The 15th Vietnam International Furniture & Home Accessories Fair (VIFA EXPO 2024), took place from 26-29th February at Sky Expo Vietnam Center, Ho Chi Minh City, and featured 603 exhibitors, including 320 from Vietnam and 283 from 17 other countries.
With nearly 2000 booths, the exhibition showcased a variety of products, with 61% focusing on furniture, 19% on furnishings, 8% handicrafts and home decor, and 12% comprising hardware, machines, wood materials and service products.
As a leading furniture exhibition brand in Asia – and the oldest in Vietnam – VIFA EXPO has always been a must-visit destination for international buyers seeking reputable and export-standard furniture sources in Asia.
This year’s edition attracted 13,149 visitors during the four trade days, including 5262 international visitors from 72 countries and territories – primarily from China, India, the US, Australia, Europe, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore. This edition saw a significant percentage of international buyers, with 66% from Asia, 14% from Europe, 11% from the Americas, 8% from Oceania, and 1% from Africa.
According to the show’s organiser, more than two thirds (68.2%) of buyers intended to attend business matching events, 26% wanted to place orders, and 7% wanted to place orders to the value of over $1m.
According to the initial results of a survey conducted after the show, the reported value of contracts/memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed at the fair amounts to some $84m, and 76% of the exhibitors surveyed left with contracts/MOUs.
Tailored delivery
VIFA EXPO 2024 was co-organised by Lien Minh Company, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Ho Chi Minh City branch (VCCI - HCMC), and the Vietnam Association for Building Materials (VABM), with active support from Vietnam Coconut Association (VCA), Ho Chi Minh City Advertising Association (HAA), and Vietnam Investment Construction - Services in Agriculture and Forestry Association (VICSAFA).
The show was a pioneering event in the year’s biggest Asian furniture exhibition series, which also included IFEX, MIFF, EFE, 3F and CIFF.
VIFA EXPO’s organiser says it facilitated the “optimal conditions for international furniture buyers” with an exclusive suite of support programmes, covering everything from transportation to accommodation, including: complimentary hotel stays for VIP buyers; free airport support service; free shuttle bus service; and discounts of 20-50% on stays at the show’s official hotel.
The key activities at and alongside the fair included factory visits, enabling buyers to visit eight typical furniture manufacturing factories in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces – Discovery Global Partners, Everfriendship, Godrej, Bradsense, Thanh Duong, Tay Ho Timber, Hiep Long and Full Support – so buyers could observe each stage of the export-standard furniture production process.
Specialised seminars included: the Global Furniture Outlook 2023 and Trends Forecast 2024, with speakers from CSIL Milano - World Furniture Online (Italy), Canadian Interiors, and Alibaba - OSB HCM (Vietnam); the application of new materials in interior and exterior production, with speakers from HCMC University of Technology, the Vietnam Association for Building Materials (VABM), and the Vietnam Handicraft Exporter Association (Vietcraft).
Meanwhile, the exhibitor and buyer’s night celebration honoured the businesses that have been with VIFA EXPO throughout its 16-year journey of promoting trade and connecting global furniture demand and supply. The gala also served as an opportunity for networking and expanding business connections between participating exhibitors and international buyers.
For this edition of the show, to enhance the connections between exhibitors and international buyers, the organiser further improved the exhibition’s online platform in the following ways: visitors could easily search and connect with the exhibitors; the exhibition and best booths were scanned and deployed on the platform, allowing busy buyers to easily “visit the online booth” after the exhibition; and an Online Business Matching Week (scheduled for April) has been organised, to enable international buyers to continue seeking information, selecting businesses for connections, and negotiating online now the exhibition has concluded.
Cementing VIFA’s identity
VIFA EXPO has undergone 16 years of establishment and development through 15 editions, evolving into an annual event for Vietnam’s wood and furniture industry, with significant influence in the South East Asian region, and gaining international stature.
Despite now being delivered at a completely new venue and on different dates, VIFA EXPO continues to draw numerous enterprises from Vietnam’s various provinces, and countries worldwide, to participate. Additionally, it remains a top choice for international visitors in the annual Asian trade fair circuit.
“Consequently, VIFA EXPO consistently welcomes a stable influx of international buyers who are genuine importers with purchasing needs, further demonstrating the trustworthiness, appeal and influence of the event on international buyers,” states the organiser.
“Especially notable as one of the leading furniture trade promotion events in the region, VIFA EXPO holds the eighth position in the list of the top 100 global furniture events on the reputable www.10times.com website – and VIFA EXPO 2024 has expanded its co-operation and enhanced promotion with reputable furniture exhibitions in the same industry such as CIFF, 3F, Interzum (China), WMF (China), IFEX, Sofurn & Lifeshow (Korea), Hive Furniture Show (UAE), Index Plus (India), IIFF (India) and Momarik Expo (Turkey).
More to come
Upcoming events from the organiser include VIFA ASEAN 2024. Following the success of VIFA ASEAN 2023, the second edition of VIFA ASEAN will be held from 27-30th August 2024 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), and aims to expand its scale, doubling the number of booths and participating enterprises. Specifically, the organiser plans to attract over 400 exhibitors with a total of 1200 booths.
VIFA ASEAN’s vision is to gather South East Asian furniture suppliers in Vietnam, so international buyers just need to visit Ho Chi Minh City to meet all the neighbouring countries – as well as helping shape the city’s role as Asia’s furniture trade hub.
The 16th edition of VIFA EXPO will take place from 5-8th March 2025. With the theme ‘One Show - Two Venues – Double Power’, VIFA EXPO 2025 will expand to cover SECC and Sky Expo Vietnam (also in Ho Chi Minh City). With an estimated scale of over 3000 booths, VIFA EXPO 2025 promises to be “the largest and most prestigious exhibition in Vietnam – and the region”.
