Solid growth: DOMOTEX produces another good performance in Shanghai

The good growth rates achieved by this year's DOMOTEXasia/CHINAFLOOR (11 - 13 March) represent a continuation of the event's sustained success. With 39,509 visitors attending, including 5,660 from outside the host nation, the show attracted approx. eleven percent more attendees than in the previous year. Most of the visitors from outside the People's Republic came from South Korea, the USA, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The number of exhibitors (1,014) was also up by ten percent. The gross display area booked by the exhibitors totalled 88,000 square metres, which clearly surpassed the total display area of the previous event. "We are delighted by this positive trend, which strengthens our resolve to further develop and refine our trade fair concept for this important market," declared Stephan Ph. Kühne, Board member of Deutsche Messe AG in Hannover, the trade show organization which collaborates with VNU Exhibitions Shanghai to stage the event.

The good results underpin the status of this year's DOMOTEXasia/ CHINAFLOOR as the biggest event of its kind in the whole of Asia. The exhibition program included rugs and carpets, textile and resilient floor coverings, parquet, laminates, applications and laying equipment, as well as floor covering production machinery.

This year saw numerous joint displays from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the USA, as well as Turkey - a newcomer at this key event, which took place at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). The exhibitors reported good business and high attendances at their stands.

As in previous years, the largest product group represented was the parquet and laminates category, which occupied a gross display area of some 43,500 square metres (up by 11 percent compared with last year). Resilient floor coverings, carpets and textile floor coverings also had to be allocated more display space this year.

The various display categories were complemented by an impressive series of supporting events that rounded off the program at DOMOTEXasia/CHINAFLOOR 2008. Major events included the annual meeting of China's National Forestry Industry Association.

Thus the success achieved at the start of the year by DOMOTEX HANNOVER (12 - 15 January 2008), when 1,457 exhibitors occupying a total net display area of 97,701 square metres attracted more than 47,000 visitors, has been followed up by the record performance of DOMOTEXasia/CHINAFLOOR. There is now every reason to expect that the success story will be continued when DOMOTEX Middle East - the third DOMOTEX trade show this year - takes place in Dubai from 25 to 27 May, 2008.

At the close of DOMOTEXasia/CHINAFLOOR last month, some 90 percent of the exhibitors and 93 percent of the visitors said that they intended to take part again next year. The next DOMOTEXasia/CHINAFLOOR will run from 24 to 26 March 2009.

- Detlef Rossa -