The world's largest marketplace for leather goods and manufacturing, the Asia Pacific Leather Fair 2002 adopted an innovative new format to make life more convenient for exhibitors and buyers, especially those from abroad. In the past the Fashion and Finished Products event was held separately from the Raw Materials and Manufacturing fair, but this year the two closely related events were dovetailed, creating a two-day overlap (9-10 April).

Always viewed as a key indicator of market changes, this year's Fair confounded the pessimists by proving more vibrant than ever. Between them, the two events with over 3,000 exhibitors from over 65 countries and regions attracted more than 33,000 buyers, a figure representing significant increases of visitors from Mainland China (up 85% for Fashion and Finished Products and 61% for Raw Materials and Manufacturing), Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Australia and the USA. With the Raw Materials and Manufacturing Fair alone occupying a vast 34,000 square metre exhibition site, and exhibitors mingling from dozens of countries near and far, the environment emphatically displayed the vibrancy of the world's leather industry at every level, from heavy-duty leather-processing machinery to sophisticated designer leather style accessories.