Benjamin Chau, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, said: "Although the global economy remains shrouded in uncertainty, Hong Kong's exports of housewares and home textiles in January and February this year rose 16.7% and 19.3% year-on-year respectively, reaching HK$52.6 billion and HK$93 million. This shows that the city is still a world-renowned trading centre for houseware and home textiles and that the Houseware Fair and Home Textiles Fair have maintained their prime position in the global houseware market. To generate more business opportunities, the HKTDC is organising some 130 overseas buying missions, comprising about 7,000 buyers, to visit this year's shows."

Houseware Fair spotlights products under "L.I.F.E" theme

The Houseware Fair is the largest show of its kind in Asia. This year, some 2,200 exhibitors from 26 countries and regions are featured at the fair, including debut exhibitors from Egypt, France and Greece. Guangdong, Macao and Jiangmen have set up pavilions at the Houseware Fair to showcase quality products from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The event continues to adopt the main theme of "L.I.F.E", representing "Lifestyle", "Interior", "Feast" and "Enrich", to categorise product zones in order to facilitate sourcing. In addition, the HKTDC is collaborating with international trend forecasting authority WGSN for a Trend Forecast Display that highlights houseware trends for Spring/Summer 2020. Apart from highlighted zones such as the Hall of Elegance, World of Fine Decor, World of Fine Dining and the Startup zone, this year also sees a new zone specifically for Candles and Scents.

Sourcing for quality award-winning houseware

More than 40 exhibitors are gathered in the ever-popular Hall of Elegance to showcase a range of innovative designs, including the Carl Schmidt Sohn Galaxy pressure cooker (Booth: 1E-B22). A winner of the prestigious iF Design Award in 2018, the product comes with an easy one-hand opening and locking mechanism as well as a specially designed spill-proof lid.

Hong Kong exhibitor Natural Made Co Ltd is showcasing a Baby Bowl Set (Booth: 5B-F06) that is made from corn starch and is biodegradable and safe for infants. This eco-friendly product was awarded the Family Choice Award in the United States.

Also on display is Hong Kong start-up Film Players Limited (Booth: 5D-A24), which is showcasing the smart film it has developed. The user just needs to stick the smart film onto a window to use it as a blind, adjusting the colour as required. Different digital content and messages can also be displayed on the film. Film Players has won many awards, including a Gold Medal at the 2018 International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. In addition, Film Players was one of the top-10 start-ups selected through a pitching competition in the HKTDC's Start-up Express programme in 2018.

Startup zone showcases creativity and innovation

This year, the Startup zone features 28 start-up exhibitors from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines, presenting a diverse range of eco-friendly DIY products, smart home products, innovative designs, trendy accessories and pet supplies. Hong Kong artist Det Dik's interior design and renovation start-up, SPACEPLAN (Booth: 5D-B01), offers a one-stop platform that matches users with more than 200 interior design and architectural firms to facilitate the sourcing of renovation materials. Another start-up from Taiwan has designed a stylish and practical Fern Pattern Rack (Booth: 5D-A25) using the features of the plant as the design concept.

The HKTDC is organising "Startup, Smart Launch" sessions throughout the fair to enable start-ups to present their products and business concepts to global buyers.

Smart and eco-friendly houseware trends

Smart homes are becoming an increasingly indispensable part of our city lives. A Polish exhibitor at the Houseware Fair is displaying a Glass Water Filtering Crystal Jug (Booth: 1C-F08) that is made from high-quality borosilicate glass and is equipped with an LED light that alerts the user when filter replacement is due. A Mainland Chinese exhibitor is featuring the KIGI Food Storage Container (Booth: 1C-F02) that can be used together with the KIGI app to allow the user to check the condition of the stored food and even offer recipe suggestions. A Hong Kong exhibitor is showcasing its SmartBowl for pets (Booth: 5B-F01), which enables the owner to keep track of his or her pet's daily calorie consumption. Coupled with the SmartTag, the product can even identify the dietary needs of multiple pets.

The trend for eco-friendly product designs has also reached housewares in recent years. A Japanese exhibitor is showcasing its LauLau Tableware (Booth: 1B-E20) that is made from recycled plastic bottles collected from schools in the Wakayama prefecture. The product is safe to use in both microwaves and dishwashers. Another Hong Kong exhibitor has created a Silicone Straw (Booth: 3G-B22) that can be reused many times and is foldable and easy to store.

On the last day of the fair, a seminar will feature speakers from IKEA and Euromonitor International who will share their insights on the latest trends and developments in smart and eco living.

