Expo Centre Sharjah to launch furniture fair

Homes Middle East is scheduled to be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from September 3 to 12, 2009, and will be a comprehensive showcase of furniture and furnishing products.

It will be held alongside the popular Ramadan Fair, a supporting event of the Ramadan Festival in Sharjah.

The Ramadan Fair is an established showcase of a wide range of products needed to spruce up Eid Al Fitr festivities and will be held at Expo Centre from August 27 to September 21.

"Sharjah has an established furniture market. Through Homes Middle East 2009, we are trying to bring together leading local players in this field on a single platform and give them access to tens of thousands of prospective customers and quality visitors,"

said Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah.

"The popularity of the Ramadan Fair, which has a track record of attracting more than 100,000 visitors every year, will reflect positively on Homes Middle East too. This is a huge advantage for the new show as it will not face any difficulty in attracting large number of shoppers," Mr Midfa said.

Homes Middle East will showcase all types of home, office and outdoor furniture, furnishings & fabrics, curtains & rods, fittings & accessories, lighting & lamps, rugs, carpet floor & wall coverings, paints, mattress & base, artwork & framing, mirrors & frames, kitchen cabinets & equipment and objets d'art.

"Every sector is passing through difficult times. The furniture sector in the UAE and Sharjah is no exception. Homes Middle East will help ease the pains of the furniture sector by offering a cost-effective platform to reach out of tens of thousands of prospective buyers," said Mr Fasahat Ali Khan, Adviser to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre Sharjah.

"The local furniture sector is pretty active. Though there is local production, import and re-export are also thriving. We wish to bring together firms involved in this business as wholesale distributors, dealers, manufacturers, retailers, importers and re-exporters," said Mr Khan.

There are several factors that will spur sales at the fair, feel industry watchers. Exhibitors are sure to benefit from the distinctive advantage of a seasonal surge in sales, visitor traffic from the concurrent Ramadan Fair, demand from shifting tenants (who take advantage of lower rents), emerging satellite towns and property buyers, frequent refurbishments and neighbouring emirates and GCC states.

The exhibitor profile of the show covers furniture manufactures, interior decorators, importers and exporters, wholesalers, distributors and retailers, among others.

On the visitor side, the show will target families, homeowners, individuals, restaurant and hotels owners, institutions, companies, consultants, interior decorators, students and designers.