Malaysian International Furniture 2017 Eyes US$1 Billion Sales

By Niam Seet Wei KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) 2017, which will be held from March 8-11, 2017, is expected to generate a higher sales of US$1 billion (US$1 = RM4.46) from US$908 million last year. Its General Manager, Karen Goi, said she was optimistic about achieving the target on the back of new and on-trend products to be showcased at the event. "Furthermore, Malaysian furniture manufacturers are well-known for quality. "Along with the ringgit, which is at very competitive level now, we are quite optimistic about achieving the sales target," she told Bernama at the MIFF 2017 pre-show interview here Monday. MIFF, the only furniture trade show in South-East Asia, is celebrating its 23rd anniversary this year. It will be held at the Putra World Trade Centre and the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre. The fair will also provide networking platform for buyers and suppliers and organise four industry seminars that include seminars on furniture design and MIFF Furniture Design Competition. On March 7, 2017, it will co-organise the annual general meeting of the International Alliance of Furnishing Publications, a global group of the world's top furniture magazines, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Goi said the MIFF 2017 would also see the participation of 543 companies from nine countries -- Malaysia, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey, India and the US. "The number of exhibitors has increased by 12 per cent from 482 firms last year," she said, adding that over 340 participants would be Malaysian firms, followed by 160 companies from China. She said this time, 140 new exhibitors were newcomers. On the number of international buyers, Gui expected it would increase by 20 per cent this year compared with 2016. "According to our pre-registered international buyers from 140 countries worldwide, 30 per cent of them are first-timers,” she said. Goi hoped that this year, the fair could draw nearly 20,000 visitors, as the event attracted over 5,300 foreign visitors last year. "We hope there will be 6,000 international visitors this year," she said. She said MIFF 2017 would be receiving business delegations from Japan, Belgium, Germany and India. -- BERNAMA