"Forum Legno Arredo": conquering China

China was the big star of the third edition of “Forum Legno Arredo” organized by FederlegnoArredo. Wood-furniture industry companies are looking with great interest at a market like China, which in 2013 and early 2014 recorded double-digit growth rates, confirming the positive expectations of recent years, also as a result of major architecture and urban development efforts and current social evolutions.

In May, FederlegnoArredo signed a strategic agreement with Bologna Fiere to support expansion on the Chinese market for Italian companies in the wood-furniture industry. This will lead to the creation of a newco in Shanghai, with the mission of supporting penetration strategies of Italian companies into the country. “The agreement – said FederlegnoArredo President Roberto Snaidero – aims at pushing on the accelerator to enter the Chinese market and find new business opportunities for our companies. In detail, we want to lay the foundations to launch an Italian furniture exhibition in 2016 in Shanghai. And this can be achieved also with the full involvement of Bologna Fiere China, based in Shanghai”. Duccio Campagnoli, president of BolognaFiere, added: “With FederlegnoArredo, we have been working for months to define this project, as we both recognized the value of joining our know-how, overcoming previous controversies and building mutual trust to launch a very innovative initiative”.

At the third Forum, FederlegnoArredo also officially presented details of “Club Made in Italy”, a program designed to approach the Chinese market, whereby companies will be supported with ad-hoc initiatives involving accurately selected and profiled Chinese operators, a comprehensive plan of B2B, B2C and B2S missions, marketing and communication actions in China, incoming and meeting activities in Italy.

Another project is “Made Virtual”, promoted by the organizers of the biennial exhibition of architecture and construction “Made Expo”. The service, based on Google Maps Business View ™, will enable users all around the world to visit the stand of a customer, walking through a virtual model, displaying multi-language information and videos, and interacting with the company around the clock. With “Made Virtual”, “Made Expo” customers can setup an interactive tour to be embedded in their Web site and social networks after the exhibition, as well as in a dedicated section of the www.madeexpo.it website.