Archives

Two-prong Approach Continues

China Internatational Furniture Fair
China Import & Export Fair Pazhou Complex, Guangzhou
Guangdong, China
September 6 – 9, 2009

CIFF September returns with its two-prong approach to foster export, as well as domestic market expansion. According to Senior Manager Yu Yi, domestic sales have begun to improve and export growth rates are starting to pick up.

Given the economic situation and worries of decreasing buyer numbers, Yu said CIFF September 2008 did well without posting any declines, which was a good sign. Although smaller in scale than Furniture China in Shanghai, Yu has plans to increase exhibitor participation from Shenzhen, Shunde and Dongguan companies.

“But their decision to exhibit at CIFF will depend on the number of fulfilled orders from the March fair. Most of these are single short orders that rarely keep the factories busy the entire year,” Yu added.

Promotion and publicity efforts are also in place and increased by approximately five percent this year. “We do not hope for an increase in visitorship. Instead, we are working to strengthen buyer numbers from traditional markets overseas. Emerging ones like Russia, Brazil and Mexico will be given lesser emphasis,” Yu said, adding that additional complimentary services will be offered to these targeted buyers. One of them includes the Frequent Buyer service launched since March. It offers membership registration, online booking, visa and air ticket booking services, hotel and airport transportation, as well as on-spot guides. Buyers who have attended or registered for at least two consecutive fairs are eligible for this service simply by signing up for it via the show’s website. At the show grounds, these members are also entitled to free refreshments and Internet services. “Normally these foreign buyers do not care for such arrangements in Europe. But when they are in Asia, they tend to have higher expectations. We understand this but such services are costly. We try to offer what we can,” Yu explained.

In addition, local buyers from second and third tier cities, such as those located in southeast China, will be CIFF’s main focus from now on. These buyers, from Chengdu for example, usually source from provincial exhibitions and will not bother coming to Guangzhou. Our current exhibitors can in coming years reach out to these buyers to penetrate these markets. CIFF can become their platform for this. But first of all, Yu said, public relations with the locality’s furniture associations, newspapers and whole centres must be strengthened. This will help to change these buyers mindset and convince them to come source at CIFF too.

Again, there will be three main highlights offered to both local and international buyers.

1. Modern and classical furniture
2. Homedecor + Hometextile China (Guangzhou)
3. O Outdoor & Leisure

Preparations for The Office Show next March are also underway as organiser China Foreign Trade Guangzhou Exhibition Corp intends to beef up fair contents. The office furniture show was renamed from CIFF-Office this year to better reflect the scope of products and materials covered in this segment. With the aim to be a truly specialised office furniture fair, Yu notes that even the use of lighting can differ very vastly. The team has visited several companies in Shanghai to touch base. “After all, office furniture trends are set in more cosmopolitan cities like Shanghai. Most international giants such as Steelcase and HNI set up their China headquarters here,” said Yu. He also noted that the country’s office furniture producers are mainly based in the Zhejiang province.

Many Returns

Furnitex & Decoration + Design
Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Southbank
Melbourne, Australia
July 16 – 19, 2009

Featuring more than 500 exhibitors, Furnitex is expected to attract over 16,000 local and international exhibitors. This year, more previous exhibitors are returning than ever, according to organiser Australian Exhibitions and Conferences Pty Ltd.

A highlight of the fair will be the prestigious furniture design competition VIVID – Vibrant Visions in Design. A selection of the country’s emerging young designers will present their newest and most forward-thinking creations in the categories of Commercial, Concept, Student and Green.

Following their success in 2008, the Hot Half Hour Workshops will return to this year’s fair. Run by the Australian Retailers Association, these sessions will be free and will cover various topics including: customer relations, successful selling techniques, recruiting and managing during a down turn in the economy.

Also to be back this year is the acclaimed International Industry Seminar Series, with a line up of international and Australian presenters. Already confirmed are world-renowned textile designer Paul Simmons of Timorous Beasties (UK), and Furnitex’s resident trend forecaster Milou Ket, of Milou Ket Styling & Design (the Netherlands).

