DOMOTEX Asia/CHINAFLOOR – successful events (China)

A three-day show made of 1,112 exhibitors, 11 halls for a total gross of 120,000sqm, and 39,856 visitors. At the heart of one of the most promising markets of the world, Shanghai has just hosted, on the 27th, 28th, and 29th March, the leading flooring industry exhibition in Asia Pacific, closing with a big success not only in terms of numbers, but also from the point of view of quality and standards achievements.

After reviewing on-site interviews, post show questionnaires, media reports and key-persons’ remarks, from all perspectives, the feedback is that DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR 2012 was a success and is indeed the mandatory platform for doing business in Asia.

DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR has proved to be the ideal starting point not only for Chinese companies, but also for foreign entities that are more and more determined to be part of this growing and exciting market.

As a highlight this year, we are proud to announce that international country pavilions from Belgium, Pakistan, United States, Germany, Iran, Netherlands, India and Turkey, increased their total area by 87% compared to last year.

In a larger exhibition space brought from 9 halls in 2011 to 11 halls in 2012, with an increase of 20,000 sqm gross, 1,112 exhibitors displayed a complete range of products, granting a full coverage of the industry segments and presenting, at the same time, the newest solutions and designs for each product category.

39,856 professional visitors from 92 different countries joined the flooring event of the year, with more visitors coming from France, United States, Spain, Germany, and other European and American countries recording the largest percentage increase in visitors’ attendance.

At the same time, the highest numbers of foreign visitors came from South Korea, United States, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, and India.

According to our visitors’ opinion, taking part in DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR is a smart investment in time and energy. 78% of the visitors declared to be satisfied or very satisfied with the show, and the percentage of visitors planning to return for the 2013 edition is the best testimony of the event’s achievement in meeting attendees’ high expectations: in fact 96% of both Chinese and overseas visitors are already planning to attend next year exhibition.

From the exhibitors’ point of view, an important result can be drawn from 2012 edition. A high-quality attendance kept the halls busy during the three days. The survey shows that 68% of the companies regarded DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR visitors as good-quality visitors.

Among them, 26% classified the audience quality from very good to excellent. This tells a lot about the opportunities that the show offers in terms of business relations and brand exposure, and about the outstanding increase of the show quality standards. The 2 majority of the visitors included agents, distributors and retailers, and belongs to the managerial level; manufactures and professional buyers were well represented as well.

A consistent number of architects and designers visited the show, attracted also by the three major themed events (Shanghai Architecture Fair / SAF, Shanghai Real Estate / SIR, Eco City Summit / ECS) strategically organized at the same time and place as DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR.

Indeed, DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR 2012 was not only a wide platform to reach the industry professionals, but also a first-class stage for products and services to be showcased to the most valuable potential business partners.

This provided, it is certainly not surprising that almost all of this year’s exhibitors (89% of them, to be more precise) is considering joining the next edition of the show in March 2013. This satisfaction can be measured by the on-site rebooking performance, which has increased by 66.7% compared to last year. Almost 300 companies re-booked on the spot for a booth for the next edition.

The wood section received the greatest attention from both visitors and media. Many new products were launched. As well, R&D results on wood materials, such as environment-friendly products, healthier product solutions, organic floors, formaldehyde-free materials, were presented to the market through the exhibition.

The thriving development of the wood flooring industry will influence the increased effort in design and target differentiation, winning strategies for a full exploitation of the different market shares.

The resilient and carpet exhibiting areas experienced the biggest increase in this edition of the show. These sectors have proved to be promising sectors in the industry, with a healthy growth in the flooring business attendance. Gerfloor, one of the biggest representatives of the resilient segment, confirmed that “With the growing high-quality demand for commercial, medical, educational and sport area floors, the Chinese demand for resilient flooring is quickly emerging.”

The carpet segment was the most international one and a highlight of this year, counting on a total of 187 international exhibitors coming from 24 countries, such as some renowned companies like Invista, Mohawk, Dunlop, Mattex, Suminoe, Balta, Beaulieu, Hitex, Loloey, LS Cables, and Abbas Nishaburi coming from the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Korea, Australia, Iran and Sweden, as well as many other companies from key countries located in the Middle East and South Asia.

A total of 29 Belgian companies participated at DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR and the Belgians represented a prominent country pavilion of 322 sqm in the carpet hall, with five Belgian companies, namely Berry Alloc, Ideal, Lano, Roger Vandenberghe, and Vanhoutte Carpets, joining the trade show for the first time.

As a new orientation for the carpet industry, DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR will also help to develop in the future a “Carpet Forum” to promote a new carpet application that will focus on the residential industry and home decoration.

DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR was once again a success for the whole industry and confirmed itself as the only must-attend event in the whole Asia Pacific region. The show will be back from the 26th to the 28th of March 2013 at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre.