By the end of 2016 is expected the first Italian furniture Fair in Shanghai.
Federlegno Arredo Eventi and BolognaFiere have been in Shanghai and Beijing from 12th to 18th September for the official presentation of the ‘Club Made in Italy’ project to the press and sector professionals; the project intends to promote the entrance of the Italian wood furnishings industry to the Chinese market. As a result of the agreement signed in May, the two companies will start a joint venture under Chinese law which will take the form of a NEWCO called ‘IDI – Italia casa prestigiosa’, whose task will be the fulfilment of all future activities, including the launch of the Italian Furniture Fair in China at the end of 2016.
Italy is a strategic commercial partner for the Chinese furniture market. The latest data available shows the high competitivity of Italian furniture which, in the first half of 2014, once again confirmed its primacy in China, exceeding the German market share (15% Italy, 13% Germany, Source: China – Official Import Statistics). According to the data processed by the Federlegno Arredo Eventi ISTAT-based Study Centre, exports to China by Italian furnishing companies showed an increase of 25% in January-April 2014, thus confirming that Italy is a particularly attractive country for Chinese consumers, increasingly on the lookout for quality products to furnish their homes.
Roberto Snaidero, Chairman of Federlegno Arredo Eventi and recently appointed member of the new Italy China Business Forum during the official visit of the Italian government in June, stressed, «I’m convinced that this great project will be an extraordinary opportunity to consolidate the commercial relations between our countries. We’re honoured by the respect and attention that our lifestyle and Italian furnishing enjoy in China. Aware of the great responsibility we have in guaranteeing and promoting quality, safe and original furnishing products and solutions, we’re laying the bases for a greater number of Italian companies with this mission».
The September mission, in which 18 Italian companies had B2B meetings with architects and qualified contractors, will see the start of the ‘Club Made in Italy’, a programme of services and assistance devised by Federlegno Arredo Eventi and BolognaFiere for companies in the sector. Companies, in the future, will be able to take advantage of targeted services such as a database of profiled and selected contacts of the leading Chinese trade professionals, which will be enlarged through the initiatives to be arranged over time, a programme of road shows and B2B, B2C and B2S missions, marketing and communication operations in China and incoming events in Italy with the prospect of starting an Italian furniture fair in Shanghai at the end of 2016.
The development of the ‘Club Made in Italy’ project will enable the two partners to implement the agreements signed in June with some important Chinese sector professionals such as the Vanke property group, the mass retailing furniture chains Easy Home Investment Group, RedStar Macalline Group, Tiamantti and Yuexing Furnishing Group, and the sector associations Chinese Shanghai Furniture Association, CFDCC China Furniture and Decoration Chamber of Commerce and China National Furniture Association.
Giovanni De Ponti, CEO of Federlegno Arredo Eventi, noted, «Following the agreement signed with BolognaFiere in May, we immediately opened our desk in Shanghai. We’ll bring the best of our Italian production and, at the same time, we’ll promote the incoming of Chinese professionals in Italy for our fairs, Salone del Mobile and MADE expo, in addition to the great world event Expo Milan 2015, for which we’ll create joint events with the Chinese partners attending. We’ll aim at developing contract projects for our companies and we’ll work to create qualified contacts in distribution to increase the imports of Italian furnishing to China».
