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris is an international sourcing platform for the Fashion industry. It is a go-to show for designers, sourcing managers and buyers. It displays nearly a thousand weavers on the Texworld side and hundreds of garment manufacturers in the Apparel Sourcing part. It includes also specific segments such as Denim, leather (Leatherworld) or techno-sustainable products and services (Avantex).
TextilesResources.com: You are with Messe Frankfurt France for twelve years, what are the challenges and achievements and unique experiences?
Julien Schmoll: Well, I have seen many evolutions throughout the years. The shows have improved, prospered, faced numerous challenges but they are still very much relevant for the Fashion industry.
Our business model was particularly questioned during the Covid and we have tried other alternatives such as physical showrooms or online platforms to complement our general offer.
However, professionals still need to discover new suppliers and see/feel products or to meet their existing partners face to face. I’m not sure that will change and nothing better than a leading trade show for that purpose.
TextilesResources.com: How do you make sure to have value addition on each show through your curated marketing and communications strategy?
Julien Schmoll: Well, it’s true that, from afar, each show seems like the one before but every time we manage to add some novelties with the latest themes of the show and the most recent trends.
Depending on the edition, we also bring specific countries under the spotlight some of which are unusual for our industry such as Ethiopia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, etc.
There is also some focus on many topics through a wonderful program of conferences and round-tables during which we bring information on the market, practices and sustainability.
We also have various other initiatives such as a young designer or Fashion school promotion, the Avantex Fashion Pitch, a prized contest for innovative Fashion startups and sponsoring cultural events in link to our industry (Guimet Museum of Asian Arts in Paris).
TextilesResources.com: As per your opinion, what is the next level of the trade fairs industry in general? And how are you in tune with it?
Julien Schmoll: In my opinion, the trade show industry has reached a certain maturity in terms of business model. On many B2B markets, we can see that the number of buyers tends to be concentrated so I would say the next level would be to add more services to ease the visit and render the experience as smooth as possible as well as explore complimentary models to increase the reach of the shows.
TextilesResources.com: AI, ML, Sustainability, Traceability, Fast Fashion, Zero Waste, ethical production and sourcing etc. are very important elements of our industry, how you address them in the theme of the shows?
Julien Schmoll: As mentioned before, we have an extensive programme of round-tables where experts share the opinions about all those topics which are very dear to us, especially what concerns sustainability.
We have recently launched the Texpertise Econogy initiative that widely promotes a more ethical Fashion by bringing forward invested manufacturers and best practices. Suppliers that meet green standards are highlighted before, during and after our show as commendable examples. Examples which should become a norm for this industry.
TextilesResources.com: Any message for the industry and users of this platform?
Julien Schmoll: Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris is the largest European show for the Fashion industry. We intend to continue bringing the best products and solutions to the market while fostering creativity, novelty and sustainability.
Thank you for reading this interview.
For more details about TEXWORLD APPAREL SOURCING PARIS show, CLICK HERE
