Kingpins cancels Hong Kong show due to coronavirus outbreak

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 12, 2020

Denim sourcing trade show Kingpins has canceled its Hong Kong 2020 edition, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spark declarations of a global health emergency, impacting travel and commerce. 

The Hong Kong show, originally scheduled for May 13 and 14, will no longer take place in response to health concerns and significant travel restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus in China, Kingpins said. The next Kingpins Hong Kong show is scheduled for May 2021. 

“We are very concerned about the situation in China and understand that many of our exhibitors and attendees are dealing with extreme difficulties and uncertainty due to efforts to contain the spread of the virus,” said Andrew Olah, founder of Kingpins Show.

“In light of these issues and the expectation that the disruption will continue for some time, we felt it best to cancel our Hong Kong event. The health and safety of our exhibitors and attendees is our primary concern. We will be back in 2021.” 

Kingpins organizers said they will continue to monitor the situation in China. For now, the Kingpins China City Tour--which will come to two cities in mainland China--is still scheduled for September 2 and 4, in addition to other Kingpins 2020 events like Kingpins Amsterdam from April 22 to 23 and Kingpins New York from June 2 to 3.

“The Asian denim market remains central to the global denim industry and we look forward to bringing this international community together in September,” said Vivian Wang, managing director of Kingpins. 

Since the coronavirus outbreak began in late December, the virus has sparked global concern and has dealt a heavy blow to the retail industry.

The anticipation of plummeting sales in China and decisions to temporarily close dozens of Chinese stores have impacted Burberry, Estee Lauder, VF Corp, Uniqlo, Canada Goose, Moncler and more, while daily news headlines continue to report growing numbers of new cases of the virus around the world.