The 11th session of SPINEXPO New T York was held on 16-18 July, 2019 at the Brooklyn Expo Centre, Greenpoint, New York and played host to 75 exhibitors, including 25 knitwear manufacturers. The ambience was particularly pleasant and the visitors were happy, despite a difficult interior textile market divided between the established, generally major brands, whose priority is to stay competitive while maintaining attractive prices, and the brands launched by contemporary designers, who seek instead to assert their specific identity while moving upmarket and are looking for suppliers who can help them produce more affordable ranges but are willing to accept higher cost prices.
The overall mood of the show was upbeat and it seems the American customers are still in the mood to buy. Pricing was a major deciding factor but the quality of the clientele was very good as most people came to do business rather than simply to browse. Generally, the mood amongst clients seemed more positive, but the exhibitors were rather less dynamic given their own business situations.
Conversations centered around the current insecurity, negotiations between the USA and China, potential obstacles and tax rates, although this issue did not appear to affect the mood of the buyers, who seem to adapt from day to day and have decided to carry on working much as before. As for the Chinese suppliers, after concentrating on their booming interior market last year, they are once again focusing their attention on the export market, which guarantees them more secure conditions of sale and enables them to continue sourcing more inspirational products. Most of the major players came to the show to see the yarn vendors but some were very interested in the private label type of business where they can just take designs directly from the knitwear manufacturers and place orders, provided they are happy with the prices.