Over 20,000 visitors to the ACLE were buyers from the major manufacturing provinces in China, according to the organisers. The 22nd edition covered an area of 92,000 sq m across the eight halls of the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center (SNIEC), where several exhibitors put forward the sustainable characteristics of leather as a material. Another noticeable trend was the growing number of vegetable tanned leather on offer, which is reported to be increasingly replacing chrome tanning. “Vegetable tanning is picking up. We are happy about this trend as chrome-free auxiliaries have less impact on the environment,” claims Antonio Battaglia, Leather Division Director, Silvateam.
Colomer and Henan Prosper jointly exhibited on the same stand for the first time since the acquisition of the former by the latter ten years ago. David Zhou, Vice President, Henan Prosper, said that following the successful integration of the two entities, the company’s new strategy is to focus on its branding and its new image. “Visitors were impressed by our new image and we hope this will boost our brand”, said Zhou. Henan Prosper’s sheepskin clients include Deckers for Ugg boots. The company also introduced its first collection developed with French Plongé leather.
The 23rd edition of ACLE in 2020 is scheduled to take place September 1 – 3.
