Sets foundation for stable long term development

Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co. Ltd. (UBM Sinoexpo) recently signed a ten-year (2014-2023) strategic cooperation agreement with the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) in Pudong. This is yet another important development following UBM Sinoexpo’s successful staging of the 20th China International Furniture Expo (Furniture China) at SNIEC in September 2014. Ever since Furniture China moved to SNIEC in 2002, the size of UBM Sinoexpo’s three major shows – Furniture China, Hotelex Shanghai, and CPhI China / FIA-China - have reached or exceeded 200,000 sqm each, with Furniture China covering a total floor space of more than 300,000 sqm and a net space of 170,000 sqm (including Furniture Manufacturing & Supply China held at another venue, SWEECC). This ten-year strategic cooperation with SNIEC guarantees the realization of UBM Sinoexpo’s long term development goals.

Since China’s economic opening over 30 years ago, the growth of Shanghai’s exhibition industry have become the fastest in the world. In the recent 10 years, exhibitions organized by UBM Sinoexpo have grown in scale by an average of 10% annually, with exceptionally high growth rates of 23% and 38% in 2007 and 2011 respectively.

In 2014, UBM Sinoexpo leased a total of 880,000 sqm of exhibition space, up 20.3% compared with 2013, with an average venue utilization rate of 49.3%. The utilization rate is one of the most important considerations for show organizers when selecting a venue. This is where SNIEC is strong and UBM Sinoexpo has been able to achieve 55% or more in utilization at SNIEC. This is a key reason for UBM Sinoexpo striking this long-term strategic cooperation agreement with SNIEC.

The focus on established projects and maintaining sustainable growth has been UBM Sinoexpo’s key to success. In the coming ten years, UBM Sinoexpo will continue to focus on four main sectors – furniture, hotel, ingredients (pharmaceutical / food), as well as boating and lifestyle. After 2016, SNIEC will be able to provide UBM Sinoexpo an additional slot of 200,000 sqm, making it possible for UBM Sinoexpo to lease as much as 900,000 sqm for its existing projects, plus acquisitions and new launches.

The Chinese economy has entered the period of the “New Normal” with a medium speed of development. China’s trade shows will also embrace this “New Normal” featuring elevation in show quality and online-offline interaction as the major development goals. The positioning of shows will change accordingly. In 2014, Furniture China adopted “Export-orientation; High-end domestic sales; Original design, and; Guidance by Trend” as the major themes for China’s furniture industry development to great results. Since the 2014 show, 284 new enterprises have already requested to participate in Furniture China 2015, thus laying a solid foundation for the expansion of Furniture China, and for improvement in show quality through a better selection of exhibitors.

In the meantime, SNIEC has also launched new measures to further improve service quality. The SNIEC 2.0 goal is to provide the highest-quality venue services in all of China, matching UBM Sinoexpo’s goal to elevate show quality. We look forward to the win-win result of our cooperation with SNIEC over the next ten years and to contributing to the development of Shanghai’s as well as China’s exhibition industry.