MEBLE POLSKA Furniture Fair 2019 - summary review

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Every third visitor from abroad

The data reveal that besides a large group of Polish retail chains, Poznań was visited by representatives of the vast majority of important procurement groups and furniture showroom chains from Europe, as well as many furniture wholesalers from other continents. “The economic downturn for our most important trading partners did not significantly affect the interest of furniture buyers in this year's edition of the fair. As usual, merchants from Germany were the largest group of foreign visitors. Nevertheless, the growing number of merchants who come to Poznań from Eastern Europe and from new prospective markets, such as the United States, China, India or the United Arab Emirates, is also encouraging,” says Director of Meble Polska Józef Szyszka. As in the previous editions, the share of foreign visitors went beyond a third of all visitors and amounted to 34%.

 

 

Apart from Germany, this time the largest number of foreign visitors came from Ukraine, Great Britain, Russia, Romania, Czech Republic, Lithuania, France, Hungary, Latvia and Belarus. Every year, the number of countries the visitors to the MEBLE POLAND trade fair come from is getting bigger. Compared to the previous edition, this time the trade fair was attended by retailers from such countries as Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Egypt, Philippines, Gambia, Canada, Qatar, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Palestine, Portugal and Tunisia.

"I did not expect the exhibition to be this good”

In many cases, a visit to the MEBLE POLSKA fair in Poznań is the first contact with the Polish furniture industry. “When I was invited to Poznań, I read a bit about Poland's position as a furniture exporter and I was amazed to discover that it was the third largest furniture exporter in the world. I am very impressed with the overall quality of the exhibitors, the presentation, the pure professionalism of all the people whom I have dealt with here. It is a great event. I have been to many trade shows attended by exhibitors from all over the world. However, it is here that I can really get a good picture of the country's potential, because this fair really focuses on the products available in Poland,” comments Powell Slaughter in an interview with MTP TV. Powell Slaughter is one of the main editors of Furniture Today, a leading American furniture magazine, for whom it was the first ever visit to Poznań. Mikdad Bhabhrawala, Managing Director of Ultimate Furniture, which operates a chain of furniture stores in the United Arab Emirates and India, is also pleased to have visited MEBLE POLSKA 2019. “The fair is an international event. I did not expect the exhibition to be so good. I am truly positively surprised. Polish furniture is great. The upholstery sector has a really big potential, also for our market. As for quality, you really have good products. Prices are appropriate and that gives many opportunities,” says Mikdad Bhabhrawala. Liyakad Ali Khan from FJ, an Indian magazine for the furniture and interior design industry, shares the same view. “I am very impressed. I have visited most of the European trade shows - in Bologna, Milan, France and Spain. I believe that the quality of Polish furniture is good, it is characterized by a good style and, above all, it is offered at a good price, as for Indian conditions. I think that Polish furniture will find its way to our market,” emphasizes Liyakad Khan. Ed Blake, Strategic Project Coordinator at Ashley Furniture Homestores, an American network of 750 stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and Asia, draws attention to the flexible approach of Polish furniture manufacturers whom he met during his visit to the fair in Poznań. “Polish companies are ready to change their product for anyone who wishes that, whether it's about size, color or other features,” points Ed Blake. Visitors were also appreciative of the noticeable development that is taking place in the Polish furniture industry. “Comparing the current projects of Polish manufacturers with those of three or four years ago, I notice really big differences. It is clear that Polish furniture is getting better and the industry is growing,” says Cengiz Adali from Adalilar Mobilya company from Turkey. As he emphasizes, MEBLE POLSKA is a good place to find a good partner for cooperation. “When I look for furniture suppliers, I first visit the factories to see the machines on site, to check the quality that is important to me. The production plants are located close to the fairgrounds. You can go to the factory and meet the manufacturer on site,” explains Cengiz Adali.

The world’s biggest exhibition of Polish furniture

MEBLE POLSKA is the world's largest and most comprehensive presentation of the products offered by Polish furniture manufacturers. Among the exhibitors of the 2019 edition were all the major Polish manufacturers of furniture for housing estates interested in exporting their products. The fair featured a wide range of affordable furniture made of furniture boards as well as products made of solid wood and other premium items. Another interesting thing was the exhibition of upholstered furniture and mattresses, in which Poland is the world leader. A part of the exhibition offered exclusively to key buyers with the largest purchasing budgets was presented in closed spaces (so called secret rooms). In addition to the products offered by Polish manufacturers, this year's Poznań furniture fair featured products from Belgium, Belarus, China, Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Italy. Traditionally, the Meble Polska trade fair was accompanied by the HOME DECOR Interior Fair, whose exhibition focused on decoration, lighting, fabrics and items for kitchens and bathrooms. One of the greatest features was the trend zone, Bloggers Zone. It is an initiative of a five opinion-making interior bloggers-designers, who used furniture and accessories offered by the exhibitors to create an interesting space, full of inspiration and ideas for interior design. The cherry on the cake was ARENA DESIGN valued by architects and designers, the 11th edition of which was held under the slogan TransFormations, thus manifesting changes in the context of design, as well as the event itself. In total, 450 companies took part in the fair, the exhibition occupied 11 pavilions covering an area of 62,000 square meters.

Smart Furniture. MADE IN POLAND.

