India International Furniture Fair links with show for architects, builders

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, March 14, 2012

SINGAPORE — The organizers of the India International Furniture Fair say they have entered a partnership with the Indian organizer of an event that caters to the needs of architects, builders, designers and engineers.

IIFF is organized by the International Furniture Fair Singapore and MP International, which also organizes other exhibitions, conferences and events in Asia and Europe.

They have partnered with Asian Business Exhibition and Conferences, said to be the largest private sector organizer of exhibition, conference and trade show events in the Indian exhibition market. It organizes about 65 events a year in nearly 2 million square feet of show space. The events attract more than a million visitors, officials said.

Among them is The Economic Times Acetech Fair, which will be held in conjunction with the Dec. 6-9 IIFF event.

Held in about 45,000 square feet of space at the Pragati Maidan exhibition center in New Delhi, the four-day IIFF will feature about 130 local and international exhibitors. Acetech covers about 350,000 square feet of exhibition space, also in New Delhi and attracts about 75,000 visitors.

In addition to increasing the number of visitors to each event, the partnership is expected to strengthen the educational and networking opportunities available to those visitors, officials said.

"Following the successful debut of IIFF last year, we are excited to collaborate with ABEC to expand the show," said Sylvia Phua, CEO of MPI "This collaboration allows us to leverage on each other's strengths and expertise on two fronts - internationally and within the Indian sub-continent. This partnership is an example of our commitment in continuing to invest in IIFF and seeking new partners and ideas to take the show to the next level as the premier furniture trade show for international furniture players eyeing the Indian market."

Manish Gandhi, executive director of ABEC, said the partnership will benefit attendees of each event.

"India lacks a dedicated international furniture trade event and IIFF has nicely plugged this gap," he said. "It is an excellent fit for us as it will complement the sourcing needs of our ACETECH buyers, many of whom match the profile of IIFF buyers. With one extended platform, it will be a win-win situation not only for us, as organizers, but for our exhibitors and visitors."

The partnership was announced at the International Furniture Fair Singapore, which was held from March 9-12.

Andrew Ng, chairman of IFFS, agreed that the partnership will help benefit both events.

"India remains one of the most attractive markets for the furniture trade industry and teaming up with ABEC is an important step in reaching out to a larger base of local audience, especially those based in the Indian capital," he said. "Through dynamism of pulling two successful furniture trade shows together, we are confident of bringing participants a whole new world of business and learning opportunities."

For more information on IIFF, visit www.indiafurniturefair.com. For more information on ABEC, visit http://www.abec.asia/.