Shenzhen Gift Fair re-engineered to help tap domestic market
The Golden Purchasing Chain in China, composed of Canton Fair, China (Shenzhen) International Toys & Gifts Fair and Hong Kong International Toys & Gifts Show, has been inevitably affected by the current financial crisis. According to feedbacks from exhibitors who have attended relevant gifts exhibitions in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, this year’s Canton Fair saw a substantial drop in attendance of international buyers while the gifts show in Hong Kong lost steam as well. On the contrary, the gift fair in Shenzhen, concluded on Oct. 27 at Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, displayed a flourishing trend in both purchase and sales, without the least trace of recession. This has gone far beyond the expectations of exhibitors mentally prepared for a drop in buyer number. As the largest gifts and houseware exhibition in China, Shenzhen Gift Fair has constantly focused on domestic market. As the export market is now mired in downturn, many exports-oriented businesses, under the guidance of the Fair, then turn to the domestic market to explore new channels and improve their risk-resistance capability. As a result, their market shares may even go up instead of falling down.
Mr. Su Zhongyang, General Manager of Guangzhou Long Fa Hang Fine Carving Craftwork Company, has a profound feeling about this: “We also exhibited in Canon Fair. However, we received much less visitors this year than before. The amazing effect of this year’s Shenzhen Gift Fair is really beyond our expectation. We see many foreign visitors and of course, there is even a bigger proportion of domestic clients. This year, we mainly focus on domestic trade, aiming to provide more services for customers. 2 additional exhibitions halls are opened at this edition, from which we may also tell how successful the Fair is. As we have more visitors here, there are more exciting products on display. The visitors that we receive at the event bring us lots of nice surprises.” Most exhibitors think the high demand on domestic market has driven fruitful order achievements for them.
On the 16th anniversary of the Fair, Reed Huabo officially unveils its new brand image. The new brand focuses on quality services and added value, endowing a more profound connotation for the fair. It indicates that Reed Huabo is now shifting its focus from gifts to both gifts and houseware. A more refreshing and powerful brand image of gift fair is now emerging.
Mr. Mike Jiang, Managing Director of Reed Huabo, said: “To build a good brand we have to excel in ourselves, so as to promote the brand-oriented development philosophy for the whole industry. Shenzhen Gift Fair has been focusing on domestic market for 16 years. The organizing committee has made unremitting efforts in providing a platform for enterprises to exploit domestic market, and we are committed to withstanding ‘the Cold Winter’ together with gift and houseware enterprises. For instance, we have always encouraged exports-oriented companies to allocate 30% of their efforts to the domestic market. Besides, at this event, we made great efforts in inviting more corporate buyers to the event. As a result, we see the attendance of over 30 big buyers with a purchasing need of more than RMB 20 Mio., such as HOLA and RT-MART. We also organized 63 visitor groups from chambers of commerce, associations and toy & gift marketplaces in various light industry bases. CCAGM and Wang Fu Jing Department Store also send delegations here for business talks. All these efforts have brought new business opportunities to exhibitors.”
Show statistics indicate that the 16th China (Shenzhen) International Toys & Gifts Fair has attracted total 129,859 visits, with a steadily increasing presence of trade buyers with great purchasing power. Compared with the last edition in April this year, the event witnessed a strong rise of 25% in the number of trade buyers. Mr. Peng Yuan, Deputy Director of Steering Committee of Special Edition of Xinhua News Agency 2008, attended the Fair for the second time. He commented, “It’s really unbelievable and amazing to present such a huge fair, which is real feast to eyes. This year, we are impressed with a higher level of service and buyer quality. I also attended the reception for Reed Huabo’s new brand unveiling, which is truly remarkable and represents a new level of value and service. I hope this fair will become an event with international influence in the future.”
Overseas buyers from 66 countries including USA, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Korea, India and Thailand visited the event. Trade development authorities or gifts & premiums associations from Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries were also present at the fair. The overwhelming success of the fair cemented their confidence in the event. They expressed a strong desire to participate in the fair next year with exhibitors from their respective countries.
The organizer of Shenzhen Gift Fair, committed to pilot the attention of their customers to domestic market through value-added services, so as to avoid the risks caused by international economic recession and create new business opportunities, has received wide applauses and is regarded as a good example for both exhibition and gift industries to address the financial crisis in a proactive way.