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Tom Russell

Zou Wenlong helps U.S. companies tap growing Chinese market

The last thing most industry folks want to hear about is another big furniture show. But that’s exactly what Chinese furniture retailer and real estate developer Zou Wenlong is talking about. His proposed Shanghai market could be one of the largest in the world by buildout in 2010.

Mr. Zou, who owns at least eight retail furniture malls in Shanghai and other cities, has proposed a $380 million Global Housing & Furnishings Purchase Center in Shanghai. The complex would have about 7.5 million square feet of showroom space, as well as several hundred thousand square feet of offices, a furniture museum, an information center and design club.

The plan also calls for a 200-room hotel plus onsite dining and entertainment. A 2 million-square-foot logistics center would be about two miles away from the main complex.

Zou plans his first furniture show at the center in September 2007, to run concurrently with the existing China International Furniture Expo in Shanghai. His center aims to be the world’s largest one-stop furniture buying complex. 

The driving force behind the project, or course, is China’s prowess in furniture production and exports, and Zou aims to build on this success. But the annual furniture show is just part of his master plan. He also wants to bring the best furniture in the world to Chinese consumers.

This is a key ingredient that makes his show different from most other shows around the world. To exhibit here, manufacturers must open their showrooms to the public during the rest of the year.

Zou kick-started the concept this year by opening his Jisheng Wellborn Hongqiao furniture mall as showroom space during the four-day September Shanghai show. The mall features manufacturers such as Chateau d’Ax, King Koil, Restonic, Serta, Natuzzi, Kinwai, Universal and Fairmont Designs.

Some U.S. customers of those manufacturers may not realize the companies have a retail presence in China. That presence speaks volumes about the potential furniture and bedding makers see in China, particularly in big cities like Shanghai, which has a population of nearly 20 million.

Companies like Thomasville, Ethan Allen, Kincaid and Pennsylvania House also have begun selling to Chinese consumers, either through stores or galleries. Other companies almost certainly will want a presence in the huge and growing Chinese marketplace.

The potential benefit to companies considering showing at Zou’s new complex is two-fold. First, they would be part of what could become one of the largest furniture shows in the world. Secondly, they would get year-round business from thousands of brand-conscious Chinese consumers in a booming metro area.

Mr. Zou told Furniture|Today he has lined up tenants for most of the 2 million square feet of showroom space set to open by next September. Given the potential to sell directly to the Chinese market, some U.S. companies surely are on the list.