Fifteen top apparel buyers representing US$328 billion in annual sales meet selected China garment and apparel suppliers

China suppliers focus on high-end, attracting more international retailer participation

HONG KONG, Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The largest-ever Global Sources Private Sourcing Event (http://www.PrivateSourcingEvents.com) was held in January in Shanghai. Representatives from 15 international buying companies representing US$328 billion in annual sales met 48 pre-screened Global Sources (Nasdaq: GSOL) suppliers to source quality garment and apparel products from China.

Global Sources' Chairman and CEO, Merle A. Hinrichs, said: "Export value of China textiles and garments reached a record US$207 billion in 2010 - up nearly 24 percent year on year.

"While competition from developing countries has intensified, more top buyers are looking to China for high-quality apparel at a reasonable price. And this has led to increased participation in the Global Sources Private Sourcing Events. In fact, this was the largest event since this service was first offered seven years ago, with nearly half of buyers in attendance participating for the first time."

Top garment and apparel buyers who participated in the event included:

• Cencosud - a top retailer in Latin America operating department stores and supermarkets
• E.Leclerc - a leading French hypermarket chain

• Falabella - a Latin American retailer with stores in Chile, Peru, Argentina and Columbia

• JCPenney - one of America's leading retailers with 1,100 department stores
• Zara - one of the world's largest fashion companies

Other buyers joining the events included Auchan, Forever 21, Groupe Zannier, Hermes-Otto International, Kmart Australia, Linmark, Metro, Okaidi, Oxylane and Redcats.

Participating buyer, General Manager of Falabella, Juan Pablo Vigneaux, said: "Private Sourcing Events give us an efficient channel to find new suppliers in the fast-moving apparel industry.  And since suppliers are pre-screened, we save a lot of time by only meeting suppliers whom we know can meet our high standards."

One supplier who participated in the event, Sales Manager of Zhejiang Orient Knitex Imports/Exports Co., Jiang Yanfei, said: "In 2011, our goal is to continue to move up the value chain. This can only be done by focusing our efforts on high-end buyers. Private Sourcing Events give us the chance to demonstrate what makes us unique in a face-to-face environment. It's an ideal platform to gain the trust of top buyers."

World's top buyers scheduled to attend upcoming Private Sourcing Events

Over 100 Private Sourcing Events are planned for 2011, with some of the biggest buyers in developed and emerging markets, including Carrefour, Canadian Tire, RadioShack, Kingfisher, OfficeMax, Shop Direct, Intelbras and Coppel, scheduled to participate. All Private Sourcing Events are complimentary for buyers and only Global Sources suppliers are eligible to participate. More information about Private Sourcing Events is available at http://www.PrivateSourcingEvents.com.

Suppliers wishing to participate should contact csm@globalsources.com.

Specialized Global Sources websites, face-to-face events and trade magazines

Private Sourcing Events are part of Global Sources' portfolio of sourcing and product information service brands. These include Global Sources Online (http://www.globalsources.com), China Sourcing Fairs (http://www.chinasourcingfair.com) and Global Sources monthly magazines (http://www.globalsources.com/SITE/MAGAZINES.HTM).

For more information about Global Sources' products and services to connect quality buyers and quality suppliers, visit http://www.corporate.globalsources.com.

About Global Sources

Global Sources is a leading business-to-business media company and a primary facilitator of trade with Greater China. The core business uses English-language media to facilitate trade from Greater China to the world. The other business segment utilizes Chinese-language media to enable companies to sell to, and within Greater China.

The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It helps a community of over 967,000 active buyers source more profitably from complex overseas supply markets. With the goal of providing the most effective ways possible to advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 240 countries.

The company offers the most extensive range of media and export marketing services in the industries it serves. It delivers information on over 4.7 million products and more than 262,000 suppliers annually through 14 online marketplaces, 13 monthly print and 18 digital magazines, over 80 sourcing research reports and 20 specialized trade shows which run 57 times a year across 9 cities.

Suppliers receive more than 192 million sales leads annually from buyers through Global Sources Online (http://www.globalsources.com) alone.

Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 40 years. Global Sources' network covers more than 60 cities worldwide. In mainland China, Global Sources has about 2,700 team members in more than 40 locations, and a community of over 2 million registered online users and magazine readers for its Chinese-language media.