Post Show Report Mebel 2023
The 34th International Exhibition for Furniture, Fittings and Upholstery Facts & Figures
Dates: 20–24 November 2023
Venue: EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia
Organised by EXPOCENTRE AO
General sponsor: Kastamonu Marketing and Trade OOO
Strategic partner: Extravert OOO
Exhibition area: 80,000 sq. m gross (+16% by 2022)
Exhibitors: 1,074 companies, among them Anrex, Lyubimy Dom, Olmeko, Andrea, Cherepovets Plywood and Furniture Plant, Vektor, Souz-M, Kedr MK, Makmart, Å1, Svedstva, Kastamonu, BRW (Black Red White), Ormatek, Bazhenov Brothers Furniture, Maria, T.B.M., Slotex, Valmaks, Neîpolis Casa, Extravert, Promet, TriYa, Noframes, Pinskdrev, ZOV, Megaplit, Melodia Sna, etc.
608 Russian companies and 466 foreign companies
Countries: 13 (Austria, Belarus, China, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Turkiye, and Uzbekistan)
Group stands of Russian regions: Arkhangelsk, Kaliningrad, Kirov, Kostroma, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Ryazan, Ulyanovsk and Yaroslavl Oblasts, Tatarstan, Mari El and North Ossetia Republics
Visitor attendance: 44,289 from 88 regions of Russia and 58 foreign countries
Product sectors: new furniture collections, furniture for bedrooms, dining rooms, sitting rooms, children’s rooms, as well as kitchens from the manufacturer, sofas and armchairs, furniture fittings, equipment for furniture production, finishing materials and various interior items, office furniture, furniture for hotels, cafes, and much more.
Show Highlights
The 34th International Exhibition for Furniture, Fittings and Upholstery – Mebel 2023 is the leading industry platform for meeting Russian manufacturers and suppliers of furniture products with a wide range of partners and buyers.
Companies demonstrated new furniture collections, original design solutions and materials. The exhibition gave a complete picture of market trends and furniture fashion. The exhibitors held direct negotiations with potential customers, found new partners and concluded favourable contracts for the coming year. Small author’s furniture workshops presented their products.
Twenty regions supported and financed the participation of their producers in Mebel 2023.
Alexey Vyalkin, Director General at EXPOCENTRE AO
“Compared with 2019, pre-COVID year, the exhibition area has increased by 16%. The number of foreign companies participating in Mebel is 466. Of them, 80%, i.e. 360 companies are from the Middle Kingdom. The presence of Chinese businesses at the exhibition has grown 2.5 times compared to 2019. The number of Russian companies has also grown by more than a third. The exhibition brought together more than 600 Russian companies.”
Maxim Cherkasov, Minister of Industry, Trade and Entrepreneurship of the Nizhny Novgorod Region
“Every year the Furniture, Fittings and Upholstery exhibition becomes the main industry event in Russia and Eastern Europe. It is an excellent opportunity for regional companies to present their products to leading industry experts, increase sales volumes and conduct B2B negotiations with potential partners.”
Conference Programme
Within the conference programme 35 industry events took place, which helped to identify effective solutions to central issues concerning state support and provision of furniture production with raw materials and components, search for necessary personnel, use of modern sales technologies in retail and development of design art.
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The 4th Russian Conference of Furniture Manufacturers, organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia and EXPOCENTRE AO, was a big event.
A meeting of the Council for the Development of the Forestry Sector of Russia under the Federation Council was held by Yury Vorobyov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council.
The participants discussed the state of forestry industries related to deep mechanical processing of wood, as well as considered the prospects for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for the needs of the Russian forestry sector, monitored the implementation of previous decisions of the Council and approved work plans for 2024.
The meeting was attended by Alexander Dvoinykh, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Nature Management, Oleg Bocharov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, Sergey Anoprienko, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia, Ivan Sovetnikov, Head of the Federal Forestry Agency, Alexander Shestakov, President of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, Timur Irtuganov, Director General at the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, representatives of regional state authorities and businesses.
The RusMebel 2023 forum formed the basis of the conference programme. It was organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia and EXPOCENTRE AO. The forum featured
- joint meeting of the Expert and Advisory Council on Forestry under the Russian Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Nature Management, the Committee on Entrepreneurship in the Forestry Sector of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the Problem of Personnel Training with the Participation of Sectoral Institutions of Secondary Vocational Education
- panel on Amendments to the Technical Regulation of the Customs Union On the Safety of Furniture Products 025/2012
- panel on How to Build a Business with China
- meeting on Development of Requirements for Professional Characteristics in the Woodworking and Furniture Industry in the Russian System of Sectoral Qualifications
- meeting with enterprises of textile and garment, chemical, metalworking, and timber industries on Import Substitution in the Furniture Industry. Supplies of Fabrics, Paints and Coatings, and Components of Russian Production
- open lecture on industrial furniture design with the participation of professors from industry related universities: Connecting the Furniture Production Chain from Design Development to Finished Products, Case Study.
