Modest climb Paris' visitors

Affluence, internationalisation and creativeness were the key words of the January 2003 session of the Prêt à porter Paris. Never before did the Paris' fair have such an international dimension. During the last session, foreign representation progressed faster than French representation, both in the terms of exhibitors and of visitors. Accommodated in the 15 fashion sectors spread of 26,500 m2 of stands (+ 9%), there were 1,128 exhibitors at Prêt à porter Paris, in other words, a rise of 3.7% (including 280 new companies), compared to the January 2002 session. The 590 foreign exhibitors (52% of the total) were in the majority and came from 40 different countries, led by the Italians (16% of all exhibitors), the British (5.6%), the Spanish (5%) and the Germans (4.5%).

The number of visitors has risen by 2.4%. Although the number of French buyers remained stable (+ 0.2%), international buyers increased by 2.6% compared to January 2002: European Union countries (+ 1.5%), countries outside the European Union (- 12.9%), North America (+ 11.2%), Asia (+ 1.5%), and the Middle East (- 22.7%). French visitors accounted for 55.7% as against 44.3% of international buyers with, in order of importance, Italy (6.2% of the visitors), Spain (6%), Great Britain (3%), Japan (3%) and Belgium (3%)

The next Prêt à porter Paris will take place from 5 to 8 September 2003.