Furniture Center Building Begins in Dongguan
Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, January 11, 2011
This rendering shows what the first phase of the International Famous Furniture Procurement Center will look like. The 3 million-square foot facility is expected to open in March 2012 and will include more than 2 million square feet of permanent showrooms. A 50-story office tower is expected to be completed in 2013.
DONGGUAN, China — Construction has begun on China's next large-scale furniture complex, a project that upon completion could rank among High Point and Milan as one of the world's largest home furnishings destinations.
The International Famous Furniture Procurement Center is a multi-phase project that is being coordinated by the Dongguan Famous Furniture Assn., which includes more than 320 of the industry's largest manufacturers in southern China.
By 2018, the estimated $377 million project is expected to reach about 10 million square feet, placing in a league with High Point in display space.
The first phase, much of which is expected to be open by March 2012, will cover about 3 million square feet. Roughly 2 million of this will be permanent showrooms available for use by Chinese and international furniture brands. There also will be a 900,000-square-foot, 50-story office tower as well as space devoted for restaurants and other public uses.
The tower, scheduled to be completed in 2013, would provide space for corporate offices, including uses related to home furnishings design and logistics.
The permanent showroom space would be open to the trade during the International Famous Furniture Fair held each March and September. That five-day show, which attracts about 65,000 visitors, is held in about 2.6 million square feet of temporary exhibit halls next to the construction site.
During non-show times, the permanent showrooms would be open to the public as retail space.
"Our mission is to give Chinese consumers more choices and better quality products," said Fang Hui, Secretary General of the Dongguan Famous Furniture Assn.
She added that the facility will give manufacturers a vehicle to open their showrooms for year-round business with customers in and around the Dongguan region.
Details were not immediately available on future phases of the project. However, they are also expected to have a mix of showrooms, and professional industry related support services such as design, logistics and even warehousing and distribution.
Officials said the timing is right for the project, especially with the growth of China's housing market.
"The booming Chinese market is the driving force," said Charley Wang, director of international relations for the International Famous Furniture Fair. "Right now, we believe China has converted from the ‘world factory' to the ‘world market' and is very attractive to international brands as well as manufacturers in China."
He said the IFF Procurement Center will give manufacturers a more permanent presence than what they have now at the semiannual furniture show.
Officials believe the show will remain important in that it will continue to provide temporary exhibit space for exhibitors that aren't ready for permanent showrooms. At the same time, the show also will help draw crowds to the procurement center, they said.
"Exhibitors have to move in for the show and move out after the show," Wang said. "After the Procurement Center is ready, exhibitors don't have to do this. They can invest only once, but can benefit from the show plus the year-round showrooms."
He added that international companies that want to tap into the China market will also benefit from the center.
"We can help them by providing one-stop services from logistics, warehousing and office space to promoting and matching them with the right retailers in China," he said.
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