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A seminar on Developing Relationships in the Apparel Markets in the European Union (EU) was organised by the Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the International Apparel Federation U.K. recently.

The European Union consists of 15 countries with 370 million people which comprises 6.5 percent of the global population. The EU is considered an important market for Sri Lanka specially with regard to the apparel sector. From January 1, 2002 Europe has its own money which becomes more or less equivalent to US $. The Europeans consider garment shops as the second-most important component of consumer shops after food, said Claudia Carillon.

She said that the most important consumer countries of Europe are Germany, Great Britain, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal and Denmark. In the recent years there have been plenty of new products competing with their wardrobes for extra cash for computers, mobile phones, entertainment and travel.

The clothing trade is not growing substantially. Companies try to attract consumers by offering value for products they purchase. Manufacturers or retailers have to develop more efficient buying, logistics, stock control and marketing methods. Large-scale purchasing have made a shift in sourcing to lower cost countries. This has created new problems as the consumer associations are concerned with human rights and eco friendly products.

The European clothing market is an extremely diversified structure and each country has its own traditions and ways to produce and sell. If an exporter wants to penetrate into European Countries one has to study in advance the user's needs and habits of the country. European countries are not homogenise and there are differences in all these countries.

Clothing retailing has become relatively highly concentrated in the U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland. There are a large number of independent retailers in Germany, Belgium, and Denmark but many of them belong to buying groups, which are very strong in the region. There are similarities and differences in the E U member countries.

Among the other topics that were dealt at the seminar were Eco Tex, a new efficient and less expensive auditing system now required by big retailers and trade fair participation.

Before participating in a trade fair one has to consider why he/she wishes to participate in a trade fair. There are several aims of participating in a trade fair. They are to encounter new markets, to examine your competitiveness, to recognise developing trends and increase profits. Attending a trade fair involves more than putting your products in the booth and waiting for the customer to flock in. Pre-show organisation, booth design, merchandise presentation and post show follow-up will determine the success and impact one makes on visitors and buyers.

Around 60 participants from the garment export companies participated. The seminar was sponsored by the World Apparel Market, Belgium and Eco- Tex and Thiel Life Style Germany.

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