KUALA LUMPUR, April 08 | Despite tough market conditions, the Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) rang up its second highest sales ever of US$865 million as it concluded its recent Mar 3-7 show on a positive note.

Organised by UBM Malaysia, the five-day annual event which kicked off the furniture buying season in Asia and Southeast Asia’s biggest furniture event featured 508 exhibitors from 15 countries, with 10% new exhibitors, at the Putra World Trade Centre and Malaysian Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The upbeat mood and busy networking in the trading halls were buoyed by quality buyers and the strong presence of first-time buyers making up a third of the 18,000 attendees from 130 countries and regions.

Last year, the show, renowned as a quality and value-priced market place with extensive selections, recorded US$892 million orders with nearly 20,000 visitors from 141 countries and regions.

According to the organiser, buyer traffic to MIFF 2015 was relatively steady from the following regions — North America, Middle East, Australasia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Latin America – except Europe and Africa with significant drops from Russia, Ukraine and the Ebola-stricken West African states.

Despite concerns over the surging US dollar and slump in oil prices, exhibitors were in positive mood as high quality buyers continued to dictate orders and first time attendees drove new business.

Tey Lay Hui, managing director of Malaysia’s Home Best, who secured higher sales than last year said: “Buyers from over 50 countries visited us and over 80% were new customers. We also had quite good response from our regulars as well although some were unable to come due to budget reasons. In fact, our sales was better than 2014, we sold a lot to buyers from US and smaller countries of Africa and South America. We have already booked our space for MIFF 2016.”

A delighted Shunde Furniture Association from China, which brought over 20 exhibitors to MIFF for the first time and sealed 50% of deals on the opening day of the show, announced “all of them received great response and they definitely will come back again next year.”

Praising the diversity of global buyers at MIFF, South Korea’s Hansung School Furniture representative Weon Ki Yun said the company expanded from two to four booths this year, adding: “MIFF is an amazing experience and the most important for me because it has been so easy to find the right buyers from Africa, Middle East, India and Southeast Asian countries. We are so satisfied.”

Also in optimistic mood, Eric Lee, managing director of Malaysian local soft furnishings and custom-designed furniture company, Deep Living, said the company wanted to secure exhibition space after enjoying a “very good” debut in MIFF, saying, “There were a lot of foreign buyers and enquiries. MIFF is the most established Malaysian furniture export organiser with more than 20 years of history, so obviously it is the first choice for us to get into the export market.”

MIFF is part of a dozen key industry shows in Asia owned by UBM that includes Furniture China, Index Trade Fairs Mumbai, Indonesia International Furniture Expo and FIDexpo in Russia.

Next year’s MIFF is set from Mar 1- 5 at the same venues. Interested exhibitors can contact MIFF Sales Team at sales@miff.com.my.

Ms Karen Goi, MIFF General Manager, said: “It was really encouraging to see the high diversity and quality of international buyers despite the challenging global economic climate. Clearly, MIFF has again demonstrated its resilience and relevance as an effective global furniture platform and the top industry event in Southeast Asia. We’ve already received re-bookings for next year’s show.”

Buyers’ Comments 

• Joe Falcone (Coast to Coast Furnishings Ltd, Canada): “I’ve been coming to MIFF for the last 10 years because Malaysia produces pretty good quality for the price. We come to Malaysia to shop for bedroom sets, tables and chairs for households. We have very good suppliers here and when we find good ones, we tend to stick with them. MIFF is improving every year.”
• James and Anne Tougher (Furniture Options, Ireland): “This is our first time in Kuala Lumpur and at MIFF. It’s been lovely. Malaysia has a better selection and I would say Malaysian people are hospitable and friendly. It’s better layered and organised. Yes, we plan to come back next year because it seems more Western here and we’re looking for living room and bedroom furniture.”
• Peter Schenscher (Radio Rentals, Australia): “I am a buyer for a company called Radio Rentals with 30 to 40 shops in Australia. I have been coming here for eight years now. There are always new products and we can get an idea of what’s changing. We’ve got some great deals. Malaysian manufacturers produce very good quality products which you don’t really get in other areas of Asia, and the thing is, they know what is happening in the industry as well, which is terrific.”