Uniform & Sportswear Expo (USE) 2023 raises benchmarks higher
27 December 2023: When a successful concept is taken forward, its journey along the path to progress has clearly begun to accelerate. The second edition of Uniform & Sportswear Expo (USE) 2023, India’s leading B2B expo on uniform & sportswear industry organised by Aditya Expositions was held from November 23-25, 2023 at Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai. This unique platform for B2B industry has been conceptualised with an aim to create an interactive market and that organised interface was witnessed all through the three-day event, which provided a rewarding B2B interface yet again along with the freedom to interact in a focused manner with the target audience, while showcasing varied products and related services in an enabling environment.
The show was inaugurated by Bharat Sethia of Tarun Printing Works, Mumbai, a founding member of Screenprinting & Graphics Association of India (SGAI) as well as a well-known personality in the garments and apparel industry. P. V. Narvekar, a leading textile printing consultant; Niren Mehta of Shree Ajanta Comm. Co., Mumbai, leading textile printing distributors; Devang N. Sheth, Director, Aditya Exposition (P) Ltd., the organiser of the exhibition; Jayesh Ganatra of Unique Creations, Mumbai (Leading Uniform Manufacturer) and Bharat Shah, SS & Sons, Mumbai (Leading Uniform Manufacturer) were also present at the inauguration ceremony.
The second edition of IndustryConnect Directory with updated Uniform Industry data was released after the inauguration. Seminars were also held during the exhibition, covering all aspects from technical to management side. LOOK-ALIKE of Mumbai was the ‘Industry Support Partner’ with a one-stop solution for all your uniform needs and the show was supported by Screenprinting & Graphics Association of India (SGAI).
Commenting on this edition of USE, Devang N. Sheth, said, “This year the response from exhibitors and visitors was far better as we had a more updated database, which was compiled over the year. We had a roadshow in Ludhiana, more publicity was done in newspapers along with greater emphasis on PR activities and social media marketing. We are looking forward to further progress in upcoming editions with the show becoming more focussed and better results for the exhibitors.”
USE 2023 had 45 stalls of prominent exhibitors showcasing uniform & sportswear, t-shirts manufacturers, suiting & shirting, sublimation printers, DTF, garment accessories, elastics, lanyards, ID cards, school accessories & textile printing related services from Pune, Kalol, New Delhi, Bangalore, Indore, Surat, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Tirupur, Mumbai and Hong Kong who participated in the exhibition.
Among them, Mafatlal Industries Ltd. was one of the leading brands and they introduced their sustainable range of uniforms / fabrics while showcasing vast range of products / services related to the industry. The Reliance Industries stall also stood out, showcasing their recently launched R|Elan™ – Fabric 2.0, which has a portfolio of unique fabric innovations; smart fabrics created from specially engineered fibres and yarns using the cutting-edge technological expertise and state-of-the-art R&D.
Visitors mostly came from the southern, western and central part of India like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, etc. and also from Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain, etc. These included dealers/ distributors of uniforms & sportswear, direct users like hotels, educational institutes, schools, sports clubs, manufacturing units, hospitals, etc.
Rajesh Jain, GM Sales and Marketing Knits, Mafatlal Industries Limited, felt, “The customer flow was good. We have launched a range of sustainable fabrics in school uniforms which saves the environment as the garment industry is the largest polluter in the world. We are trying to use recycled yarns.”
Suba Gowtham T, Marketing Coordinator (HIGHGRIPSOX), Lakshmi Textile, shared, “We received good inquiries here. We learned new ideas as every stall displayed unique products. We got a good exposure here, waiting for another expo. We are located in Tamilnadu and we are manufacturers of medical socks, sports socks, and unique anti-skid socks for kids playing in trampoline parks performing gymnastics, indoor games, etc.”
Manav Mashruwala, Director, Viken Tape Ltd. opined, “The response was good, we found our leads. We are a manufacturer and supplier of elastics. We are manufacturers and exporters of premium quality narrow fabrics, woven elastics, knitted elastics, elastic yarn, braided elastic and covered rubber thread.”
Deepak Kapure, Chief Everything Officer, Inkholic Enterprises, commented, “The arrangement of the expo by the organizer was good. There is a lot of improvement as compared to last year. The location is best. We are a t-shirts manufacturer and printer. Bulk t-shirt customisation is our specialty. We are also a sports jersey manufacturer and print sports t-shirts.”
Dr. J. Hemasubhashini, Managing Director, The Lotus International, said, “I am participating for the first time in Mumbai. The organisers helped a lot while setting up the place, and cleared our doubts. The location is good. The walk-in customers whatever we received were good. We received good inquiries and hope they will convert. We are the leading manufacturer of fashion knitted garments pioneer in corporate and workwear.”
Damini Limbachiya, BDM, Shree Bon Bon Traders, shared, “We got a very good response. We did not expect the same but it was a great experience. It was a great exposure too for us. Overall, a really good expo. We are mainly uniform manufacturers as well as suppliers. We do not fall into the category of Fabric manufacturer as we buy our own yarn. We also handle logistics packaging and distribution services PAN-India level and that makes us a one-stop solution for companies’ basic uniform or garment needs, we believe in service that’s our USP.”
Hardik Shah, Director, SS & Sons (LOOK-ALIKE), opined, “The exhibition was very good. It is nicely planned and executed. The clients that came up to see the expo were genuine, no time pass crowd so we received a good response in the last two days. We are into manufacturing school uniforms corporate and hospital uniforms, and we are based in Mumbai with our own manufacturing unit of 100 machines.”
Sonali Bajaj, Director, Sonali and Company, shared, “This is our first experience of us exhibiting anywhere and the organisers were very helpful and supportive. We received a good target audience. People are coming in and we got a lot of inquiries and contacts, also a decent learning of the entire thing. I am very thankful to the entire organisation team. Next time I will probably try to take a stall in the centre. We are into daily wear t-shirts, all over print. We are a home-grown brand from Ahmedabad, which is a textile hub in itself, we have a process house also. I am looking at this as an opportunity to diversify my business to the corporate houses and sports industry. We work in huge volumes.”
Akhilraj Shah, Managing Director, Padmavathi Inc, said, “It’s been a new experience for us. We thank the organisers for their overall support, they encouraged us to. We are delighted with the response. It is a niche exhibition but the customers coming in are quality not everyone is walking in, we are getting good focused customer with whom we can interact and who has knowledge of the field as well, and it’s been great. We expect a bigger venue next year. We maintain ready stocks of corporate range and promotional range t-shirts. We have our unit in Tirupur where we make customized orders and keep ready fabrics. So, this response has been good in terms of a lot of school uniform vendors coming.”
Thanking the exhibitors and visitors, Devang N. Sheth, said, “We look forward to welcoming you in the 2024 edition at Mumbai in November!”
www.uniformandsportswearexpo.com
