Heartening visitor response on CIFM/interzum guangzhou 2020 opening day; participants upbeat about industry prospects

Heartening visitor response on CIFM/interzum guangzhou 2020 opening day; participants upbeat about industry prospects

Asia’s largest and most comprehensive woodworking machinery, furniture production and interior decor trade fair opened today in South China to much industry anticipation – not only because of its reputation, but also as the first furniture production event to be held after the coronavirus pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

Originally scheduled to take place from March 28 to 31, and traditionally held alongside the China Guangzhou International Furniture Fair (CIFF) office segment, the new date also saw this year's event coinciding with the home installation of CIFF which features household furniture. The triple events showcase industry verticals comprising finished furniture, production equipment and raw and auxiliary materials under the same roof, offering attendees a chance to grasp the trade dynamics of the entire industry.

A total of 806 domestic and international companies are participating in the exhibition.

As an industry that mainly relies on physical stores and personal experiences, the pandemic has brought the entire trade to a standstill, with dealers in the region bearing the brunt of holding on to goods and incurring rental expenses for some six months. However, with the effective prevention and control measures implemented in China, the resumption of business and production is proceeding in an orderly manner. In particular, the positive news of helping enterprises to ease their burden and reduce costs put forward by the Chinese government has ignited hope for the furniture production industry and sent positive signals.

Mr Keith Tsui, Managing Director of Koelnmesse (Beijing) Co., Ltd. said at the opening of the event: “interzum guangzhou originated from interzum, the top event in the global furniture production field with a history of nearly 60 years. The past 17 years of hard work has enabled the interzum platform to continuously maintain a strong foundation for the growth of the furniture manufacturing industry in China, which the result and contribution is highly recognized.”

“This year, the pandemic has caught the world off guard and global economy has been on a rollercoaster ride unexpectedly. Despite that, China’s anti-virus measures and control has been proven effective in the past months and economy in China has been recovered in a very healthy pace, especially in Guangdong province where major exhibitions have resumed one after another. We are excited about it and hope this year’s CIFM/interzum guangzhou amidst difficult moment still continues to bring great business opportunities to our visitors and exhibitors.”

Strong consumer demand, market confidence in China remains

Widely believed that the pandemic has only delayed and suppressed some consumption, the long-term improvement of China's economy has not changed. Economists have forecast that household consumption will experience post-pandemic compensatory growth.

Despite the coronavirus crisis, furniture raw material manufacturers in various countries have insisted in their participation due to the strength of China's furniture industry and the power of the CIFM/interzum guangzhou platform.

Some of the renowned brands that have showed similar confidence by exhibiting at the four-day show include:

Woodworking Machinery & Cutting Tools:

Paolino Bacci, HSD (Italy); GreCon; Vollmer (Germany); Nanxing, WDMAX

Upholstery Machinery & Pneumatic Components:

Elektrotek (Turkey); Limoss, Duerkopp(Germany); LINAK (Denmark), Nantong Healthcare (US); Lianrou, Yuantian, Huajian, Jiecang

Upholstery Materials & Accessories:

Lien A (Vietnam); Richard Pieris (Sri Lanka); Pressless, Bodet & Horst (Germany)

Hardware & Components:

Ferramenta (Italy); Samet (Turkey); Koyo (Japan); FREITAS IRMÃOS (Portugal); Stabilus, Suspa (Germany); Bai Fu (Taiwan); Union Star, Lianxun, Huali

Wood Products & Adhesives:

H. B. Fuller (US); Henkel (Germany); French Timber (France); Urufor (Uruguay); Malaysian Timber Council (Malaysia); Quebec Wood (Canada)

Interior Decor & Accessories:

Schattdecor, Impress, Technocell (Germany); DNP (Japan); LG, Hyundai (South Korea)

Pivoting to enhance engagement

From July 27 to 29, nearly ten online business matching sessions centered on the themes of "furniture hardware accessories", "woodworking machinery", "decorative materials" and "upholstery accessories" will be conducted. Through on-site live streaming, furniture manufacturing giants from countries such as India, Malaysia, Japan and Russia are scheduled to participate and meet with dozens of exhibitors online.

“This year, we have launched the new “in” live streaming business matching event, so that overseas visitors who are unable to be here with us can still take part and interact with on-site exhibitors. I believe that such offline2online model is here to stay and will become the new normal at exhibitions, together with some other new breakthroughs for the economy in the post-pandemic era," added Mr Tsui.

2019-2020 on the growth potential of China's custom furniture market found that the current consumer group is mainly composed of people born in the 80s and 90s with a strong preference for personalization. Today's furniture market demand has shifted from the past custom cabinets and wardrobes to whole house customization, which has greatly tested the design and product integration capabilities of furniture companies, and put forward higher requirements for information technology and processing technology capabilities as well as flexible production capacity of furniture makers.

This has led to major domestic first-tier custom furniture companies, including Oppein Home Group, Suofeiya, Shangpin Home, Boloni, Vifa, Bravat, DeRucci and Airland making use of CIFM/interzum guangzhou to source for high-quality products and advanced technology to adapt to the rapidly changing market demand.

Furniture accessories to look out for

After nearly half a year and rigorous selection of the final selection of the top 20 outstanding accessories products, winners of the "20 PLUS 20 Outstanding Furniture Accessories Awards 2019-2020 was announced. Entering it’s third year, the Awards continues to see internationally-renowned designer Mr Dick Spierenburg lead the judging committee. Winning exhibits are showcased at a dedicated display area located in the international exhibition area of Area C.

Winners of 20 PLUS 20 Outstanding Furniture Accessories Awards 2019-2020

(Not listed in any particular order):

interzum guangzhou runs today till July 30.

To learn more about interzum guangzhou, visit www.interzum-guangzhou.com.

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