Brand building and the home market

The China International Hardware Show (CIHS), which opened in Shanghai for business yesterday, Tuesday, reports exhibitor numbers slightly up on last year’s level. A total of 2 680 companies (2012: 2 400) are showing their products and services over an exhibition space of 90 000 m² in eight halls. Some 200 exhibitors (eight per cent) at the fair have come from overseas, and around 20 countries and regions are represented there. The China International Building Hardware Show and the China International Locks & Security Show, two sub-fairs, once again form part of the three-day event. In addition the China International Kitchen and Bathroom Expo is being held in parallel for the first time. Two significant trends in particular characterise this CIHS. The first, which was already evident in previous years, shows clearly that the Chinese suppliers are increasingly tending to invest in building up brand names and in cultivating the sales channels, both of which demand an increasing level of quality. Zhang Dongli, president of the China National Hardware Association (CNHA), took up this theme at a forum during the fair when he appealed to Chinese manufacturers to push ahead with communicating and cooperating with the international industry in this world of globalisation. The CNHA and Koelnmesse are joint organisers of the CIHS. The second trend, and one that is confirmed by many exhibitors, is that Chinese companies are now ascribing growing significance to the domestic market. “The home market is growing,” is how Dongli summarized this development. Generally speaking, since 2012 the Chinese hardware and tools market has once again been showing positive tendencies, after a downswing that followed the European financial crisis from 2008 on. Information from the department of trade shows that this industry is growing exports at an annual rate of around ten per cent. Last year they exceeded the US $50 bn mark, which means they rank third within the consumer goods industry. Next year the fair will return to its traditional September slot: it is due to be held from 18 – 20 September 2014.