Holland: Partner Country

Spoga
Cologne Exhibition Centre
Cologne, Germany
September 6 – 8, 2009

Visitors to the garden trade fair Spoga can expect everything in, around, from and for the garden to be Dutch, especially in the partner country passage 4/5. Be it Dutch design and plant trends or information about Holland as a sales market, the partner country for this year will be at Spoga to address all these.

At Spoga 2009 the focus will also be on the colour of plants and spring. In its new, fresh campaign, Spoga will present itself as the garden trade fair with the ‘Grow’ motto. “Grow is an internationally understood term, which is closely associated with the garden theme,” explains Oliver P Kuhrt, Executive Vice-President Koelnmesse, the show’s organiser. “At Spoga, ‘Grow’ also symbolises the growing of new ideas and development of trends and innovations, which the visitors can look forward to at the beginning of September.”

Visitors can now expect five sectors, which have been given a new face with their first letters in various fresh colours:

• '‘A’ for ‘ambience’: (Covers the segments Floristry Supplies and Decorations; Plants & Plant Care; Water Technology & Outdoor Lighting; Pet Care Products & Accessories; Equipment & Garden Structures; Design & Maintenance)
• ‘B’ for ‘basic’: (Garden Basics)
• ‘E’ for ‘excellence’: (A multi-product term synonymous with the exhibitors in the top-end segment)
• ‘F’ for ‘furniture’: (Garden furniture)
• ‘l’ for ‘leisure’: (Covers the Grill & BBQ’s, Sports & Games, Camping & Leisure sectors).

Three Events Combined, Adds Venue

Furniture China
Shanghai New International Expo Centre
Shanghai, China
September 9 – 12, 2009

From a scale of 3,000 sq m 15 years ago, Furniture China (China International Furniture Expo) has grown to 300,000 sq m in exhibition area today. More international exhibitors are expected at Furniture China this year. Particularly, the French Furniture Export Association (GEM) will return with an even bigger French pavilion. Italian companies will be present as in previous year. Another new highlight of this year will be the Vietnam Pavilion being present for first time to display both contemporary and traditional furniture.

In addition, companies from Germany, the UK, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and India have also confirmed their participation.

In terms of domestic partnerships, the 15th Furniture China will run concurrently with the China National Furniture Expo, as well as the Autumn Domestic Sourcing Fair, in the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre (SNIEC).

According to the organiser, Shanghai UBM* Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co Ltd, this arrangement will satisfy the increasing demands for China’s domestic furniture market in future years. Redstar Macalline will be the co-organiser for this event trio, offering its Shanghai Redstar Macalline Global Furnishing Trade Centre as an additional show site.

“Such joint organisation will not only solve the problem of serious shortage of the exhibition space of Furniture China but also attract the retailers of Redstar Macalline all over China to the annual furniture expo every September in Shanghai so as to satisfy the most exhibitors’ demands of expanding the Chinese market,” a statement said.

“As one of the famous brands in China’s furniture retail market, Redstar Macalline now has 50 malls in 30 cities in China since its establishment in 1986. It is named ‘Wal-Mart of China’s Furnishing Industry’ for its total scale of 3.9 million sq m and the annual sales turnover of RMB 26.5 billion,” it added.

Altogether, visitors can look forward to sourcing from the approximately 1,800 exhibitors in SNIEC, and another 500 companies from the Shanghai Redstar Macalline venue. Free shuttle bus services will be offered to and fro both locations.
Last year, Furniture China’s post-show statistics reported 1,931 exhibitors and 58,582 visitors (23.2 percent from overseas). These include numbers posted from Office Furniture China; Furnishings, Fabrics, and Lightings China; Kitchen & Cabinet China; Furniture Manufacturing & Supply China; as well as FMC Premium China, which have traditionally been incorporated under the Furniture China umbrella.

*CMP Asia, a subsidiary of United Business Media Ltd (UBM), has changed its name to UBM Asia, with effect from March 23, 2009.

Environmentally Innovatative Textiles In The Limelight

MoOD Brussels
Brussels Expo
Brussels Belgium
September 8 – 11, 2009

Will the public start to think differently about the function of curtains? Are we ready to pay more for curtains that purify the air or change colour when the atmosphere is badly polluted? Has the era of interactive, smart textiles arrived? Technically speaking, it has. Designers and scientists have already been experimenting with light-emitting textiles, magnetic fabrics, thermochromic textiles and so forth for a long time and there has been intense interest in these innovative fabrics at trade fairs. This was the case in Milan and it will be the case at MoOD. But do the consumers really want these new products?

