FURNITURE SECTOR IS THE BOOSTER FOR ECONOMY

The current global crisis did not interrupt furniture sector. The sector set its export target for 2010 as 2, 5 billion $ at Istanbul Furniture Fair where the exhibitor number had a 20% increase.

IMOB- Istanbul Furniture Fair, organized on January 28- February 01, 2009 by Istanbul Trade Fairs with the support of MOSDER (Association of Turkish Furniture Manufacturers) at CNR EXPO was the center of interest for international buyers. The latest trends of 2009 were on display at the fair which hosted a total number of 74.322 visitors, 7.103 of which were international.

%20 INCREASE IN EXHIBITOR NUMBER
Barış Can EROL, Deputy Managing Director of Istanbul Trade Fairs stated that there was an increase of %20 in exhibitor numbers while Nazif TURKOGLU Chairman of Association of Turkish Furniture Manufacturers mentioned that Turkey exported to 170 countries. Turkoglu also stated: “Even though there is an economic crisis, our sector is the booster of economy with its export volume, employment volume and investments. Mehmet BUYUKEKSI Head of Turkish Exporters Association highlighted that export to Middle East countries increased from 7% to 14%. And Davut DOĞAN (Head of Furniture Association of The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey) demanded that VAT rates in furniture sector be decreased to 8%.

Iran, India, Greece, Bulgaria, Dubai, Oman, Morocco, Lebanon, Spain, Israel and Italy were among the countries from which the fair hosted visitors. Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade (DTM) organized hosted buyer program to Istanbul Furniture Fair which had exhibitors from Germany, France, The UK, Romania, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iraq.

IMOB’09 was organized with the participation of 310 exhibitor companies at an area of 120 thousand sqm.

FIERCE COMPETITION OF LATEST DESIGNS
IMOB Design Contest Awards were also presented at the show. In the contest where only products exhibited at the show could compete, Milano Mobilya ranked first and was followed by Istikbal and Nills in dining room category. The first three in sitting sets was Saloni, Cascade and Vanessa respectively. Dogtas was both first and third in teenagers groups while Teleset was ranked the second. Cascade was awarded in two categories in bedroom category and Dogtas ranked the second. Zift Dizayn ranked the first in accessories category while Cascade was the second and Alfemo was the third.

Such leading companies of the sector as İstikbal, Bellona, Yataş, Alfemo, Doğtaş, İdaş,İpek, Mirage and Koleksiyon exhibited their latest products at the show.

The product profile of the show included modern, classic, old-fashioned and modular furniture, beds and bedding ensembles, sofas, chairs and armchairs, teenagers and babies rooms.
The visitor profile of the fair included representatives of chain stores, wholesalers, distributors, importers and exporters, architects, interior designers, industrial designers and representatives of furniture stores.