KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) 2012, held from Mar 6-10, posted yet another record sales high of US$830 million, an increase of 6.68% over 2011 orders of US$778 million.

The whopping outcome, the best ever in the 18-year history of the MIFF, underlined the continued strength and appeal of the annual fair for international buyers despite the lingering global economic worries.

The show registered a bigger turnout of overseas buyers of 6,605, an increase of 1.58 per cent over 2011, as interest in MIFF, one of the top 10 furniture fairs in the world, remained buoyant.

Buyers from 140 countries consisted of visitors from the ASEAN region (21.4%), Far East (15.4%), Europe (12.9%), other Asian countries (12.8%), the Middle East (11.1%), Africa (9.4%), Australasia (8.9%), North America (6.1%) and South America (2.1%).

They poured into the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) and Matrade Exhibition & Convention Centre (MECC) to explore the wide spectrum and brimming displays of home, office and exterior furniture.

MIFF 2012 filled 75,000 sq m of exhibition space with 433 exhibitors from 11 countries – Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and the United States.

"This year's fair opened very strongly, you could sense the vibrancy right from the start. This shows that MIFF is still attractive to international buyers and this is very good for our exhibitors. So long as the exhibitors continue to be innovative and offer good value and quality, we will bring in the buyers," said MIFF Chairman Datuk Dr Tan Chin Huat.

Among the visitors was a 40-member Japanese group led by Mr Atsumasa Kawasaki, chairman of furniture retailer SH Group, one of the largest furniture chains in Japan. In the group were buyers from areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Impressed with what he saw, Mr Kawasaki said: "Malaysian furniture has improved tremendously from previous years, hence I have been buying since Day 1. The quality and design coupled with reasonable pricing has made Malaysian products attractive. Another plus point of buying Malaysian products is consistent quality. In some countries, what you see, feel and touch in the booths might not be what is delivered after we placed orders. Thus, we get a lot of complaints from consumers. Buying in Malaysia makes us feel safe."

Even before the 2012 show was over, exhibitors are already lining up for MIFF 2013, scheduled from Mar 5 to 9, 2013. Among them were Malaysian major exporters such as Poh Huat Furniture Industries (M) Sdn Bhd, Hin Lim Furniture Manufacturer Sdn Bhd, Shantawood Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Safari Office System Sdn Bhd, Oasis Furniture Industries, Kinheng Furniture Sdn Bhd and Taiwan Furniture Manufacturers' Association.

Notes to Editors

1.  About MIFF (www.miff.com.my)

Malaysian International Furniture Fair, MIFF is an export-oriented furniture trade show held annually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is also a global leading trade show approved by UFI, The Global Association for Exhibition Industry. Since 1995, MIFF has nurtured invaluable partnerships between thousands of buyers and furniture makers across the globe. 

2.  About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia operates in 18 market sectors with headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia, including UBM China in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Beijing. We have over 200 products including trade fairs, conferences, trade publications, B2B/B2C portals and virtual event services. As Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in China, India and Malaysia, we stage the leading events of their kind across Asia. Our 150 events, 24 publications and 16 vertical portals serve a 1,000,000 plus quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world with high value face-to-face business-matching events, quality and instant news on market and industry trends and round-the-clock online trading networks and sourcing platforms. We have 1,000 staff in 21 major cities across Asia, stretching from Japan to Turkey.

3.  About UBM plc (www.ubm.com)

UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,000 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

SOURCE UBM Asia Ltd