In the picturesque month of March, the 5th China (Hangzhou) International Garden, Outdoor Furniture & Leisure Products Exhibition has once again kicked off in Hangzhou, the “Capital of Leisure in the East.” Starting on March 21, the four-day exhibition will be held at the Hangzhou Peace International Convention & Exhibition Center.
As people’s living standards improve, heading outdoors and immersing oneself in nature is becoming a fashionable lifestyle. The pursuit of high-quality leisure living has driven the rapid development of the outdoor leisure products market, with strong global demand. The China (Hangzhou) International Garden, Outdoor Furniture & Leisure Products Exhibition is the only internationally organized exhibition in Hangzhou and a major initiative in the city’s effort to build a “City of Life Quality.” After four successful editions, the event has grown into one of China’s key industry gatherings for outdoor leisure products, earning recognition from exhibitors and buyers both in China and abroad.
The exhibition introduces advanced international outdoor leisure concepts, guides outdoor leisure consumption, and strives to create a high-level professional platform to promote trade in outdoor furniture and leisure products. By showcasing novel and diverse leisure products, it provides participants with a bridge where dreams become reality. With the goal of supporting global outdoor leisure enterprises in exploring both domestic and international markets, and aiming to establish itself as a world-renowned, top-tier professional exhibition in China, the event strengthens the brands of the “Capital of Leisure in the East” and the “Internationally Important Tourism and Leisure Center.”
During the exhibition, a variety of activities will be held, including ordering meetings for exhibitors, an outdoor industry summit forum, trade procurement sessions, and tours of key factories. Several highlights will be presented:
Unprecedented scale of an international exhibition
To enhance the international level of the exhibition, the organizing committee has made multiple trips to promote the event at numerous well-known exhibitions both in China and abroad, including the Canton Fair and the Düsseldorf Exhibition in Germany, successfully attracting the attention of a large number of renowned domestic and international companies and business associations.
Compared to previous editions, this outdoor exhibition has seen a notable increase in buyers from Europe and America, including purchasers from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the South American region, primarily Mexico. Numerous professional buyers from Chinese Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau will also attend as scheduled.
International major buyers such as the Swedish Business Delegation and the overseas buyer groups organized by China’s Honest Business Network, as well as domestic retail mall and supermarket purchasing managers, distributors, specialty outdoor sports stores, sports club procurement officers, villa developers, municipal contractors, and scenic area buyers, will all be present at the exhibition, making it an unprecedentedly grand event.
Brand exhibitors bring professional products
A large number of domestic outdoor leisure products dealers are participating in the outdoor exhibition. Dealers of outdoor furniture from all over the country, tourist attractions, clubs, municipal engineering companies, landscape architecture firms, hotel procurement departments, and real estate developers are attending to make purchases, helping outdoor leisure manufacturers recognize and tap into the vast domestic demand market. In addition, this year companies from the United States, Germany, Israel, Vietnam, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Chinese Taiwan have also registered to exhibit.
The booth area of the 2012 Hangzhou Outdoor Exhibition has significantly increased, meeting the needs of more companies to participate. This exhibition covers the full spectrum of the outdoor leisure industry. While outdoor furniture remains the main focus, in addition to outdoor furniture and camping product series, the event has added many new garden sculpture and decoration products, as well as an outdoor design exhibition area.
The exhibition features distinctive product offerings, mainly in three categories: First, the outdoor furniture series: garden furniture, camping furniture, umbrellas, awnings, wooden houses, etc.; Second, the garden products series: fences, garden swings, gardening tools, garden sculptures, outdoor lighting, fountains, irrigation equipment, etc.; Third, the outdoor camping series: tents, hammocks, mountaineering gear, sports facilities, backpacks, camping equipment, RVs, barbecues, and barbecue accessories.
Creating green channels for buyers and businesses
After years of development, Chinese manufacturing companies have significantly improved their production capacity, product quality, and R&D efforts. As one of the most developed and dynamic cities in the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou is just a few hours or even minutes away from the factories of 70% of the exhibiting companies, making it more convenient for factory visits. It has become a green channel for overseas buyers seeking Chinese partners.
On the basis of successfully inviting overseas buyers, the exhibition is also focused on attracting domestic merchants to visit and make purchases, developing the domestic outdoor leisure products market. Special invitations have been extended to domestic villa developers, tourism scenic area hotel buyers, outdoor product store buyers, outdoor clubs, large retailers, and chain supermarkets, helping exhibitors establish customer contact channels.
During the exhibition, a number of trade procurement sessions and on-site inspection activities will be arranged, including international buyer negotiation meetings, domestic major buyer procurement meetings, and factory tours in key regions. These initiatives aim to establish a one-on-one trade platform between buyers and businesses, helping enterprises develop domestic trade and making deals more secure.
High-end industry forums gather industry leaders
This edition of the exhibition features several forums with innovative content. For example, the Design Exhibition and Design Forum will discuss how to integrate products with concepts to elevate the importance of design in products, helping companies learn more about international trends. The Market Forum will focus on the theme of using world-class concepts and clear strategies to enhance product value, promoting companies to become leaders in the global outdoor leisure industry.
As the highlight of the outdoor exhibition, the Hangzhou Pan-Outdoor Industry Summit Forum will be held on March 23. As the opening event of the “Soaring 2012” Pan-Outdoor Series Forums, this forum invites heavyweight industry guests, investors, and academic authorities to deliver keynote speeches and engage in high-level dialogues. Attendees include the Chairman of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Clive Roux, and the renowned Dubai designer Khalid Shafar. In addition, the organizing committee will invite nearly 150 leading figures in the pan-outdoor industry centered around East China, including those in the fields of airplanes, yachts, RVs, golf, equestrianism, hiking, and mountaineering.
Notably, the Pan-Outdoor Forum held in Hangzhou this time is the first time since its inception in 2006 that the China Pan-Outdoor Industry Summit Forum has been held outside Beijing. It marks a significant step forward as China’s (International) Pan-Outdoor Industry begins to focus on regional pan-outdoor economic development, and an even bigger leap in spreading the concept of pan-outdoor activities nationwide and globally.
The forum organizing committee announced that starting this year, June 5 (World Environment Day) will be designated as “Pan-Outdoor Day.” The committee encourages global pan-outdoor enthusiasts to choose pan-outdoor modes of transport such as hiking, cycling, or horseback riding on June 5 each year, further practicing the “green, low-carbon, healthy, and environmentally friendly” pan-outdoor philosophy.