Malaysian International Furniture Fair organizers say they don't plan to change the event's 2014 dates in response to a change in dates for the International Furniture Fair Singapore.

Last week, IFFS officials announced the March 2014 show will run March 13-16 as opposed to the typical March 9-12 schedule it has had for years. The change is meant to place it closer to the shows in southern China, which start around the third week of March.

The MIFF show is planned for March 4-8, ending five days before the start of the Singapore show.

Typically, the MIFF show has ended a day or two before IFFS starts. Buyers who go to both shows usually spend around a day and a half to two days at each one before heading to the next.

MIFF officials, however, said the show will remain as planned, which they do not believe will hurt attendance.

"IFFS and MIFF have a different set of buyers - according to our survey, there are less than a quarter of overlapping buyers between the two shows," said Karen Goi, a general manager at show owner and organizer UBM Malaysia. "The date is not the key factor. Instead, the right buyers and the right products are more important."

The March 2013 MIFF drew 18,401 visitors, including 6,054 international buyers from 140 countries.

Buyers who do like to visit each show in succession will be able to visit the Export Furniture Exhibition, also in Malaysia, March 6-10 and the International Furniture & Craft Fair Indonesia 2014, which runs March 11-14.

The Thailand International Furniture Fair runs March 12-14, which will overlap the Singapore show.