August 13, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 3, 1423

KARACHI, Aug 12: The exhibitors of the Interjeans Cologne, which was this year overshadowed by the Dusseldorf fair, have urged the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) to change its exhibition strategy and arrange a larger participation in the next Dusseldorf fair scheduled to be held in February 2003.

The exhibitors who received lukewarm response from the buyers in Interjeans held in Cologne from Aug 2-4, 2002, said on Monday that the Dusseldorf, which is commonly known for women’s fashion, this year attracted famous brand names in men’s fashion.

Stalls used to be set up at Interjeans shifted to Dusseldorf resulting in reducing drastically the number of stalls from 1,600 to 500 and the number of visitors from 50,000 to only 15,000 this year.

Tahir Aziz, chairman Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA), south zone, who was assigned to organize Pakistan pavilion at Interjeans said that Messe Cologne, the organizers of Interjeans, changed the name of the fair to Vibes 4U this year without making any effective publicity which created an impression among the buyers that the fair has been cancelled.