Shenzhen flexes furniture muscles
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, January 5, 2003
Shenzhen, China — After years of sustained growth in its furniture industry, this southern Chinese city is beginning to flex its muscles.
A growing furniture fair and a planned 18-million-square-foot furniture industrial park are among the levers Shenzhen is using to increase its influence on the world market.
The 12th edition of the Shenzhen International Furniture Expo, scheduled for March 16–19, promises to be the city's largest show yet. Last year, 200 exhibitors occupied a half-million square feet of show space, both records, according to organizers.
Held at the Shenzhen Hi-tech Fair Exhibition Center, the furniture show is primarily regional, although westerners are becoming less of a rarity. In 2002, there were 2,600 foreign buyers to 46,000 domestic. The exhibitors were mostly from the Shenzhen-Guangzhou area, called the Pearl River Delta, and from Hong Kong.
In another boost to local furniture makers, Shenzhen has announced plans to build the Shenzhen Furniture Science & Technology Park, a nearly 20-million-square-foot industrial park employing new and high technologies.
According to the Shenzhen Business Daily newspaper, a panel of experts from throughout China reviewed feasibility studies and recommended last month to build the park. The project is expected to be constructed in two phases, although the schedule was not released.
The newspaper reported that when the park is completed, its resident furniture companies are expected to employ 20,000 and generate combined annual sales of US$1.2 billion. Phase one will create the capacity for roughly US$600 million in annual furniture and furniture component sales.
Shenzhen is in the heart of the Pearl River Delta, perhaps the most economically developed area in China and certainly the country's most entrepreneurial. The city is a short ferry ride from Hong Kong and Macau and far from communist government influence in Beijing.
Show organizers here put Shenzhen's furniture production at about 15% of China's total output and attribute one fourth of China's furniture exports to the area's manufacturers.
Also helping to shape Shenzhen's future in furniture are Shenzhen Polytechnic and Shenzhen University, both of which produce graduates in furniture design and interior design.
Plans for a Shenzhen Furniture Research & Development Institute were announced at the 2002 furniture expo. The institute's goals are to encourage designers, do research, and provide information services to industry. It is expected to be up and running in December 2003.
-
Brazil show reports record attendance
May 15, 2012 -
The evolution of the High Point Market
Apr 25, 2009 -
Singapore sources aim to boost U.S. exports
May 25, 2008 -
Shenzhen show draws mostly domestic buyers
Apr 20, 2007 -
Shanghai show due to expand
Jul 14, 2002
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
