• 20 years creating business from the Americas for the world

8.965 national visitors / buyers, 1.564 international buyers, 12.190 assistants to the Inexmoda-TCC Knowledge Pavilion, 410 exhibitors and a coverage of 323 national and international journalists, are just some of the numbers that closure Colombiatex de las Americas 2009.

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 In a press conference Doctor Carlos Eduardo Botero Hoyos, Executive Director of Inexmoda – accompanied by Medellin´s Mayor Alonzo Salazar Jaramillo, Doctor Ricardo Vallejo, Exportations  Vicepresident of Proexport Colombia and the Professor Juan Pablo Hinestroza, Director of the Nanotechnology Laboratory of the University of Cornell in the United States– presented the official balance of this Colombiatex version. 

Among the three days of the fair, Doctor Botero emphasized the following: (numbers obtained at 1:00 p.m. January 29th 2009).

• Colombiatex started with excellent news for the trade.  During the official inauguration the President of the Republic of Colombia announced the tax abolition of raw materials such as cotton and spandex in order to promote better competitiveness.  Also, he informed about the purpose of strengthening commerce in the border limits with Ecuador through Bancoldex. On the other side and going on with the participation of the National Government, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce presented a project called “Sectores de Clase Mundial, Más y Mejor de lo Bueno” (Global Trades, More and Better of what´s Good), project in which the textile – confection – design and fashion trades are all part of. 
• The Fair closed with 410 exhibitors who gave all of themselves to make this event successful.  Many of them are 20 years old participants. Each Pavilion was unique and offered innovative and distinguished products to all visitors. 
• Along Colombiatex 2009 there was a total of 8.965 visitors and buyers, which represents a 7% increment in respect to the previous edition of 2008. 
• Internationally, 848 independent buyers assisted the Fair and  716 from Proexport´s mission, for a total of 1.564. 
• As in past editions the Fair involved knowledge as a fundamental element. A free academic series of 13 conferences in the Inexmoda - TCC Knowledge Pavilion, counted with 10.980 assistants, representing a growth of 20% respect 2008; the realization of the Seminary The World Changes: from innovation to eco – techno; and the participation of highly qualified guests such as Professor Juan Pablo Hinestroza, Director of the Textile Nanotecnology Laboratory at the University of Cornell in the United States are a big proof of that. 
• Following the training and knowledge line, a new degree course on Fashion Communication was presented during the fair holding an alliance with Colegiatura Colombiana, an academic Institution of arts in Medellin Colombia. This represents an important encounter between Inexmoda and the academy to supply a need of forming specialized communicators and journalists in the fashion area. In the same way, a seminary called The World Changes: from innovation to eco – techno, offered a vision of the new expected challenges that await for the textile- fashion- confection and design trades of Colombia. 
• As in all past editions, the national and international press and media paid huge attention to the fair getting totally involved with it. There was a coverage of over 300 national journalists from 150 different medias and 23 international journalist from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, England, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, Peru and Venezuela, who made echo of the best and the more relevant moments of Colombiatex de las Americas 2009. 
• The Textile and Supply Forum fulfilled its function of being the “route guide” to buyers and visitors in the fair. This is proved by the recurrent fact that buyers visited stands with the references they had obtained there. 
• Exhibitors, buyers, visitors and organizers close up the 21st version of Colombiatex of the Americas in a satisfactory and optimist way. Confidence surrounds the place of all trades to assume a year full of challenges and opportunities and it is confirmed, one more time, that this Fair is a city event that contributes to the transformation of Medellin and our country.

Independent buyers

With a team of 80 students from Eafit University, the support of the Camara de Comercio of Medellin for Antioquia and the enterprise Ryst of technology solutions, they managed to do a tracking of the international buyers who came to the fair by themselves, contacting 64% of them, which equals an amount of 539 persons from 24 different countries (84% from South America). It´s also worth to state that 99% of these buyers manifested their desire of visiting the event next year and reported the following business numbers:

• Closed Negotiations: US $ 6.181.110
• Negotiation expectancies: US $14.415.735
• Total expected negotiations added in one year: US $ 20.596.845  

Proexport´S mission reported:

Negotiation expectancies: US $ 68.520.000
Closed Negotiations:  US $ 23.520.000

3rd Day Ciphers:

• National buyers:  6.021
• National visitors: 2.944
• Total national visitors: 8.965
• Last year´s national visitors: 8.352

• Inexmoda international buyers: 1.564
• Proexport international buyers: 716
• Total international visitors: 1.564
• Last year´s international visitors: 1.613

• Total visitors 29/01/2009: 10.529
• Total visitors in three days of Fair: 24.631

Countries that visited the fair

Germany, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Salvador, Spain, USA, Guatemala, Honduras, India, England, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Venezuela.

For more information / Mayor información:
Inexmoda - Calle 14 # 40 A - 173 / Medellín – Colombia
Tel. (57 4) 311 59 15 - Fax (57 4) 266 20 50
E -mail: cointernacional@inexmoda.org.co

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