Spring trade fair season - Part 3 - HK Gift Fair

The Hong Kong Gift and Premium Fair is not as big fair as Canton Fair, but for a fair that specializes at something and not at everything it is rather huge. There are about 5000 booths and the organizer says “50,000 quality buyers from 141 countries”. Well, I would argue with that “quality buyers” claim (more on that in the article). But it is hard to argue about the size of the fair. The first time I visited was in 1995 and that time I already felt the fair was big. It was crammed in several halls and rooms of the original exhibition centre. That time the fair was still for both gift and household goods. In 1998 the exhibition expanded into the new extension of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC - on the photo) providing room for many exhibitors previously only able to get on the hopeless waiting list.

Few years later the original show split into two - Household Fair and Gift and Premium Fair (with a week gap between them). This split provided for more room for exhibitors, but clearly not enough. Barely 10 years after the new exhibition centre opened the new extension works are under way.

Unlike the Canton Fair and the new Mega Macau, the Hong Kong Gift and Premium Fair is very well organized. It is easy to navigate for buyers, the services for exhibitors are on pretty good level, food and beverage services are available all around the venue at reasonable prices.

What I see as the main problem of this fair is the growing mismatch between the expectations of buyers and the exhibitors. Most of the exhibitors naturally come from Hong Kong. Many Hong Kong companies have been for years moving away from cheap stuff towards innovative designs, higher end products, developing brands. Many visitors who come to the Hong Kong Gift Fair simply look around for new ideas but are not willing to pay for them. Their only plan is to take the idea and look for cheap copycat version in Canton Fair in China. Many of them will even shamelessly admit that. The result is that many exhibitors are reluctant to display new products as they are afraid of getting copied. They do have the new stuff in their booths. But they will only show it to their old or regular customers they believe are loyal. The consequence is many buyers complain, there is nothing new to see…

The other draw back for exhibitors are way too many trade fairs held at the same time in Hong Kong (competing trade fairs at the HKCEC and at the Asia World Expo at the airport), Macau, Guangzhou. These fairs are not attracting new audience, only splitting the existing one. Less visitors walking each fair, visitors walking more fairs… From what I hear visitors are also not too happy about this… But, as long as there is market, there will be supply… We will see what future brings. For now, I am getting ready for this year spring trade fair season.

P.S. - Name cards are a necessity for a trade show visitor or an exhibitor. Check some cool ones this blogger has found.

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