US companies in textile shopping spree

US companies are back in Portugal buying clothes and textiles at Portugal’s largest textile and clothing fair Modtissimo in Porto.

Around 250 overseas buyers and 4,000 visitors are expected to be at the 59th edition of event which opens today and continues until tomorrow. (17 February)
The largest number of would-be buyers are arriving from Austria. Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, but the good news is that buyers from the US are also back with four confirmations.
Last year, the United States bought €447 million worth of textiles and clothing, rising to fourth place on the list of Portugal’s biggest clients and representing 8% of the sector’s total exports. The US was the export destination that most grew in comparison with the pre-Covid era (+31.5% on 2019); the second biggest client in terms of absolute value (€+107 million), after France.
“Overall, the buyer profile is very similar to previous editions, although we have learnt from the overseas trade and investment organisation AICEP that there are more large European brands interested in coming to Modtissimo because they want to have production closer to home in Europe”, says Manuel Serrão, Director of Modtissimo in a nod to near shoring from the Far East, and a trend towards the reorganisation of buying strategies by the big fashion brands, which in the post-pandemic world are placing more value on European and Portuguese suppliers”.