The total number of participants in the Forum events exceeded 400 people.
The Forum on How to Beat Competitors in 2024? Key Competencies for the Furniture Market gathered a large number of representatives of furniture companies working in the conditions of actively changing demand for furniture products, expansion of online trade channels and increasing competition in the market. The event was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO as part of the EXPO-Academy project in partnership with MIRBIS Business School. The forum included
- Session on Furniture Market Dynamics and Trends 2023/2024
It was moderated by Stanislav Kazakov, Managing Partner at Big Time Retail, author and lecturer of courses at MIRBIS Business School, corporate consultant and trainer. According to the speaker, effective digital marketing is becoming not just desirable for companies, but a prerequisite for their survival in a competitive environment. The speaker also touched on other aspects of a successful furniture business.
Evgeniy Pecherin, Executive Chair at the Association of Development Directors, CEO, partner of the Sustainable Development Strategies Russian Consulting Group and Natalia Lebedeva, General Director at KPG Training Centre, corporate consultant and trainer participated in the subsequent sessions.
- Workshop on an Agile Culture: How to Continuously Improve Results in a Time of Transformation was held on November, 20. The event was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with Å1 Furniture Company. Polina Vyalova, Director of the Change Management Department at E1 Furniture Company, moderated the workshop.
- Industry Discussion on Risks and Opportunities for Furniture Retail Development in 2023-2024. Forecasts, Reality and Technologies aroused interest among the audience. The event was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with SteadyControl. The moderator was Irina Kovalenko, Head of SteadyControl Furniture.
The participants discussed
- Furniture market trends (how furniture retail is changing)
- Changes in customer demand: how not to create barriers, but to be close to customers
- How the SteadyControl system influences customer focus and staff efficiency
- What furniture retail will be like in 2024.
Furniture Retail Fest 2023 was co-organised by FCProject.
This year, the participants in discussions and panels summarised the results of 2023 and made forecasts for 2024 with market leaders, presented the most ambitious retail projects of 2023, and told and showed how to make money on marketplaces. Leading retail experts shared their secret tips for increasing the efficiency of furniture retailing.
The first day gathered leaders of furniture e-commerce. At the plenary discussion, participants discussed the situation with online furniture sales, marketplaces as a necessity and as advertising platforms for furniture companies, management challenges associated with the digitalisation of retail, and other topics.
The Forum of Suppliers of Furniture Components continued on November, 21 with the session on Statistics and Analytics. Russian Market of Board Materials: Status and Forecast.
At the panel discussion, the heads of furniture component suppliers discussed the company’s supply strategy in the context of market transformation. Expert analysts gave forecasts for the development of the component supply market: what to expect for furniture manufacturers in 2024, talked about import substitution practices, design trends, and solutions for optimising production.
The theme of the third day of the festival was Furniture Retail: Scaling and Customizing. The plenary discussion was devoted to franchising and new retail formats.
The workshop on Furniture Safety – a Trend in Requirements to Suppliers of Retail Chains and Marketplaces was organised by ROSTEST AO and EXPOCENTRE AO.
Yulia Vasiltsun, Head of Internal Compliance at ROSTEST AO and Yulia Aleksandrova, Deputy Head at the ROSTEST-Moscow Certification Body, Chair at the ROSTEST Expert Council spoke about the entry requirements of retail chains and marketplaces: how to become a reliable supplier; how not to get lost in the requirements for suppliers of retail chains and marketplaces, presented the National Chemical Regulations, which will come into force in 2024, and analysed the most common mistakes in declaration.
The workshop on Top 10 Mistakes When Creating a Brand was held by Alexey Larin, managing partner at BrandExpert ‘Liberty Island’, expert in marketing, strategic branding, packaging design, expert of the Industrial Development Monitoring Centre, expert on the work of the Far Easter Federal District in the Council for Foreign Trade Development, expert of the Information Systems Council of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. They talked about the pitfalls of naming; what a logo can be; what is the difference between corporate identity and brandbook; and what happens if you do not register a trademark.
The Forum on Transform or Die: Why Does Furniture Need Branding, New Buildings and Neural Networks? attracted the attention of exhibitors and visitors. It was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO and supported by the Brandcore branding agency. According to Andrey Ovchinnikov, the moderator of the forum and head of the Brandcore branding agency, it is not enough to create a brand, you need to make this brand move into the mind of the client.
