S. Korea must grab consumers in rapidly growing Chinese clothing market

SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean clothing companies must win over
consumers and react quickly to fashion demands to expand in the rapidly growing
Chinese market, the government said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said with its huge population, China is fast
becoming the largest clothing and textile market in the world.
"It is imperative for South Korean companies to gauge market trends that can help
secure sales," Cho Seok, deputy minister at the ministry's industrial growth
office, said on the eve of the three-day-long Preview in Shanghai (PIS) fair. He
added more efforts must be made to link clothing and textile sales to the Korean
wave that has brought South Korean pop culture to China in recent years.
Other experts at the Korea Federation of Textile Industries (KOFOTI) said
expanding into brand names and high-end textiles are the only effective ways to
reduce the country's trade deficit in the clothing sector.
In 2008, two-way trade in clothing and textiles reached US$7.97 billion, with
South Korea suffering a deficit of $2.73 billion.
Seoul mostly exports fabric, while importing finished clothing.
"The total size of trade represents a 20-fold increase from $400 million in trade
reached in 1988 and is indicative of the overall market potential," a KOFOTI
spokesman said.
The official said this year's PIS fair, which runs through Friday, will be
attended by 79 textile and 45 South Korean clothing companies that plan to show
off their latest products. At least 35,000 visitors will view products and a
fashion show arranged by South Korean designer Andre Kim, it said.
He said up to $1.2 billion worth of orders may be secured at the annual event
that has been held since 2003 to help South Korean companies enter the Chinese
market.
This year, companies like LG Fashion Corp. E-Land Co., EXR Ltd. and Beaucre
Merchandising will attend the fair.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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