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DOMOTEX asia /CHINAFLOOR to increase exposure of flooring products to China’s construction industry professionals

With China’s strong economy, burgeoning construction industry, increasing floor covering demand and the world’s fastest growing consumer market it’s easy to understand why DOMOTEX asia /CHINAFLOOR is increasingly important to the global floor covering industry. Organizers have expanded not only the show’s floor space but also the context within which Asia’s largest floor covering show takes place. On March 27-29, 2012 the show will run concurrently with China’s Building and Construction Expo in Shanghai New International Expo Center and increase exposure of floor covering products and exhibitors to a broad section of China’s construction industry.

“Organizing these events along-side each other bring new value for exhibitors and increases exposure of their products and technologies by attracting buyers and professionals from Asia’s public construction, city development, real estate, retail and hospitality sectors. It also gives our attendees and exhibitors new exposure to green building products, technology and design across the construction industry and creates opportunity for much broader networking,” said David Zhong, president of VNU Exhibitions Asia, organizer of both events.

VNU is also adding a new, unique benefit for Western exhibitors and attendees. “Because many people have asked to be connected with someone who can answer questions about international floor covering markets,” said Zhong, “VNU will offer a limited number of free, 45 - minute, private meetings with global flooring industry expert, Jim Gould, president of the US based Floor Covering Institute.”

With 40 countries represented and more than 1,100 exhibitors DOMOTEX asia /CHINAFLOOR has expanded to 11 halls in the strategically located expo center. New exhibitors include Lumber Liquidators, Forbo, Berry Alloc, Invista, Mapei, Nora, and Homag. Country Pavilions add large formats exhibition spaces: Turkey returns after a five- year absence with close to 500 sqm in exhibition space; Pakistan with more than 430 sqm; traditional German, Belgian, Dutch and Iranian pavilions will also showcase their products and innovations.

DOMOTEX asia /CHINAFLOOR will showcase new technologies and innovative solutions from around the world: Forbo Group will present its flagship product Marmoleum Green, made from natural raw materials; Gerflor Group will show their latest patent technology "EVERCARE TREATMENT" and other new products; German brand Nora, the global market leader for rubber floor coverings and system solutions, will introduce 2 new products.

China Building and Construction Expo will fill five halls and focus on green building products, technology and design. It incorporates the following events also on March 27-29, 2012: China Sustainable Building Forum & Expo; Shanghai International Landscape Design and Urban Construction Expo; and Green Building China. GBC will also hold three themed related events, namely Eco City Summit (ECS), Sustainable Integrated Real Estate Forum (SIR) and Shanghai Architecture Fair (SAF). GBC endeavors itself promoting eco-preservation and sustainable development alongside with China’s vast urbanization process. These events will draw visitors from the architecture and planning, real estate, construction, landscaping sectors and include buyers, planners and developers from the construction industry.

About DOMOTEX worldwide

DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR the number one flooring show in Asia held from 27 ‑ 29 March 2012 is organized by VNU Exhibitions Asia, Deutsche Messe and Chinafloors. Deutsche Messe is the name behind DOMOTEX HANNOVER, the world’s leading trade fair for carpets and floor coverings which took place from 14 ‑ 17 January 2012. Furthermore Deutsche Messe launches a new offspring of the DOMOTEX brand catering to the Russian market: from 26 – 28 September 2012, the flooring industry will meet at DOMOTEX Russia in Moscow. DOMOTEX Middle East, Deutsche Messe’s flooring show for Middle East from 8 to 11 November 2012, will move to Istanbul in order to cater not only to the Middle East but also to the booming Turkish market.

About DOMOTEX asia /CHINAFLOOR

DOMOTEX asia /CHINAFLOOR encompassing totally 11 halls (126,500 sqm) of Shanghai New International Expo Center is the second largest floor covering trade fair in the world after DOMOTEX HANNOVER and the largest floor covering event in Asia-Pacific. It covers the entire flooring industry supply chain and its major application fields, injecting powerful new innovations into this rapidly changing industry. This renowned event facilitates world class networking and trading activities for the global flooring sourcing communities in the heart of world’s largest and fastest growing floor covering market centered around Shanghai, China.

The most exciting and cutting-edge flooring event will be held March 27-29, 2012 at Shanghai New Exhibition Centre (SNIEC), China.

