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Friday, July 21, 2006
Group plans to raise budget for Cebu X ’07
To have a “grander and bolder” exhibit next year, the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF) will increase its budget for Cebu X by 10 percent over this year’s P6.5 million.
If so, the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (Cebu X) 2007 will get about P7.15 million for promotions.
CFIF launched the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition 2007 (Cebu X) at the Marco Polo Plaza last Tuesday.
Strategies
Apart from a bigger budget for promotion, Cebu X promotions manager Laurie Boquiren said CFIF, organizer of Cebu X, is also employing non-traditional marketing strategies such as tapping for exchange deals 19 international furniture fairs to promote the show.
Despite the decreasing number of buyers to the fair in the last two years, CFIF president Michael Basubas said the foundation aims to make Cebu X “bolder and grander” next year by increasing the number of exhibitors by 30 percent to 40 percent and increasing the quality and standard of the exhibitors.
He said CFIF is now implementing a pre-qualification program, which employs the “assist and comply strategy” for the exhibitors.
“We will assist them but they have to comply (with our standards). We are in difficult times and difficult times require drastic measures,” he said.
Improve
To improve the quality of the designs of its 180 members, the CFIF has infused some P2-million for the research and development programs on design trends and product development, CFIF executive director Ruby Salutan said.
Cebu X 2006, which was held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, attracted some 1,562 buyers, four percent less than the 1627 registered buyers in 2005.
Buyers during the Cebu X 2006 represented 61 countries and 628 companies.
In buyer attendance, the US still tops at 12.2 percent, followed by China and Hong Kong at 3.2 percent. The other buyers came from Saudi Arabia, Australia, Italy, Spain, Singapore, France, Indonesia and Taiwan.
Cebu X 2007 chairman Eric Mendoza earlier said the “bolder” Cebu X “represents the unwavering lead of the Philippines as the design destination of Asia.”
This, despite the challenges and threats the industry and Cebu X encountered during the first quarter of the year.
This year’s Cebu X faced the threat of the furniture industry’s declining market share in the world demand, and the growing competition from its neighboring shows in terms of design and government support. (JBN)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 21, 2006 issue)
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