2007 Show Report

Kenfair's HK October Mega Show
concludes with added sourcing appeal

On the last 2 weeks of October 2007, the world-renowned Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) again became the gala venue for tens of thousands essential traders and buyers in the toys, gifts and houseware industries to converge at the city’s annual mega event. The 2007 twin-fair, “16th Hong Kong International Toys & Gifts Show” and “15th Asian Gifts Premium & Household Products Show” attracted 5,500 exhibitors and over 72,000 buyers. The mega sourcing extravaganza once again lived up to its claim being the one of the most effective sourcing platforms in Asia.

Since its debut in 1992, Kenfair’s “Mega Show Part 1” has grown on exponential rate to become one of the largest and most important trade events in Hong Kong. Industry and sourcing heavyweights around the world come every October to grab the latest products and business opportunities at this bumper fair. The event marked a significant milestone in 2002 when it gained the prestigious “UFI-Approved Event” recognition from the Global Association of the Exhibitions Industry.

Entering into its 16th year, the first part of the bumper fair again occupied the full capacity of the HKCEC to house the 3,500 plus exhibitors from 36 countries and regions in 4,700 booths. All exhibition halls, meeting rooms and even public gangways or lobby areas were all jammed with booths.

All the 3,500 exhibitors put into full gears to show-off their new supplies of quality toys, gifts, premium and household products to the keen buyers during the four-day show. They were ecstatic with the busy traffic and great response from buyers at the show.

European and American buyers continued to make strong presence, accounting for almost 40% of the total attendance figure of 60,944. Australia, Japan and Korea were also strong in the show-up figures. The top 10 non-local visiting countries and regions are: the United States, Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Most buyers were highly impressed by the Mega

Show Part 1’s scale and scope and the immensely wide range of product choices. Again, they were all fascinated by the overwhelmingly huge loads of new products and innovative designs on display at this bumper showcase. They could find the right products whatever they’re looking for. They faced one common problem: So much to see, but just too little time! Some quotes of buyers’ comments hereunder speak well about the mega show:

“We import and source a lot of gift products from China and Hong Kong. We’ve got invited by the organiser and we’re marvelled at the great size and huge product varieties of this Mega Show Part 1. The so many outstanding gifts & premium products have kept us busy sourcing around the whole day. We’ve got many good items so far. It’s a great show! We will definitely make this as one of our most important sourcing events for the years to come.” - Mitch & Barbara Spoor, Buyers, Spoor & Associates Inc., USA

“As an importer for a wide range of gifts, toys, stationery, fashion accessories and household products, we see this Mega Show as a great sourcing platform to fulfill our needs. Yes, I had achieved the purpose of my visit this time as I was able to source many of my desired products. No doubt, I will come back again next year.” - Sylvain Conan, Buyer, Syco Appro & Solutions, France

“We are an importer and wholesaler and retailer for toys and household products. Currently, Mainland China and Hong Kong are our major sources of supplies. After a couple of weeks for my sourcing trip, not until today at this show could I find the best products I desired most. I’m so happy to be here! This is one the best shows I’ve ever visited.” - M. Baier, Managing Director, Bloo-Me GmbH, Switzerland

“We are an importer, wholesaler and retailer for a wide range of toys and premium products. I’m here to look for new supplies of toys and premium items. My target suppliers are from China and I could see a lot of them here. I got some my desired products with excellent quality at the show. I will put this Mega Show as an important stop on my annual buying trip. I’m eager to come back next year to find more new products and surprises.” - George Pollak, Buyer, G & A Krausz Importers, Australia

Despite taking up the full capacity of the HKCEC, the demand for exhibition space by manufacturers and suppliers has been so great that the ‘Mega Show’ has seen a long waiting list for several years. To accommodate this, Kenfair launched the extended session, dubbed “Mega Show Part 2”, since 2003. Scheduled just a few days after the bumper “Mega Show Part 1”, this sister-event is positioned as the perfect last stop for the buyers to conclude their sourcing trip in the Asia-Pacific region. The expanded session rose to a proven success when it gained the “UFI-Approved Event” status in October 2005.

“Mega Show Part 2”, held at the HKCEC on 28 – 30 October 2007, hosted over 600 exhibitors in 800 booths. There were group pavilions from the strongly-represented countries and regions, like Mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The specialised tableware zone, dubbed ‘Table Object Asia’ made its return. It was aimed at catering the strong demand from international buyers for more tableware sourcing. Located in Hall 7, it was an exclusively reserved area for 32 Asian tableware manufacturers to showcase their top-notch products to buyers. This theme zone continued to be a popular spot in the show.

The three-day Part 2 session received a total of 11,151 trade visitors, with over 50% from foreign countries. Strong attendance was recorded for most well-established markets, like the USA & Canada, UK, Italy, Germany, France, Spain and Australia, etc. Asian buyers were also on the increase, particularly those from Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. Though the Part 2 show was in a much smaller scale, it proved itself equally impressive to buyers for its high business potential. Hereunder are some positive remarks made by buyers:

“We are an importer and wholesaler, specialising in gifts and premium items. I come to look for innovative gift ideas and new product designs. Our targets this time are the novelty gifts, watches and clocks. Comparatively, it’s a much smaller show than the Mega Show Part 1 last week, but I could still get some interesting and good products here.” - Kieran Griffin, Buyer,The Novelty Group, Ireland

“We source our supplies from many Asian countries, like China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and India. I attended the huge Part 1 show few days ago. That’s a huge.
I’m happy that I could find some other new and excellent products fitting my sourcing requirements at this smaller Part 2 show. So how can I afford to miss this Mega Show series next year! ” - Paul Levenston, Director, Pauls Emporium, U.K.

“We are a promotion agency, always in search of new supplies and ideas of promotional gifts and premiums. I received direct invitation from the organiser to learn about this show. I think I have made a right trip to here as we can see a lot of good exhibits from China and Hong Kong. And the most rewarding is that I was able to source some of my desired products.” - Iztok Zorin, Buyer, Kozmetika Afrodita, Slovenija

The next edition of Mega Show will be held again at the magnificent down-town venue HKCEC during the last two weeks of October 2008. What’s new for the 2008 session is that exhibitors and buyers should expect to see a changed outlook of Mega Show Part 1 this October as the bumper session will put on a new face by implementing more clear-cut and sophisticated product zonings. Surely, the enhanced layout and product categorisation will benefit both exhibitors and buyers with higher sourcing efficiency. Actually it is a step forward paving the way for a total facelift of the show in 2009 upon full completion of the expansion project of the HKCEC. According to Kenfair, with the added space by 2009, the Mega Show Part 1 will further expand to 6,000 booths to accommodate more exhibitors. And more new features and value-added services can be available for buyers. Buyers should stay tuned to the event’s official website: www.kenfair.com for updated details and make a pre-registration online to receive their free admission badges well before the mega shows.