Five-in-One Office-related Trade Fairs in Tokyo An Overall Success

One of the popular ways to streamline trade shows is to hold related exhibitions simultaneously in one venue. Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd., the organizer of the 20th International Stationery and Office Products Fair Tokyo (ISOT specially sponsored by All Japan Stationery Association), has taken this approach to achieve maximum product coverage, by including four other relevant shows under one roof: the NOVELTY & PREMIUM GOODS EXPO 2009; 7th International Office Machines & Equipment Expo Tokyo (OFMEX specially sponsored by Nippon Office Machine Dealers Association); 1st International Office Furniture Expo (OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN); and 4th Office Security Expo (OSEC specially sponsored by Japan Office Institutional Furniture Association). The five-in-one show was held from July 8 (Wed) - 10 (Fri) at the Tokyo Big Sight, Japan and dropped its curtains with reportedly great success, with some 1,291 exhibitors from 29 countries having presented the latest products to 75,697 industry professionals.

The above figures include those recorded for another trade show held alongside the abovementioned office-oriented exhibitions: GIFTEX/DESIGN TOKYO/Baby & Kids World, where 476 exhibitors took part, coming from Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and USA.

The exhibitors for the office furniture shows came from across the globe, including Australia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Poland, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam.

Positive Feedback

The show management invited 119 industry professionals from China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. One such Korean guest was the retailer "10x10" who said: "It was my pleasure to be invited by the show management. It is a great exhibition like last year, as we saw so many good products. There are more overseas companies this year. Many exhibitors are displaying high quality products with good design, and we are now considering placing orders. We would definitely come back for next year!"

One importer from Taiwan, WINNER-SONG TRADING CO., LTD., said: "We are at ISOT to look for the latest stationery designs and up-to-date office products. Although the global economy is facing a difficult time, I am surprised that the venue has been packed with visitors for all three days. Each area is filled with a variety of exhibits and it is easy to find the products we are looking for. For next year, I look forward to meeting more exhibitors and hope Japanese exhibitors are better prepared to do business in English with overseas importer like us."

Not only buyers but also the show management has received positive feedback from almost all the exhibitors. Ms. Janet Lau, President and Designer of Clip-Rite Inc. said: "We are grateful to the show management for their consistent support and dedication before and during the show. Even though it is our first participation, we have successfully made contacts with Japanese companies and will definitely come back next year."

Another satisfied buyer, Mr. Paul Lam from Wah Fook Holding Ltd., said: "It is our initial step to enter the Japanese market and we are quite satisfied with the reactions and leads from quality buyers at ISOT. We have received inquiries from major Japanese manufacturers and will continue to attend this show to further expand our share in the Japanese market."

1st NOVELTY & PREMIUM GOODS EXPO

In recent years, special promotional goods & novelty products have been in constant demand and highly sought after by many distributors, promotional agents and corporate users for all kinds of business promotional activities. To tap such opportunities, the show organizer held the 1st NOVELTY & PREMIUM GOODS EXPO this year. The foresight proved to be well aimed.

One exhibitor, Infidea Co., Ltd., said: "We are expecting to receive approximately 500,000JPY in orders on the first day. Our booth is small compared to the others', so we will set up next year one double in size."

Also, Morita Enterprise Co., Ltd. said: "We have been able to talk business with big companies like Adidas, Asahi Beer etc. and we are expecting 10 million JPY in orders from the first two days. We are thinking of using a larger booth next year. The aisles in this Expo have been full of people and business activities have been non-stop for all three days."

Newly-launched OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN 2009

OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN broke new ground in Japan by being a dedicated trade show for office furniture and furnishings. With rising awareness of office environment and facilities being key factors to enhance well-being of employees, and achieve greater work efficiency, creativity etc., OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN was launched with huge anticipation that both visitors and exhibitors would attend to tap such opportunities.

Overseas companies also saw the same potential as the show organizer in the big Japanese office market. Ms. Sydney Lin from the Taiwan Furniture Manufacturers Association who organized a Taiwan Pavilion this time said: "It is our first time to exhibit in OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN with a Taiwanese delegation and find that it is a very organized and professional show. We are planning to participate again next year and hopefully to expand the size of the Taiwan Pavilion."

Also, Mr. S.S. JUNG, Executive Director of Sung Young Co., Ltd., said: "OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN is a very successful show and we are quite satisfied with the results. We have received about US$ 8,000 in orders from Japanese customers despite this being our initial participation. We look forward to exhibiting again next year."

INTERNATIONAL STATIONERY AWARD 2009

The first day of ISOT saw the award ceremony for the 18th INTERNATIONAL STATIONERY AWARD 2009 (formerly Stationery of the Year). Five award-winners were picked for each of the design and technology categories, with one Grand Prix product being selected for each category and announced by Mr. Kazuo Kawasaki, Chairman of the Selection Committee, who commented that Japanese stationeries are very elegant and user-friendly, features seen all the entries. Nevertheless, some products did not clearly show innovation despite having well-developed function and design; so future designers are expected to think harder about how to create products that are more noticeable.

The Grand Prix winner for the Technology category-Mr. Takahisa OYAMA from Nihon Rikagaku Industry Co., Ltd., said enthusiastically: "I am very surprised that we won the Grand Prix and am very delighted. Thank you to the Selection Committee for choosing our product as the best." Visitors later lined up to personally try the Grand Prix products which were on display. More information on the award-winning products can be found at www.isot-fair.jp/en/award/

Show	No. of Exhibitors	No. of Visitors
ISOT & OFMEX	444	40,384 (up 1.2% from last year)
NOVELTY & PREMIUM GOODS EXPO	128
OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN	81	16,236 (up 32.6% from last year
OSEC	162
GIFTEX/DESIGN TOKYO/Baby & Kids World	476	19,077 (up 24% from last year)

The 21st ISOT/NOVELTY & PREMIUM GOODS EXPO/OFMEX/OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN is scheduled for July 7 (Wed) - 9 (Fri) in 2010. Online information is available at www.isot-fair.jp/en/, www.spex.jp/en/, www.ofmex.jp/en/, www.ofj-expo.jp/en/, www.osec.jp.