French Federation of women's ready-to-wear apparel opens Hangzhou office

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Nov 26, 2015

As a logical follow-up to its observer missions in Asia, the French Federation of women's ready-to-wear apparel has announced the opening of a representative office in Hangzhou. The city is a key hub for textile operations in the Shanghai region.

"The office's task is to back, advise and represent French fashion brands in every aspect of their commercial expansion in China," the Federation has stated. It will also act as a French delegation dealing with national, industrial and associative institutions, and representing French fashion in the world's most populous country.
 
The office's main functions are those of supporting companies in seeking out distribution partners, in local trade negotiations, in customs issues and in monitoring sales by local associates, and to be on the look-out for expansion opportunities.

Patricia Brafman, the Federation's International Director, noted that French fashion companies have a real opportunity in China in the next decade. The Chinese apparel market is in fact expected to be worth €280 billion by 2016, with a middle class of 415 million people in 2020, compared to 350 million today.
 
Over the course of the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Hong Kong and China were respectively the 7th and 10th largest customer for French clothing, whose exports towards the Chinese market amounted respectively to €281 million (+14%) and €173 million (+37%). In 2014, French clothing worth €183 million was shipped to China (+12%), in addition to €345 million (+9%) shipped to Hong Kong.