Furniture China increases space, exhibitors
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, August 17, 2009
SHANGHAI, China — The upcoming Furniture China event here is adding exhibitors and showroom space thanks to an alliance with a major home furnishings retailer in China.
The Sept. 9-12 show will feature about 1,800 exhibitors in about 2.3 million square feet at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre, which has been the main show venue for years.
Another 500 exhibitors will show in about 1.8 million square feet of space at the Redstar Macalline Global Furnishing Trade Center, also in Shanghai.
This brings the total number of exhibitors to 2,300 and the total exhibit space to more than 4 million square feet.
Last September, the show featured about 1,900 exhibitors in about 3.4 million square feet of space, including the exhibition center and some other retail space in downtown Shanghai.
The alliance with Redstar harkens back to a plan announced in 2008 called Expo-Store, aimed at adding show space in partnership with Shanghai retail venues.
It was not clear how far the Redstar venue is from the main exhibition hall. However, the Furniture China Web site says that free shuttles will transport visitors between the venues.
Redstar Macalline is one of the largest home furnishings retailers in China. According to the Furniture China Web site, it has 50 malls in 30 cities. It plans to have 80 stores by 2010, according to JLM Pacific Epoch, a research firm specializing in China.
Both venues are using their collective resources to market this year's show. Furniture China says it has a database of some 300,000 visitors, including 100,000 from overseas. Furniture China officials said that Redstar has significant contacts through its stores and a retail conference it participates in that is attended by some 5,000 retailers.
Last year, Furniture China drew 58,582 visitors, including 13,600 from 150 countries other than China. The international visitors included large buying groups from Brazil and Mexico.
Most of the exhibitors are manufacturers of case goods and upholstery based in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan. However, the show also includes some international representation from the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia. This year, separate pavilions will be set up with manufacturers from France, Italy, Malaysia and Indonesia.
This year's show also will feature five other home furnishings-related events at the exhibition center. These include Office Furniture China 2009; Furnishings Fabrics & Lighting China 2009; Kitchen & Cabinet China 2009; Furniture Manufacturing & Supply China 2009; and FMC Premium 2009, a high-end exhibition for suppliers of basic furniture materials, chemicals, fittings and semi-finished goods.
For more information, visit www.furnitureinchina.com/expo or e-mail Yolanda Yu at furniture@ubmsinoexpo.com.
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Larger Furniture China show set for Sept. 9-12
Jul 30, 2009
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