Company representatives talk at the B2B meeting. Courtesy of Federlegno Arredo Eventi.

Email of the writer: 654789759@qq.com

FEDERLEGNO Arredo Eventi, in partnership with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, and with the support of the Consulate General of Italy in Guangzhou, organized a B2B meeting at Grand Hyatt Shenzhen from Tuesday until today to explore “Made in Italy” furniture and design.

After the previous meetings in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, the Italian federation of manufacturers has brought 19 companies, including 14 furniture brands and five architecture studios, ambassadors of Italian design and lifestyle, from the sectors of indoor and outdoor furniture, kitchen, doors, parquet and accessories.

The 19 companies include Atmosphera, Elledue, Formitalia, Gardesa–Assa Abloy Italia, I Biagi, Maggi Massimo, Duccio Grassi Architects, Exclusiva Design, GDG Architects, Studio Marco Piva and Vudafieri Severino Partners, just to name a few.

The commercial mission this time also includes a full-immersion program to help company representatives get to know the state of the art industry in Shenzhen. The program consists of visiting Art Design Center (ADC), which is a specialist in the home decor industry and the largest home furnishing platform in China, and China Resources Land Ltd. (CR), which engages in real estate business and is one of the top 10 real estate developers on the Chinese mainland.

Laura Egoli, consul general of Italy in Guangzhou.

“Thanks to its economic boom, China has grown into the most important manufacturing base as well as consumer market for furniture. The Pearl River Delta, for example, is a furniture industrial cluster with the highest concentration of furniture manufacturers, the highest output value and the most complete industrial chain,” said Laura Egoli, consul general of Italy in Guangzhou.

“It is not surprising that Shenzhen, which is located at the center of the Pearl River Delta, was chosen as one of the destinations for Federlegno Arredo Eventi’s mission, because it’s a UNESCO City of Design as well as a modern manufacturing base characterized by strong innovation and creative power,” added Egoli, who believes that there is huge room for further cooperation between Italy and Shenzhen in the furniture sector.

Roberto Cuneo, international promotion director for Federlegno Arredo Eventi.

“This is the fourth B2B meeting of its kind and we chose Shenzhen because we see the prosperity of the city and that it is also reputed as the design city of China,” said Roberto Cuneo, international promotion director for Federlegno Arredo Eventi.

Paolo Quattrocchi, trade commissioner at the Italian Trade Agency Guangzhou Office.

Paolo Quattrocchi, trade commissioner at the Italian Trade Agency Guangzhou Office, said that Italy is one of the leaders in the furniture industry around the world and is currently the second-largest supplier to China in the industry, just after Germany.

Group picture of the participants of the B2B meeting.