There were sessions devoted to the strategies for working with brands; difficulties in the choice of furniture by the buyer, why it happens and how to change it; new buildings with furniture as an additional sales channel for furniture manufacturers; neural networks in brand promotion; how working with a brand helps to make +25% of sales in a falling market. Industry experts held a masterclass on How to Become and Remain Brand No.1. Brand and Distribution as the Main Drivers of Furniture Sales Growth and a discussion on Real Branding Practices. Exchange of Opinions. Feedback.
The forum confirmed the interest of the professional audience of the furniture industry in branding as an effective technology that increases customer loyalty and sales.
The Business Forum for Interior Designers ran on November, 22 and was moderated by Evgeniy Tyurin, President at the Union of Designers and Architects, owner of the invitation only GRANI business club for designers, expert in sales and work with premium clients, co-owner of five businesses in the field of design and construction. The Forum was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with the Union of Designers and Architects.
During the sessions, the participants talked about Vastu harmonic layout, channels for attracting clients for designers; modern art as a powerful tool for promoting the brand of a furniture company; import substitution: interaction between furniture companies and design studios.
The Forum on Successful Start in E-commerce in 2023/24: Trends, Opportunities and Effective Tools for Scaling Business in the Furniture Industry first ran at the Mebel exhibition on November, 22. The forum organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with XWAY (an operation partner of marketplaces) was opened by Anton Larin, XWAY CEO. He spoke about the current situation on the online trade market and gave practical recommendations to furniture manufacturers to promote and sell their goods in this segment.
The Conference on Furniture Business the Russian Way. Unconventional Sales Growth Opportunities in the New Crisis 2023 was first held by MIR (Furniture. Investments. Retail) and EXPOCENTRE AO. Alexey Lopukhin, founder and CEO of MIR, CEO of ATLANTMZS (Furniture Procurement Union), drew the attention of the audience to the fact that it is important for the conference participants to get fresh analyses, overview of current strategies and tools directly from furniture practitioners.
Owners, CEOs, key managers of top furniture companies within five thematic blocks presented up-to-date information on how much marketing costs a furniture factory or a shop, told about exclusive technologies for sales management, acquainted with the current situation and forecast of the Russian labour market.
The Forum on Furniture Digital: Smart Marketing That Guarantees Profit was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with Domashenko.Digital Consulting Group on November, 23. Furniture companies shared their breakthrough marketing solutions. The forum was moderated by Valeriy Domashenko, founder and CEO at Domashenko.Digital Consulting Group, which specializes in the growth of sales, an expert in Forbes educational project Billionaire’s School, a visiting professor on the subject of Internet business and digital sales at Russia’s leading universities.
Experts in the field of Internet business and digital sales gave recommendations and advice on how to attract more customers from the website and advertising without additional costs, to skillfully apply formats of information dissemination through messengers, to increase furniture sales with the help of CRM and automation of various sales-related processes.
The Forum on Digital Marketing in Furniture Business: Meta-universe and Neural Networks, was first included in the conferemnce programme of the exhibition. It was moderated by Natalia Ivanova-Dostoevskaya, Deputy Director at High School of Creative Industries at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, film and animation producer, Head at the Red Carpet Studio Animation Department. The forum was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with Maff Media OOO.
The forum heard presentations by experts on the growing trend of online shopping, their recommendations on the formation of cases of furniture companies using technologies to create metaverses, a story about the ways of using immersive technologies to increase receipts of complex products and modelling furniture in virtual reality.
The organisers of the forum provided event participants with all the necessary guidance and information on where to get more in-depth knowledge on digital technologies and effective digital marketing.
The 23rd Forum of Small and Medium Furniture Enterprises – Furniture as Business was held on November, 21 as part of the conference programme and was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO and Imperia Forum KVK. The forum addressed current technologies for furniture sales in 2024 through marketplaces, retail, wholesale, dealers, distributors, DIY and for the hotel and restaurant segment.
Svetlana Fedorova, Director General at Express-Obzor, the first marketing company specialising in analytical market research, gave an overview of the domestic furniture industry at the analytical session on Effective Furniture Sales Strategies in 2024: Current State, Trends and Prospects for Furniture Business Development. The next presentation touched upon the principles of selecting a furniture sales channel: opportunities, supply problems and ways to overcome them.
The forum continued with workshops “Selling through marketplaces: an algorithm for successful entry based on the average check and type of furniture”; “Selling furniture through Russian Post, retail, public transport, distributors and dealers”; “Selling furniture to furniture shopping centres, new buildings”; “Selling furniture to hotels and restaurants (HoReCa): how to get into a closed channel”.
The Design Hour project (Design Lounge platform), organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with Archdialog agency as part of the EXPO-Academy special educational project, attracts a lot of attention every year.