A news report by MoOD finds out: “Not all designers are dreamers”, says Kathy Schiker from Puff&Flock, a team of eight international textile designers based in London. Philips Design has commissioned them to conduct research on smart textiles. “Smart textiles are very different from i-pod jackets,” explains Kathy Schiker. “Smart textiles are fibre-based solutions, which is very different to adding technology to a textile.”

Instead, the consumer is asking for aesthetic solutions, the report says. Claire Vallis, Harlequin’s Design Director, sees that weave mills have become more creative and experimental but that the consumer needs time to catch up. So it is not the functionality of drapery that needs to be prioritised, in her opinion, but the look and feel. “Luxurious fabrics such as embroidered or embellished weaves are far more accessible to the consumer nowadays.” To this end, today we find heavier fabrics in combination with sheers and weaves in a mixture of different types of yarn.

The German company, Joi Design, specialists in hotel design, is still sticking to the basic elements of the contract market, such as flame retardant and protecting privacy, but it also notes an evolution. “In general, textiles are the most decorative part in guest room areas and they are the most important factor in creating the right atmosphere. But textile is more generally accepted as a visual separation of areas now (for example buffet areas) and it has shed its low cost image,” the company’s spokesperson, Peter Joehnk says.

Rudy Giuliani To Deliver Keynote

NHLA Annual Convention & Exhibit Showcase
Sheraton Boston Hotel
Massachusetts, US
September 30 – October 3, 2009

Rudy Giuliani will be delivering a keynote at the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) Annual Convention & Exhibit Showcase. He will address convention attendees during the opening session on Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Former New York City Mayor and Presidential Candidate, Giuliani has been widely lauded for his steady hand during challenging times. He was named ‘Person of the Year’ by TIME magazine, knighted by the Queen of England, dubbed ‘Rudy the Rock’ by French President Jacques Chirac, and former first lady Nancy Reagan presented him with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Freedom Award.

In 2002, Giuliani founded Giuliani Partners LLC, dedicated to helping leaders solve critical strategic issues, accelerate growth, and enhance the reputation and brand of their organisations in the context of strongly held values. Giuliani Partners’ professional guidance to leaders is based on six fundamental principles: Integrity, Optimism, Courage, Preparedness, Communication and Accountability.

The NHLA could not confirm yet the topic which Giuliani will be speaking on.

“In this challenging and unique period in our industry’s history, Mr Giuliani’s insight, wisdom and leadership experience in crisis management should resonate with convention attendees as we all try to survive the current economic crisis,” said Ted Rossi, NHLA President.

The convention also features more esteemed keynote speakers, timely and relevant educational seminars, a wide display of industry technology, products and services and numerous networking opportunities. These activities bring the international hardwood community together for four days of learning and networking.

A Leader In Russia

Mebel
Expocentre Fairgrounds
Moscow, Russia
November 23 – 27, 2009

With more than 35 years of experience, the Mebel Exhibition has hit a record gross show floor area of 84,645 sq m. 2008 saw the completion of a new pavilion and transformation of a considerable amount of venue space into exhibition space. There were 36 in-house exhibitions totalling 350,000 sq m of net exhibition space and hosted 72 guest exhibitions with a total net exhibition space of 360,000 sq m.

It incorporates two other exhibitions: the Moscow International Salon - Interior Show, and ZOW. The former is organised by Expocentre and Eidos Communications, featuring innovations of the home interior design.

Further on the development prospects for the venue, the organisers announced that the development of the new pavilions adjacent to Karsnogvardeysky proyezd, which will accommodate a five-star hotel, as well as pavilions No. 9 and 10 and 1,500-seated modern congress halls, will come to completion in two to three years.

A series of seminars, roundtables, master classes, competitions and award ceremonies will be held. The Moscow International Congress of the Furniture Industry – MIFIC will return for the fourth time this year. Its key objective is to encourage partner relations among the furniture industry specialists.