A press conference at MEBLE POLSKA, attended by Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister of Enterprise and Technology, saw a presentation of the assumptions of the “Brand Strategy for the Polish furniture industry”, which aims to strengthen the recognition and competitiveness of Polish furniture on international markets. “We want the strength and potential of the Polish furniture industry on the international market to translate into a higher commission on sales that will benefit Polish manufacturers. One of the steps towards achieving this goal is to build a brand of Polish furniture and to invest in modern manufacturing technologies. In the Strategy for Responsible Development, the furniture industry has been identified as one of the Polish specialisations. Under the principle support what's strong, the industry has received government support. The Flagship Project “Polish Furniture” is to strengthen the global competitive position of the furniture industry through the development of design, new technologies and strong furniture brands,” said Minister Emilewicz.

The concept for the brand of the Polish furniture industry, or else how we want to build the image of Polish furniture in the world, was selected as a result of research and creative workshop with representatives of the furniture industry and is based on the idea of Smart Furniture, i. e. multifunctional furniture, which is used to organize the space of an apartment in a comfortable and optimal way. According to the adopted strategy, activities aimed at building awareness and the desired image of Polish furniture on foreign markets will be directed primarily to a young, modern family from a large city, with medium and higher incomes, who appreciate resourcefulness in managing their flats and lives. Hence the idea of building the image of Polish furniture based on associations with modern design, multifunctionality and intelligent solutions that increase the comfort of living. One of the basic recommendations of the Strategy is to place a clear message - Smart Furniture. MADE IN POLAND - indicating Poland as the country of origin wether on or next to furniture in Poland.

Nearly 50 lectures, trainings and workshops

The exhibition was accompanied by a broad range of events aimed at both professional visitors and exhibitors. As part of a series of seminars carried out by the Polish Chamber of Commerce of Furniture Manufacturers, one could learn about the principles of conduct for exporters applicable to selected markets in the Middle East, the additional requirements on European markets for furniture products, and how to calculate the costs of manufacturing products and the profitability threshold for furniture production. The second day of the fair featured a conference entitled “Economics of values: man - company - relations. Autonomy and cooperation as a tool of effective management in the furniture industry.” Professor Jerzy Hausner, who was the special guest of the event, gave a lecture on the issues of value economics. The conference was organized to celebrate the 100th issue of the BIZNES meble.pl magazine. The third day saw a series of trainings for furniture showroom representatives.

Meetings featuring world design starts were the greatest attraction of ARENA DESIGN. During the discussion panel, the Swedish-British duo Massproductions (Magnus Elebäck and Chris Martin) talked about a ten-year career path that developed rapidly with the release of the first product. Alexander Taylor, a designer and innovator who implemented the revolutionary zero waste shoe weaving technology for the Adidas brand, talked about the turning points of his career and everyday aspects of his work among the best designers and design studios in the world. The young Berlin-based duo Geckeler Michels talked about the evolution of the chair and the factors influencing the extended design process. During the lecture, on the basis of their own design experience, David Geckeler and Frank Michels discussed the processes preceding the birth of the final product. One of the experts on the main stage was Marek Borowiński who runs the programs: ‘Sklepowe Rewolucje (Shop Revolutions)’ and ‘Shop Doctor’. The author of numerous publications in the field of visual merchandising and color psychology talked about how the perception of design has changed under the influence of social media, raised the subject of storytelling in design, and also discussed the issue of color transformation as one of the trends in contemporary design. Maciej Zień, a leading Polish fashion designer, was also a guest at the fair. He boldly entered the world of design in 2009, showing that fashion can be combined with interior design. During the fair he gave a his lecture titled ‘Fashion enters the interiors,’ which proved very popular among the participants.

Golden Medal

On the first day of MEBLE POLSKA 2019, the MTP Golden Medals were awarded during a ceremony for the best products showcased at the fair. The jury honored 17 products with this prestigious award this year:

Category: UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE QUALITY CONFIRMED

• BUENO Multi-module upholstered furniture program - POLDEM Group; STELLA Sp. z o.o., Łódź
• Medivis Talalay Blue H3 Cooling Mattress - M&K FOAM GmbH Sp. z o.o., Koło
• MOON Multi-module upholstered furniture program - POLDEM Group; STELLA Sp. z o.o., Łódź

Category: UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE PREMIERES

• DENVO CORNER SOFA - Fabryka mebli “Wersal” Kaczorowscy Sp.j., Baranów
• Mattress XL PREMIERA - Fabryka Materacy JANPOL Sp. z o.o., Orzesze
• pinergo Manager armchair - Spinergo a.s., Presov, SLOVAKIA
• MOCCA PREMIERE - WAJNERT MEBLE Sp. z o.o., Międzybórz
• ROYS Corner Sofa - PPHU DOLMAR Sp. z o.o. Sp.k., Kępno
• Sofa Sweet - Fabryka Mebli “Wersal” Kaczorowscy Sp.j., Baranów

Category: CABINET FURNITURE PREMIERES

• BED CONCEPT PREMIERE - DIG-NET LENART Sp. j., Mroczeń
• Desk DIAG - B&B Design Marek Błażucki - as BOZZETTI, Kraków
• Davos - Fabryka Mebli TARANKO Aleksander Taranko, Morąg
• Avignon Furniture Collection - Szynaka-Meble Sp. z o.o., Lubawa
• Kitchen Marrone - Stolarstwo Usługi Meblowo-Budowlane Adrian Halupczok, Krzyżowa Dolina
• Nice - Fabryka Mebli TARANKO Aleksander Taranko, Morąg
• SMART - IDŹCZAK-MEBLE, Łęka Opatowska
• ROVIKA -BLACK RED WHITE S.A.

MEBLE POLSKA 2020 in February!

The next edition of the trade show block consisting of MEBLE POLSKA, HOME DECOR and arena DESIGN will take place in Poznań from 25 to 28 February 2020.

 

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