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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, at the opening reception of the Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza today (January 13):
Shirley (Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Garment Advisory Committee Chairman, Ms Shirley Chan), Benjamin (HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, Mr Benjamin Chau), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening.
It is my great pleasure to join you all at the opening of the Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza 2014.
As a highlight of the World Boutique, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza is one of the largest fashion parades in Asia showcasing Hong Kong and international fashion design excellence to global audience. Tonight's show features talented fashion designers from around the world and their latest collections for the coming season. It is an inspiring and enjoyable experience for all of us.
Fashion is an industry that thrives on designers' creativity. The HKSAR Government is committed to establishing our city as a creative capital and regional fashion hub in Asia. We have been providing support for projects and programmes that would help the development of our local creative industry. In particular, Create Hong Kong has been helping the fashion design industry to build a talent pool and supporting small and start-up design companies. Nearly one-fifth of the incubatees of our Design Incubation Programme are from the fashion disciplines through the Create Smart Initiative. I am delighted that our fashion designers have been gaining worldwide reputation for their professionalism, creativity and ability to blend commercialism and innovation.
Apart from creativity, sensitivity to customers' changing tastes is equally important in achieving success in the fashion industry. With consumers becoming more sophisticated, attractive pricing alone may not be sufficient to entice them to buy. For the more socially and environmentally conscious consumers, green products are surely their cup of tea. Catering to customers' preferences with a strong and readily identifiable brand is also an effective way of establishing a niche in the competitive market and sustaining customer loyalty.
Over the years, the Government has provided support to our enterprises for building and developing their own brands. The Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (or the BUD Fund in short) is an important initiative which provides enterprises with funding support for brand promotion projects for the Mainland market.
I would like to commend the excellent efforts of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and its Garment Advisory Committee on staging this Fashion Extravaganza. I wish you all a most enjoyable and memorable evening.
Thank you.
Ends/Monday, January 13, 2014
Issued at HKT 19:29
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