Media contact:

Ms. Elena Geremia

VNU Exhibitions Asia

Tel: +86 21 6195 6088

Fax: +86 21 6195 6099

Email: elena.geremia@vnuexhibitions.com.cn

DOMOTEX Hannover 2012 , End of Show Report 2012

DOMOTEX enhances its reputation as a decorating and lifestyle showcase

An outstandingly successful DOMOTEX 2012 drew to a close on Tuesday, 17 January. A total of 45,000 visitors attended the world's leading tradeshow for carpets and floor coverings to take in the latest flooring trends for the budding season. "DOMOTEX HANNOVER 2012 has been a huge success, with a double-digit surge in visitor numbers, design highlights at every turn, and a thoroughly upbeat mood in all of our halls.


The four days of the show have provided proof of the industry’s drive and innovative spirit," commented Dr. Andreas Gruchow, the Deutsche Messe Managing Board member responsible for the event. "The themes selected for DOMOTEX were right on target. Several new initiatives proved highly successful, and the event's keynote theme of 'Customized Living' enhanced its reputation as a furnishings and lifestyle tradeshow."

A total of 1,371 exhibitors were on hand to present their trends and product innovations. The industry revealed itself as more innovative than ever, with unconventional patterns, spectacular designs and bold colors making for some eye-catching displays. "The new design trends for rugs and fitted carpets, parquet and laminate flooring showcased at DOMOTEX 2012 represent the epitome of lifestyle and contemporary interior design," Gruchow said.

High-caliber Visitors from around the Globe

High-caliber visitors
Exhibitors were clearly delighted with the level of visitor interest in the event. Numbers were well up from Germany and abroad, particularly from Eastern Europe, North America and the Far East. "This confirms the success of our many co-promotional initiatives with exhibitors, associations and the media designed to generate maximum interest on the part of foreign and domestic visitors," Gruchow noted.

The majority of attendees at this year's DOMOTEX consisted of buyers from the retail and wholesale sector, members of the skilled trades as well as architects and interior designers. Numbers were up across all visitor categories year on year. Growth was particularly strong in the retail and skilled trades segments.

Exhibitors expressed strong satisfaction with the caliber of the show's attendees. Roughly 90 percent of these trade visitors are involved in their companies’ purchasing decisions. The event's strong international flavor was also praised by exhibitors, with around two-thirds of all attendees coming from abroad. This confirmed DOMOTEX as a truly global business platform with the scope and reach to attract international markets and trends. "The ability to generate international leads here is a real boon for our exhibitors. Only at DOMOTEX can they reach such an international audience, eliminating the need for costly business trips later in the year," Gruchow explained. Yves Bonne, General Manager of the Belgian-based Beaulieu International Group, added: "DOMOTEX has real international charisma. This is the biggest and most significant platform for attracting a global audience."
Trends and Design Highlights at every Turn

Carpets (handmade)
This year's DOMOTEX put a bright spotlight on flooring trends and innovative designs for the upcoming season. 2With these fresh, contemporary designs, floors are playing a much more important role in interior decoration, as a lifestyle product in their own right," Gruchow noted. The displays in the different halls also highlighted a trend towards individualization, or 'customized' living . Whereas previously, carpets and floor coverings were only expected to be practical and easy to clean, these once-utilitarian items have now advanced to becoming unique objets d'art which make a statement of their own.

The trend towards handmade carpets and rugs directly reflects the aspirations of today's consumers towards residential environments that express their own unique personality. The fair provided ample opportunity for admiring the most imaginative and creative designs currently on the market, as showcased in the Carpet Design Awards and at the Souk Deluxe trends show. Other high-impact displays included a raft of innovations from wood flooring manufacturers, including expressive surface designs and new parquet formats. The latest fashions were also reflected in area rugs and carpet tiles. Colors can be mixed and matched to create an individual but subtle atmosphere for every room. "Today's customers have an incredible range of materials, colors and formats at their feet," Gruchow remarked.

Wood Flooring Summit surpasses Expectations

Wood Flooring Summit
Exhibitors and visitors had high expectations of the premiere of the Wood Flooring Summit for the parquet and laminate flooring segment. " The Wood Flooring Summit thoroughly met these expectations, with all the market leaders on hand to display their innovations for 2012," commented Dr. Gruchow. Along with the exhibitors' stand-based presentations, the Summit forum was a major magnet for the public and a powerful source of inspiration and new ideas.

DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR, DOMOTEX Middle East and DOMOTEX Russia
Deutsche Messe stages DOMOTEX shows in several dynamic growth markets around the world, enabling manufacturers of carpets and other floor coverings to expand their foreign business. The next DOMOTEX asia/Chinafloor takes place in Shanghai from 27 to 29 March 2012. DOMOTEX RUSSIA will premiere from 26 to 28 September 2012. The venue of DOMOTEX Middle East has been moved from Dubai to Istanbul, where the next event will be staged from 8 to 11 November 2012.

The next DOMOTEX HANNOVER will be staged from 12 to 15 January 2013.

DOMOTEX 2012: exclusive design and quality contacts

• Carpet Design Awards: new category for Studio design carpets
• Match & Meet: new business matchmaking and lead generation service

Hanover. Carpets are staging a major comeback and are now an indispensible part of fashion-conscious interior design. Carpets add comfort and coziness to a room and work well with the ultra-modern, minimalist furnishing styles that are currently so popular. This carpet renaissance is giving designers a whole new creative palette, and the most innovative new creations will receive the recognition they deserve at the Carpet Design Awards at DOMOTEX 2012.

The Carpet Design Awards are a prestigious international competition for hand-made carpets and rugs. Entries, which can be made in a total of ten categories, are judged against a range of criteria, including design, quality of materials, product features and innovation. The upcoming awards at DOMOTEX 2012 will feature a new category, Best Studio Artist Design , for limited-edition carpets and rugs designed/produced by artists and textile studios. The jury will be looking for creations characterized by sophisticated design elements, unique material qualities, weave types and colours. The new category provides greater international exposure for avant-garde, pioneering carpet designs.

Among the jury members for the 2012 Carpet Design Awards is Nina Yashar, whose "Nilafur" gallery in Milan is internationally recognized and respected for its quality classic and modern designer furniture and carpets. Also serving on the jury will be James A. Ffrench, a director of Beauvais Carpets, New York, and a highly esteemed past jury member. Ffrench is in no doubt as to the importance of carpets to design and interior furnishing: "Carpets create dialogue between all the various elements of a room's décor. A well chosen carpet brings all of these elements together as an integrated whole. Without carpet, rooms always seem incomplete and empty - irrespective of how magnificent the other furnishings might be."

The best three entries in each category will be on display at DOMOTEX 2012. The conditions for participation in the Carpet Design Awards as well as entry forms and information on the jury are available online at www.domotex.de/cda_e. The closing date for entries is 4 November 2011.

Match & Meet: new business matchmaking and lead generation service

Match & Meet is a new online service that matches DOMOTEX exhibitors with pre-qualified visitors and vice versa ahead of the fair. It enables visitors to plan their visit to the fair and helps put exhibitors in touch with new business contacts.

To use the service, trade visitors simply create a personal profile at www.domotex.de, indicating the products and services they are interested in. Exhibitors need only register for the Match & Meet service. They do not need to create a profile, as this information, including details of their company and products, will already be contained in their exhibitor profile and will automatically be transferred to the Match & Meet system. Match & Meet uses special software to identify points in common between the profiles of registered providers and seekers. Users thus receive lists of matches, complete with contact details, so that they can contact potential partners directly to arrange meetings.

"Our new matchmaking service gives companies a highly effective tool for initiating new business. It helps put them in touch with relevant business contacts and gives them access to new target groups," explains Susanne Klaproth, the DOMOTEX project director at Deutsche Messe.

U.S. Organic cotton production up 10-15 percent in 2011

According to a Japan Cotton Traders’ Association report, the 2011 crop of organic cotton in the U.S. is estimated to have increased by 10-15% in the last two years. The bullish prices of organic cotton are encouraging an expansion of cultivation in the U.S.

According to a USDA survey on organic cotton growers, marketing organizations, ginners, etc., the 2010 U.S. organic cotton crop increased by 5.1% over the previous year to 12,982 bales. Bullish organic cotton prices of 140-200 U.S. cent/lb. further encouraged production in 2011. Cultivation concentrated in Western Texas.