Veteran European Agent Antonis Stamatoulakis Sizes Up Proposte: Lots of Action, Positive Energy
September 13, 2021
Neil DeKort, principal, Coconut Fabrics, & Stefan Czarnowski, GM/principal of Ridex Interior Fabrics, Poznan, Poland
COMO—The recently concluded Proposte saw lots of action and positive energy from the 2,700 attendees and 60 exhibitors according to Antonis
Stamatoulakis, European agent.
“There was positive energy at this show and I observed lots of optimism,” he told F&FI. He also noted very emotional moments when old friends were meeting. “
Also very important, there were many nice, new collections at Proposte but there was also a concern
about transport costs, inflation as well as some geopolitical issues.”
He was referring to the fact that container costs have now risen to $18,000 from a few thousand dollars. The freight cost is no longer a small item in the fabric business and many importers are now passing the cost on to their customers in the hopes they can still make a profit in this increasingly difficult business environment.
--Photo by Antonis Stamatoulakis, Athens, Greece, European agent par excellence
Stamatoulakis, European agent.
“There was positive energy at this show and I observed lots of optimism,” he told F&FI. He also noted very emotional moments when old friends were meeting. “
Also very important, there were many nice, new collections at Proposte but there was also a concern
about transport costs, inflation as well as some geopolitical issues.”
He was referring to the fact that container costs have now risen to $18,000 from a few thousand dollars. The freight cost is no longer a small item in the fabric business and many importers are now passing the cost on to their customers in the hopes they can still make a profit in this increasingly difficult business environment.
--Photo by Antonis Stamatoulakis, Athens, Greece, European agent par excellence