Broad array of quality products at Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair

Held concurrently with the Houseware Fair, this year's Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair has gathered more than 300 exhibitors from seven countries and regions to showcase a broad array of home textiles and furnishings. The fair has six thematic zones, including highlighted zones such as the Hall of Glamour, Bathroom & Kitchen Textiles and Baby & Bedroom Textiles. Three of India's largest chambers of commerce for the textiles industry - the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC), the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) - are showcasing products from more than 35 manufacturers of quality home textiles from the country.

Zhejiang, one of the major home textile manufacturing bases in Mainland China, is debuting two pavilions to display the province's traditional quality bedding products manufactured by companies from the town of Zhouquan and Pujiang county. In addition, renowned Hong Kong home textiles brand Casablanca Hong Kong Limited (Booth: 3B-D22) is exhibiting an Anti-Mosquito Summer Quilt that uses proprietary patented technology from the United Kingdom to repel mosquitos and other insects that come within 30cm of the fabric. The product has already been certified in several European countries.

Multitude of activities highlight market trends

To help industry players understand the latest market developments in houseware and home textiles, along with upcoming lifestyle trends, the HKTDC is organising a series of activities during the fairs. They include a talk by Charlie Clark from expert trend forecaster WGSN Mindset, who unveiled the houseware trends of Spring/Summer 2020 earlier today.

To highlight local creativity, an exhibition showcasing the winning entries from the Hong Kong Smart Design Awards 2019, a competition organised by the Hong Kong Exporters' Association, has been set up at Hall 1C. At the International Kitchenette sessions, chefs will create dishes from different cuisines using innovative kitchen products, while the Latte Art Performance will see professional baristas demonstrate their latte art techniques using specialist coffee-making tools. Meanwhile, at the Buyer Forum, speakers will examine opportunities in the Indonesia and Singapore markets.

To enable buyers and exhibitors to enjoy seamless access to the events along with reduced waiting time, the HKTDC is again offering the e-Badge service through the HKTDC Marketplace App. The app has also added the e-Business Card feature that allows buyers and exhibitors to instantly exchange name cards and information by scanning QR codes, to facilitate connection among buyers and exhibitors.

Hong Kong Houseware Fair20-23 April 2019 (Saturday to Tuesday)Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreTime: 20-22 April 9:30am-6:30pm; 23 April 9:30am-5:00pmWebsite: http://hkhousewarefair.hktdc.com^[1]Event registration: https://bit.ly/2FlWCu7^[2]Media registration: Media Centre: Expo Drive Entrance, HKCEC

Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair20-23 April 2019 (Saturday to Tuesday)Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreTime: 20-22 April 9:30am-6:30pm; 23 April 9:30am-5:00pmWebsite: http://hkhometextilesfair.hktdc.com^[3]Event registration: https://bit.ly/2FlWCu7^[4]Media registration: Media Centre: Expo Drive Entrance, HKCEC

Fair websites:HKTDC Hong Kong Houseware Fair: http://hkhousewarefair.hktdc.com^[5]HKTDC Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair: http://hkhometextilesfair.hktdc.com^[6]Photo download: https://bit.ly/2IwoDmN^[7]

About HKTDC

Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With 50 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing business insights and information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus^[8]. Follow us on Google+, [email protected]^[9], LinkedIn.

Contact:

Houseware Fair, Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair
Ivion Xie, Tel: +852 2584 4395, Email: [email protected]

Copyright © 2019 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.

References

1. ^{^} http://hkhousewarefair.hktdc.com (hkhousewarefair.hktdc.com)
2. ^{^} https://bit.ly/2FlWCu7 (bit.ly)
3. ^{^} http://hkhometextilesfair.hktdc.com (hkhometextilesfair.hktdc.com)
4. ^{^} https://bit.ly/2FlWCu7 (bit.ly)
5. ^{^} http://hkhousewarefair.hktdc.com (hkhousewarefair.hktdc.com)
6. ^{^} http://hkhometextilesfair.hktdc.com (hkhometextilesfair.hktdc.com)
7. ^{^} https://bit.ly/2IwoDmN (bit.ly)
8. ^{^} www.hktdc.com/aboutus (www.hktdc.com)
9. ^{^} [email protected] (www.acnnewswire.com)
10. ^{^} [email protected] (www.acnnewswire.com)
11. ^{^} [email protected] (www.acnnewswire.com)
12. ^{^} HKTDC (www.hktdc.com)
13. ^{^} Trade Shows (www.acnnewswire.com)
14. ^{^} Design/Art (www.acnnewswire.com)