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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) is expected to see increased participation of international exhibitors to 40 per cent next year from 30 per cent currently.
MIFF general manager Karen Goi said there were 622 local exhibitors this year.
“We will be celebrating the 25th anniversary next year, and we hope they will showcase more designs,” she said at the end of the four-day exhibition, here, yesterday.
Goi said higher foreign participation could create positive competition.
The 24th edition of MIFF, themed “Design Connects People”, covered a floor space of 100,000 sq m.
Goi expected the theme to remain next year as she saw design as an important element that could bring big changes to the furniture industry.
“We will come out with more initiatives focusing on design next year, and we will also continue working with exhibitors and young designers to showcase world-class products and lifestyle solutions.”
She said response to MIFF 2018 was overwhelming and there was an increase in the number of buyers especially from the United States, the Philippines, Africa and Japan.
“We had many new buyers from the US, which could be due to the economic recovery in the country. We also saw many Japanese buyers who could be sourcing for hotel products as Japan is gearing up for the 2020 Olympic Games,” she added.
Goi said previously, Asean buyers made up the largest group while those from the US, Japan, Canada, China and India were among the top 20 buyers.
She was optimistic of achieving a five per cent increase in sales target this year from US$940 million (RM3.7 billion) last year.