The participants in the Day of Interior. Design Rules spoke about flat redevelopment and its new rules, planning of unusual flat projects, step-by-step design plan for restaurants, and light in the interior. There were speeches of Vasily Gubanov, Commercial Director of Royal Group, Natalia Solo, leading teacher of the Interior Design Department, Ekaterina Dyatlova, architect, interior designer and other speakers. The Ambassador of the Day was Konstantin Tsepelev, a light designer, lighting expert, blogger.
At the events of the Day of Furniture Design. From Idea to Implementation the founder of Masterskaya Interera OOO, creator of the Art for Art’s Sake project, furniture designer Vera Dolinina, CEO of New Interier, member of the Association of Interior Designers and Decorators of Russia Zhanna Fedorova, Head of Design and Technology Department, Design and Architectural Department and Order Processing Department of Pervaya Mebelnaya Fabrika Ivan Khodenko drew the attention of the audience to the crucial importance of effective communication for the implementation of successful interaction between designers and managers of furniture companies. They shared their experience in building a productive dialogue with representatives of the creative community engaged in designing a wide variety of furniture products, told about the practical features of interaction in terms of providing design and technological works.
Invited designers Mikhail Grachev, Alexandra Safronova, and Tatiana Plotnikova introduced real cases and technologies of launching new furniture collections, top mistakes of designers when working with custom-made furniture, copyrights in furniture design for designers and manufacturers. With a lecture on More Colour! How to Convince the Customer not to be Afraid of Bold Solutions was delivered by Elena Teplitskaya, the Ambassador of the Day.
The next Day was dedicated to new technologies and services in design. Diana Balashova, blogger, designer and decorator, became the Day’s Ambassador. The attention of the audience was attracted by interesting speeches of famous designers, architects, and studio managers: Ekaterina Dyatlova, Nikolay Nikolaev, Anastasia Vladyko and other speakers.
The fourth day of the exhibition was marked by creativity. Lena Goryacheva's lecture on Must Know. The Most Replicated Items of Furniture Design. How to Distinguish the Fake from the Original. Evgenia Krivosheeva, the creator and ideological inspirer of Sewing Workshop No.1, gave a lecture on Design Trends 2024. Based on World Exhibitions. Sergey Tregubov, a well-known designer and founder of the Iroom design studio, an Ambassador of the Day, gave a lecture on How not to Repeat an Idea? Where to Get Inspiration and References for Cool Projects.
The thematic days were rounded off by design tours around the Mebel 2023 international exhibition, clearly demonstrating all the current trends and tendencies in furniture design.
Competitions
The 4th Championship of Furniture and Woodworking Industry Professionals – WoodworkingSkills 2023 was organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia jointly with EXPOCENTRE AO. The competition programme included such areas of professional competencies as furniture making, joinery, industrial furniture design and woodworking machine tool operation. The opening ceremony of the championship was attended by General Director at the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia Timur Irtuganov, First Deputy Director General at EXPOCENTRE AO Sergey Selivanov, General Director at LIGA, which is a partner of WoodworkingSkills 2023, Vitaly Krivosheev, Sales and Marketing Director at Kastamonu, which is the General Sponsor of the championship and Mebel 2023, Mr. Buyuktosun, and Brand Manager at Intervesp Andrey Frolov. The event was held for three days. Out of 63 participants, certified experts determined the winners, whose award ceremony was held on 22 November.
Sergey Selivanov, First Deputy Director General at EXPOCENTRE AO
“Every year the Mebel exhibition hosts the championship on its platform. Everyone participates in the training of qualified personnel: from educational institutions to manufacturers of furniture products, equipment suppliers, and service providers. And this process, as we see, can be bright, entertaining and interesting.”
The Award ceremony of the 18th Golden Cabriole National Award for Industrial Furniture Design traditionally ran at Mebel 2023. It was organised the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia and the Russia Designers Association. The General Sponsor was EXPOCENTRE AO and the partner was Kastamonu. The ceremony of awarding prizes and memorable gifts was held by Timur Irtuganov, General Director at the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, and Lilia Makarova, Head of the Furniture Design Department at Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Design and Applied Arts and Chair of the Jury of the competition. Winners>>
The conference programme of the Mebel 2023 exhibition was rounded off by awarding the winners of the 18th International Competition on Product Quality in the Best Consumer Properties and Successful Promotion of High Quality Goods nominations. The competition was held by Soyuzexpertiza ANO of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and EXPOCENTRE AO. Winners>>
The success of the trade show and its conference programme is confirmed not only by objective facts, but also by the feedback of exhibitors and visitors.
The next 35th edition of the Mebel exhibition is to run on 18– 22 November 2024 at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds.
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Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO