A major attractive of the last APLF trade fairs was the wide range of conferences and seminars. To kick off the second day of the fair, the worldwide recognised Global Footwear Retail Conference, with the presence of key footwear personalities gathered to reflect on some of the most pressing topics impacting their business nowadays.

The themes under discussion have been divided in three sessions featuring:
• Political choices reshaping the world: what impact on the footwear retail industry?
• Disruptive technologies in footwear retail: Virtual Reality, Live streaming, 3D printing. Will they bring customers back to the stores or keep them home?
• Footwear consumer’s preferences: key trends from Athleisure to Smart shoes distilled by GFRC’s experts.

Peter Mangione, a recognized authority on the global footwear sector, having served from 1981 to 2009 as president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), opened up the session and moderated the first discussions. Other authorities such as Claude Eric Paquin, President of the French Federation of Footwear, Sergio Dulio from the ATOM Group, Felix Chung from the Legislative Council of the Textiles and Garment Sector and Frank Leung Yat Cheung, President of the Federation of Hong Kong Footwear Ltd, amongst others, also shared their views and experiences during the three sessions. Questions about the continued sense of uncertainty in the global markets, the growing importance of the online and its integration in omnichannel strategies, and the need to offer new and distinctive products to the markets were recurrent themes under discussion.


David Shah, Publisher from the Metropolitan Publishing BV, returned to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to deliver a catchy and vibrant presentation about Design Challenges in a Changing World. By listing most of all the relevant questions David fully captivated the attention of all participants and gave them fruit for thought.

Several seminars, ranging from the development of new concepts, the incorporation of sustainability in the manufacturing and marketing processes, strategies to build profitable names, and consumer attitude kept visitors and exhibitors quite busy during the three days in Hong Kong. An area in Hall 3 was dedicated to these sessions open to all visitors and exhibitors.




Through the Alibaba.com Exhibitor Showcase, all exhibitors were given online showrooms with the ability to display up to 50 products each, making the most of the interaction between buyers and exhibitors and combining the physical presence at the fair with the online arena, and allowing more intense preparation and follow up activities.

 As the organisers of the trade fairs highlighted during the opening conference trade fairs used to be only trade fairs, now they are expected to be a platform of services. Conducting businesses, meeting business partners, observing new trends, and hearing specialists talking about the pressing issues of the industry. A full range of additional services for visitors and participants which APLF made available for all attending the APLF Leather and Materials + and the Fashion Access trade fairs in Hong Kong.

The organizers confirmed the dates for the next edition: 14th to 16th of March 2018 with Cashmere World 2018 joining forces. This will result in a format of 3 fairs in 1 for the 2018 edition.