Story provided by Business of Furniture / Bellow Press
Watching the Chinese office furniture market is kind of like watching a child grow up. Early in the development, there's a lot of stumbling and falling, but eventually you get to see them run. As the China International Furniture Fair kicked off Tuesday in Guangzhou, visitors found an industry that isn't quite running at full speed, but darn close to it.
The industry here, like CIFF itself, continues to mature and develop, becoming a major force not only in the Asian market, but around the world. It is not the kind of event where trends are born, but for the best companies here, it is astonishing how quick Chinese office furniture makers can follow.
Yet, as a market for office furniture sales, few North American or European companies seem to understand the enormous potential of the Asian market. CIFF is the most important office furniture fair for Asian companies, taking place twice a year — in the spring in Guangzhou and fall in Shanghai — but it is largely ignored by U.S., Canadian and European manufacturers. To be sure, there are many at this massive show shopping for products that will be built here but wear badges from North American and European companies.
Trends helping turn the Asian office furniture market into a true superpower include an increasing focus on design rather than knockoffs, exponential improvements in quality and the ability to quickly follow trends. But the industry here is facing a few headwinds as well — labor costs are increasing; the middle class is developing; struggling markets in places like Saudi Arabia are taking their toll on Chinese manufacturers that rely on them; and political shifts like the election of Donald Trump with his “Made in America” platform — all are hurting the Chinese office furniture industry.
Seatwell, a Chinese seating company that sells in the U.S. through Sam's Club, has seen its sales drop from $15 million two years ago to $10 million today, hurt by the loss of sales to the Saudi government, which have dried up along with the price of oil, according to General Manager Amy Hsu.
Instead of giving up, Seatwell has shifted gears. It has come out with a line of perching office stools Hsu hopes will give the company based in Guangzhou City a leg up on the competition. “There are so many options out there for seating products,” she says, motioning to the trade show hall filled with competitors. “Competition is difficult, so you have to do something different.”
Still, finding the different at CIFF can be a bit of a challenge. There are hundreds of office furniture makers displaying mesh chairs that are very similar, for example. But the smart manufacturers are beginning to change. Though there's still a lot of mesh in Guangzhou, visitors are beginning to see some of the residential influences driving design in the U.S. and Europe.
That should come as no surprise since the Chinese office furniture makers are watching the rest of the world with great interest. Jean Zou, of Anji Hetian Furniture Co., attended both NeoCon and Orgatec. Hetian has 150 employees and makes around 20,000 chairs a month — about 50 percent for the domestic market and 50 percent for overseas exports. The company has been at CIFF for the last nine years. “It is a good show for us,” he says, noting they used to show at NeoCon, before, he says, Chinese companies were “forbidden” to show.
While some might dismiss Asian office furniture makers as lacking in original design, their work continues to get better every six months. A few years ago, knockoffs of Eames chairs were everywhere. This year, they were hard to find. And companies like Headway are taking pride in what they create. The company, based in Nanjing, was showing off its new demountable wall product — the first this reporter has ever seen in China. It was also showing off its Fish desking product, a smartly designed four-pack with felt acoustical wings at the end, wireless charging and storage that hangs off the side of the desks for $1,271. Its Fish Windmill Sofa features seating built into privacy panels with standing-height work areas built into the angles of the structure.
CIFF is an enormous show and this year's Guangzhou edition seems to be bigger and better than ever. Crowds are as large as previous years, if not larger, and the quality of the show continues to increase. CIFF is unquestionably the world's largest furniture exhibition with 1.15 million square meters of exhibition space (nearly 12.5 million square feet). The show attracts 250,000 visitors from 200 countries (split between the March and September events). That is also split between the show's two phases — the first for residential furniture that ran March 18-21 and the second we care about for the office furniture industry happening now that wraps up Friday.
CIFF is held twice each year. The spring show in Guangzhou ist the larger of the two with 3,900 brands showing off their furniture and furnishings products to 170,000 visitors.
