Jinjiang footwear expo opportunity for sport companies

Visitors take pictures of a large footwear model at the 16th Jinjiang Footwear Expo held in April 2014. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Innovative sport companies see opportunity on the horizon as annual Footwear International Exposition kicks off next month in Jinjiang, the "footwear capital", in East China's Fujian province.

The 18th China (Jinjiang) Footwear International (Sports industry) Exposition will be launched on April 18 in Jinjiang. The event will expand cooperation in international sport industry and provide a platform to help elevate international cooperation to a new level.

The expo has set up 1,800 world-class large-scale booths, attracting a large number of companies and experts from more than 70 countries and regions, including France, Germany, Italy and Australia.

Compared with the last 17 expos，the biggest change in this year's event is that it has been upgraded from footwear exposition into sports industry event.

Mayor of Jinjiang Liu Wenru said: "We would spare no effort to make sure that the expo of this year will be an international, comprehensive high-end platform which will cover sporting goods, sports marketing, sports culture and sports technology."

Sporting facilities area is a highlight of this year's event. Many major sports equipment manufacturer and fitness centers will take part in this year's expo.

Liu also said that the event is aimed at helping sports companies build brands with global reach and influence and help shape Chinese international brands.

The expo has specifically set up Korea fashion exhibition this year to introduce Korean fashion and help introduce new trends of the Korean apparel to the market.

Vietnam exhibition is designed specifically to strengthen synergy of the two countries' sports industry development in combination with the "Belt and Road Initiative".

Internet Plus model has given China's sport industry a short in the arm. To make use of the new model the event has created an online interactive platform for business cooperation.

The online platform has professional business information, data, news and trends about sports industry.

Meanwhile, a well-crafted e-commerce site has been established by the expo, which successfully invited e－commerce giants, such as Amazon, Alibaba, Suning and Jingdong Mall, to join in.

The event has grown in reputation and influence in the footwear industry both in home and abroad since it was first held in 1999.

It is a barometer and weather vane for the shoemaking industry in China and even in the whole world and is called one of the "Top 10 Charming Brand Exhibition of China" by the exhibition industry.

In recent years, the government has stepped efforts to forge an environment for nurturing brands and markets and attract more global brands to Jinjiang.