The 139th Canton Fair runs in three phases from 15 April to 5 May 2026, and footwear sits in Phase 3, 1-5 May, at the Canton Fair Complex in Pazhou, Guangzhou. Buyers who arrive in April for Phase 1 and leave before the first of May miss the entire shoe hall. Book travel around Phase 3, not around the opening ceremony.

Why Phase 3 matters more than the other two

Phase 3 gathers footwear, bags, apparel, home textiles, toys and sports goods in one place. That matters for a footwear buyer because the same trip lets you look at bags, socks and accessories that fill the rest of a container. Most of our own buyers use the fair less to find a supplier and more to compare five suppliers against one specification in three days — which is impossible to do by email.

Plan the meetings before you book the flight

Three weeks out is the right lead time. Send each shortlisted supplier a one-page brief: the style category, target FOB price, order quantity per colour, destination port, and the test standards your market requires. Suppliers who receive a real brief before the fair prepare samples and price breaks; suppliers who receive 'please send your catalogue' at the stand will hand you a brochure you could have downloaded.

Block the hall by product category rather than by supplier. In Phase 3 the footwear halls are dense, and walking a hall twice costs half a day. Two meetings per morning and two per afternoon is realistic; six a day is not, and the sixth is always the one where you make a mistake.

What to carry

  • A size curve sheet — your sell-through by size, not just your size range
  • Two or three physical competitor samples, for handfeel comparison
  • Your packaging requirement: polybag, box dimensions, barcode position
  • Test standards for your market, in writing (EN 71-3, CPSIA, REACH as applicable)
  • Target landed cost per pair, not just target FOB

Questions that separate real factories from traders

Ask for MOQ per colour, not per style. Ask what happens to the price if you cut the order to 400 pairs. Ask for the carton dimensions and the number of pairs per carton, because that number decides your freight per pair. Ask which production line the style runs on and how many other buyers share that line in the same month. Ask for a pre-shipment inspection report from an existing order — not a certificate, an actual report with photos and defect counts.

Then ask the one question most buyers skip: what was your last quality claim, and what caused it? A supplier who answers precisely has a quality system. A supplier who says 'we never have claims' has either a small order book or no measurement.

Compare landed cost, not quotes

Two suppliers can quote the same FOB and deliver different landed costs, because carton volume decides how many pairs fit in a 40HQ. A 30-pairs-per-carton shoe that cubes at 0.09 m³ and one that cubes at 0.11 m³ differ by twenty percent on freight per pair. On a 5,000-pair order to a European port that is usually more than the price difference the two suppliers are arguing about.

Our own catalogue lists carton quantities on every style — you can check the footwear catalogue for the packing column, and the sports and functional range for the styles that cube worst. Bring the numbers to the stand and do the arithmetic while you are there.

After the fair

Follow up within 48 hours with the specific style, the specific price and the specific question you still need answered. Vague follow-ups get generic replies, and by mid-May the supplier's inbox is full of them. If you want samples, ask for them in the follow-up message and confirm who pays the freight — this single detail delays more sample shipments than any production issue.

Registration for overseas buyers is open year-round now, and the arrival card can be completed online before travel, so the paperwork no longer needs to be part of your planning window.

FAQ

Which phase should a footwear buyer attend?

Phase 3, 1-5 May 2026. Footwear, bags, apparel, home textiles and toys all sit in that phase. Arriving for Phase 1 or Phase 2 and leaving before 1 May means missing the shoe halls entirely.

Can we book a meeting with Speedup at the fair?

Yes. Send your target styles, quantities and destination port through our contact page at least two weeks before the show, and we will confirm a time slot and prepare samples in the colours you are considering.

Is it worth attending if we already have a supplier?

Yes, for one reason: price and quality benchmarks. A single day of comparison at the fair usually reveals whether your current FOB price is competitive, and whether the carton cube you are paying freight on is normal for the category.