Opportunities abound for the Furniture Industry

Opportunities abound for the Furniture Industry

The Malaysian International Furniture Fair

The Malaysian International Furniture Fair 2010 (MIFF 2010) will take place from 2 - 6 March in Kuala Lumpur. For five days, industry specialists are expected to gather at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) and the MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) to network, trade, exchange ideas and look at the latest designs and innovation that the furniture industry has to offer.

「DESIGN PRINCIPLES」、「ＢＥＮＩＴＨＥＭ」、「ＫＩＡＮ　ＣＯＮＴＲＡＣＴ」

As in earlier years, MIFF 2010 is expected to draw a significant number of international and local exhibitors and visitors to the fair. Despite the global economic slowdown, MIFF 2009, which happened from 3 - 7 March, successfully attracted buyers from all across the globe, including various trade delegations and buying mission groups.

Externally audited results of MIFF 2009 recorded a total of 19,075 total visitors, with 6,809 international buyers from 137 countries. International buyers came from the ASEAN region (23.5%), Europe (16.7%), the Far East (13.0%) and the Middle East (12.4%), followed by Africa (10.7%) and America (6.9%). The result was an excellent track record that exceeded the organiser’s expectations. Sales generated during the exhibition hit USD 710 million (RM 2.49 billion).

「OTHELLO」、「ＢＲＩＳＴＯＬ ＴＥＣＨＮＯＬＯＧＩＥＳ」、GRAND WINNERS

MIFF 2009 also hosted a number of foreign delegations from countries like Japan, India and Germany; who were on a mission to build business alliances with Malaysian manufacturers. The success of the visit was evident when Mr. Kawasaki Atsumasa, Chairman of SH Association of Japan concluded, “I believe that as a result of this get-together, there will be between 30 - 50 Japanese retailers who will be interested in exploring business opportunities here in Malaysia.”

MIFF exhibitors proved their competitiveness in the global furniture market with on-the-spot business transactions throughout the fair. According to a representative of the Japanese delegation, the group ordered 400 containers of Malaysian furniture during MIFF 2009. Having previously bought only from China, Indonesia and Thailand, they were impressed with the quality of Malaysian furniture and placed their orders instantly.

Malaysia’s furniture industry showed continunous growth as focus shifted to more ODM (Orginal Design Manufacturer) orientated orders this year. Chairman of MIFF, Dato’ Tan Chin Huat remarked that Malaysian furniture was popular with overseas buyers of the middle to high category group, who were looking for manufacturers who could meet the demand of producing an average of up to 100 containers every month. These buyers also had the upper-hand of negotiating a suitable price with Malaysian manufacturers.

「LOOP DINING SETTING」「VERSATILE ELEGANCE」「M9-B30」

Most Malaysian companies were stunned to receive huge amount of orders at MIFF 2009. Due to the current economic situation, many manufacturers saw a decrease in sales in the previous quarter and were compelled to reduce their production. Immediately after the fair, business has been back to normal and manufacturers had to recruit to speed up production for orders received.

Occupying over 80,000 sqm of exhibition space at two venues - the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) and the MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) - MIFF 2009 offered products from more than 450 exhibitors from 13 countries and regions. Exhibiting countries included China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, USA, United Kingdom, Turkey, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia.

The Malaysian government has high vision that wood based products, in particular furniture will be a major contributor to export earnings in years to come. According to Dato’ Jacob Dungau Sagan, Deputy Minister (Industry) of International Trade and Industry, while officiating MIFF 2009; the government has set an annual growth of 6.5% for this industry. He added, “Timber based products, mainly furniture and panel products are estimated to reach RM 53 billion by year 2020, based on the Industrial Master Plan 3 (IMP3).”

Exhibitors were satisfied with the overall organisation of the show and with the quality of the buyers at MIFF 2009. Mr. S.W Jeon of Sun Safes, Korea has exhibited in MIFF eight times and in MIFF 2009 alone, he remarked, “We signed up five new partners. We’ve done so well at MIFF 2009 that we have recommended it to other furniture manufacturers in Korea.”

Highlights of the exhibition included the MIFF 2009 Furniture Excellence Award and the Best Presentation Award. This year’s Gold Winners for the Best Presentation Award were Kian Contract (101 sqm & above category), Benithem (50 ? 100 sqm category) and Design Principles (50 sqm & below category); while Bristol Technologies took home the Gold medal for the Furniture Excellence Award. These awards are in-line with MIFF Sdn Bhd’s vision to spur the Malaysian furniture industry towards greater heights by encouraging exhibitors and budding product designers to use their talent to create furniture and booth designs that will garner good media coverage and attract buyers to acquire more business opportunities. Over the years, the c ompetition has successfully encouraged exhibitors to create more innovative and trendy furniture and creative booth presentation to meet the buyers’ needs.

Besides that, the MIECO Designer’s Choice Award, now in its third year, have received good response from budding furniture designers. The award has been successful in discovering new talent, and has an excellent track records of past winners being hired by furniture design companies. Some of this year’s grand prize winners were Jerry Kok Tsiang Hui for the Professional and Manufacturer: Home category, and Phum Boon Eng from KBU International College, who won the student category.

Expect all this and more at MIFF 2010, your one-stop furniture market. 500 exhibitors covering over 85,000 sqm of exhibition space will showcase a wide range of choices for buyers to choose from. More than 7,000 international buyers is anticipated at the fair, with many repeat exhibitors and visitors vowing to return for MIFF 2010.

Mr. Mahesh Jain of Stellar Furniture, India, said, “This is our fourth year participating in MIFF and we are definitely coming back in 2010. Our thanks and gratitude to MIFF for maintaining the standards of this exhibition despite the economically troubled times.”
Another visitor who is upbeat about coming back is Guers Lyes of Algeria, who said, “I’ve bought some containers and I have no problems finding all my needs. At MIFF, I can easily find good prices and reasonable quality. I look forward to coming back next year. ”

With its yearly expansion of exhibition space, number of participating exhibitors and visitors, countries represented, new market exploration and sales recorded, MIFF 2010 will continue to be the show where trade matters most. The organiser welcomes furniture players from all around the world to participate in its 16th edition. For participating details please contact info@miff.com.my.