THE Cebu Fashion Accessories Manufacturers and Exporters (Fame) Foundation made initial earnings amounting to $1.7 million from its first international show in Cebu.
Cebu Fame president Janet Chua said the amount represents only the initial negotiated sales from 89 percent of the show’s exhibitors and is the direct result of the participation of 147 foreign buyers and 5,000 registered visitors.
Fame held last Sept. 20-22 the international fashion accessories show, Bijoux (French for jewelry), at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa.
Of the initial sale figure, more than $740,000 were booked sales while more than $910,000 are still under negotiation and over $14,000 has been reported as total cash sales.
“This is not a numbers game,” said Bijoux e-marketing and publicity committee head Reyna Tio. “The buyers are representatives of various foreign brands. Their number is small but they are well-chosen because we target our products on the right clients, (those) who will really buy.”
Fame pointed out that the Bijoux sales were bigger that what the group earned during an exhibit in Hong Kong last June.
“We are happy to say that the result of our first day alone in Bijoux Cebu was already better than the result of our four-day participation…in an annual fashion jewelry show in Hong Kong,” said Jenny de la Cerna, marketing consultant for Ish Fashion Accessories Manufacturing Corp., one of the event’s exhibitors.
Small, medium businesses
Fame reported a total of 147 exhibitors in the Bijoux Cebu, about 53 percent of which are small enterprises and 45 percent are medium-sized businesses. At least 96 percent of the products displayed during the show were costume jewelry.
Although costume jewelry made up most of the sales, exhibitors noted an increase in the popularity of other product lines, including bags, baskets, house ware, footwear, belts and hats.
Chua said that these pieces are marketable because “these were intricately designed, (are) affordable (and) fit the present fashion demand.”
“(Our) market is more cost-sensitive. They are looking for something fresh and new in terms of design yet with cheaper cost. Natural products are still in demand but some buyers want something with a twist like metal designs on wood and shells,” she told reporters yesterday.
She said the market for Philippine products might pick up in 2009 after three years of slowdown because these products are now made in line with market demand while target foreign buyers are showing interest in natural wood accessories as a result of ecological awareness.
With this, the local fashion accessories sector also hopes to increase the country’s market share next year as target buyers from the United States and Europe increase their orders.
Bijoux Cebu is Fame’s counterpart to the furniture sector’s annual Cebu X (Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition). It was organized to showcase Cebu and the Philippines as Asia’s destination for green jewelry.
Bijoux Cebu chairman Butch Carungay said that the industry plans to hold the show twice a year, on a much bigger space at the Shangri-La Mactan. (NRC)
