Mauritian operators participate in Fashion SVP in London

Enterprise Mauritius is leading a delegation of local apparel manufacturers who will be participating for the second time at Fashion SVP on 27 and 28 June 2017 at Olympia Exhibition Centre in London.  Thirteen manufacturers comprising four large enterprises and nine SMEs will be showcasing to UK buyers their latest collections of a wide range of products including T-Shirts, shirts, knitwear, denim, and jersey wear.

Fashion SVP is Europe’s unique sourcing event, with an international show presenting over 120 leading fashion producers from the UK and 21 overseas countries, as well as training seminars, trend focus features, product demonstrations, fashion clinics, a jobs’ forum and prime networking with the fashion industry.

The fair attracts buyers from large famous European retailers to smaller chains, clothing brands, wholesalers and boutique labels. In 2016, the fair attracted buyers from leading upmarket companies such as Debenhams, Monsoon, Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, Boden, Jaeger, River Island, and Harrods, amongst others.

Local operators participating in Fashion SVP have benefitted from the expertise of Trendstop Ltd, a consultancy firm based in London whose expertise lies in forecasting latest trends and creating new designs for the UK market, to help in the realisation of new collections.

Textile and apparel: significant contributor to GDP

The textile and apparel industry has been a major contributor to Mauritian GDP. The UK remains an important market for Mauritian exports, accounting for over 15% of total domestic exports. Over the years, textile and apparel has emerged as a flexible sector adapting to latest technologies to be competitive. Mauritius has been working with top UK retailers such as Arcadia Group, NEXT, Debenhams, Harrods, and River Island, among others.

To further encourage exportation, Government has introduced the Speed-to-Market scheme which is being implemented by Enterprise Mauritius. The aim is to give a boost to textile and apparel exports to European countries and to enhance product delivery in terms of Speed-to-Market.