Shanghai show sees brisk activity
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, October 29, 2007
Shanghai, China — Chinese factories aiming to boost exports — and sell more Western-style furniture to the domestic market — reported strong activity at last month's 13th China International Furniture Expo here.
Show officials said overall attendance was up 7% from last year's market to some 65,500 visitors, while international attendance surged 28% to about 15,600. There were 1,011 U.S. visitors, up from 673 in 2006. From Canada, there were 252 visitors, up from 227 last year.
The jump in attendance may be due in part to the annual World Furniture Congress, held in Shanghai immediately before the show opened. The gathering attracted 147 international and 356 domestic delegates, according to show officials.
The market, which ran Sept. 12–15, featured some 1,600 exhibitors, including accessory and hardware suppliers. Many displayed product at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, while others leased space at the Pudong Expo Center and the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.
Contemporary and transitional leather upholstery was a major part of the mix — no surprise since many leather tanning and upholstery production facilities are in the area. Traditional and Western-style case goods also were much in evidence, from factories in and outside Shanghai, including Beijing to the north and Dongguan and Shenzhen to the south.
Starsofa showed a line of mostly transitional and contemporary leather and motion upholstery, including motion sectionals with different sizes of arms, backs and cushions. It also had more traditional frames, but that look represents only about 20% of its line, said General Manager James Zhu.
Based in Shanghai, Starsofa has shown here for the past seven years, largely because of the international audience. The show draws buyers from over 140 countries, including the United States, Australia and Europe, three of the largest export markets for Starsofa.
Motion upholstery specialist Man Wah Holdings has shown here for the past three years, and also likes the international audience. At this show, it saw buyers from the United States, its main export market, which accounts for 40% of revenues. Europe and China account for the rest, at 30% each.
"The U.S. market is the primary market for us," said John Li, Man Wah's executive director and chief operating officer. "We have a production line that is designed to feed the U.S. market."
Leather upholstery maker Kuka Technics has shown here a total of eight times, including the most recent event. "This show has the highest quantity and quality of buyers," said CEO Jason Gu. "The biggest draw here is from Europe."
He said about 60% of Kuka's revenues come from exports, with much of that business coming from Europe and about 35% from the United States. Gu hopes to boost U.S. business by 40% next year, through more direct marketing efforts and possibly by showing in both High Point and Las Vegas.
Upholstery producer Kai Nun International has shown here three times, and draws buyers from Europe, Canada, Africa and the United States. Director Henry Cheung said the United States currently represents about 20% of sales, and he would like to see that reach 50%.
Kai Nun will accomplish that by building a U.S. sales team and boosting advertising efforts, Cheung said. He also plans to continue to show at events like Shanghai, since it continues to draw more U.S. buyers.
Case goods producers said they liked the show for a variety of reasons, including the boost it provided in export sales. Rising costs in China have prompted some U.S. marketers to seek other source countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
High U.S. duties on wood bedroom furniture remain an issue for some Chinese producers. Spring Wood Industry, for example, makes bedroom, dining room and occasional furniture, and a four-piece bedroom set in its showroom here, at $855 wholesale, had a design that seemed suitable for the U.S. market.
But the high duty on its Shanghai-area factory means it can't sell this or other bedroom sets to the U.S. market. Still, it continues to do good business in Australia and New Zealand, thanks largely to the Western styles and influences found in its product.
Case goods producer H.C. International sells dining room and occasional in the United States, which represents roughly 30% of sales. But because of a high duty placed on its factory, it does virtually no U.S. bedroom business.
"It is very difficult for us in the U.S. (bedroom) market, so most of our market (in that category) is in Europe," said H.C. Marketing Manager Christine Liu, noting that most of the company's sales are to the United Kingdom, with product scaled to that market. It also saw clients from Germany and Spain this market.
Next year's furniture show here will be held Sept. 10–13 and will feature an additional two exhibition halls totaling about 250,000 square feet. That will bring the total space to more than 3.5 million square feet.
For more information, visit www.furniture-china.cn.
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