IFFINA 2009 – Indonesia Furniture Fair
I was not sure what really to expect coming down to Indonesia Furniture Fair. The contact I had was pretty simple, and even in the airport, there were signs about IFFINA. A bit of negotiation at the airport travel agent (I found its cheaper to book at the airport than online last year) and I was at one of the hotels with a shuttle for less than $60 a night.
But, really, you want to know about IFFINA, so I’ll save the rest for later. Overall the fair is a really nice mixture of product types. I was impressed with the design content and the prices they are selling at. Actually, I think prices are similar to what you will find China and possibly cheaper for smaller buyers.
Other buyers seemed to be disappointed that there were not a lot of larger Indonesian case goods suppliers at the show. So, if your looking for that, I heard there are a lot more suppliers at the Expo in the fall, but still not sure if those companies will even go to that show, or just go to Singapore. But, we are working on this, so you can also find the larger suppliers on goodfactories.com
There looked to be over 300 home furnishing companies at the show, the average booths are probably 30 m2. I met a lot of really nice manufacturers who seemed to know what they are doing, and really liked the fact that there are so many eco friendly furniture options at IFFINA.
After going to the China shows, its apparent that Indonesia and Vietnam seem to be leading the way in Asia for sustainable products. I will also post a video on the fair, so everyone can really tell what this fair looks like, and why I’m giving it a 4 star rating. IFFINA is not the biggest or the best, but there are a lot of great values here and nice looking products.
Also, another really nice feature at IFFINA was free wireless internet throughout the fair, buyers lounges with free food, and local and more expensive options for lunch. The Shuttle buses to hotels also seemed to run on time.
We have interviews and more on the GoodFactories.com YouTube Channel.
