By Zhong Hualin
Use exhibition as a driver to boost industrial demands, consolidate industrial resources, and promote the transformation and upgrading of enterprises and industry. This kind of “dual-wheel-propelled” development model by coupling industry with exhibition is becoming an industry development model vigorously promoted by Chengdu city in Sichuan province.
In early July, the 13th International Furniture Fair Chengdu was held. There was a big crowd in front LISSON’s more than 600 m2 exhibition booth. “We were expecting to find about 20 to 30 dealers, but in only 2 days we’ve got more than 90, 3 times that of our expectation”, said Wang Zhigang, managing director of the company. This small furniture company, located in Xindu, Chengdu, has annual sales of about RMB 20 million Yuan. “In this year’s furniture fair, we will receive orders of at least RMB 60 million Yuan”.
RMB 10.6 billion Yuan of orders have been placed during the four-day IFFC. “The furniture fair has accumulated rich dealer resource in all levels of markets across the country, enabling Sichuan’s furniture industry to grow amidst the somewhat weak market”, said Rong Yuwei, secretary-general of SCCF. It is told that the 160,000 professional buyers in this year’s furniture fair consisted of not only old customers from the southwest, the south, and the east areas, but also new clients from the northeast and the northwest.
As a conventional manufacturing industry, Sichuan’s furniture industry concentrates mainly in Xindu, Pengzhou, and Chongzhou. In the past, Sichuan’s furniture industry used to be low-tech, small-sized, and scattered. In 2008, the furniture industry was named one of Chengdu’s backbone industries. Since then, exhibition and the furniture industry have become mutually promotive.
“In 2000, annual output value of QuanU Furniture was around RMB 100 million Yuan. Now, boosted by furniture exhibitions, the company’s volume has increased into the billions. It’s also the same with SUNHOO and MZ”, said Rong Yuwei. Currently, 70 percent, averagely, of the annual sales of Sichuan’s furniture enterprises are achieved through exhibitions, and Chengdu has become China’s third biggest furniture production base and the country’s largest plate-type furniture production base.
IFFC itself has also developed from a small regional trade show of less than 500 booths into a comprehensive exhibition of more than 6,500 booths. Basing on Sichuan’s furniture industry, International Furniture Fair Chengdu has become not only Chengdu’s largest private-held exhibition, but also an important engine that accelerates the development of Chengdu’s furniture industry, undertakes industrial relocation, and creates jobs. Its’ position as the first choice of China’s furniture domestic trade is continuously enhanced.
The scale expansion and the influence improvement of the fair have also helped the upgrading of the industry. Rong Yuwei told the reporter that the development of IFFC had boosted the expansion of downstream industries such as carpenter machinery and raw materials and the improvement of industrial quality. Besides, by displaying original designs works by Chinese design organizations, the “Creativity Cocoon” International Furniture Creative Design Trend Fair held last year has also given rise to furniture new materials, new technology, and creative industries, effectively extending the value chain of the whole furniture industry.
They use exhibition as a driver to boost industrial demands, consolidate industrial resources, and promote the transformation and upgrading of enterprises and industry. The mutual promotion between secondary industry and tertiary industry forms the momentum for leap-forward development. In such industries as furniture, automobile, and software outsourcing, this kind of “dual-wheel-propelled” development model by coupling industry with exhibition is becoming an industrial development model vigorously promoted by Chengdu municipality.
