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“Our priority was to ensure that both exhibitors and visitors were able to take away concrete business results from the show,” said Ms Judy Cheung, Deputy General Manager, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. “The feedback indicates that this goal was achieved, with many valuable industry connections having been made during the course of the fair. I am delighted that the show continues to receive strong industry support from across Asia, and this year we are proud to have welcomed back two well traversed pavilions from Korea and Taiwan.” In addition to the two international pavilions, five dedicated zones of ‘DIY Supplies’, ‘Kids &amp; School’, ‘Pen &amp; Paper’, ‘Gift Stationery’, and ‘Smart Office’ were designated at the show to meet all of the market’s most important sourcing requirements. Spread across the zones and pavilions was a highly international mix of 265 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions, i.e. from Mainland China, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, the USA and new participants from Australia and Malaysia. Exhibitors unleash market potential and increase brand exposure Over the course of nearly two decades, the fair has garnered a strong reputation that enables it to reliably attract big brands and rising stars. Many exhibitors participate at the show to expand their sales network, gain new business contacts, and boost their brand exposure. One such company is Sozen Design, a first time exhibitor at the fair. Ms Dan Shen, the Project Leader at the company recognised the show as an effective gateway into the Asian market: “We are a company based in Mainland China that specialises in designing bookmarks, postcards, and gift stationery. By participating at the fair, we can access markets in countries and regions such as Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. We are delighted to have exchanged business contacts with around 100 prospective buyers and distributors, and it’s even more encouraging to have secured deals with the National Museum of China as well as up and coming bookshops from Taiwan.” Another company left satisfied with the business results achieved at the fair was Eyeguard Systems. A provider of screen protection filters for PCs and mobile phones, the company returned to the Korea pavilion having successfully found Hong Kong based business partners during the previous edition of the show. “Because of the great success last year, I have returned to the show together with my partner to further expose our brand to the Chinese market,” said Mr Jay Kwak, the Overseas Sales Division Manager of the company. “It's only the first day of the fair, and we have already successfully engaged with around 50 useful contacts. The show is especially effective at increasing our brand exposure in new consumer market segments.” Buyers commend the quality and variety of products For many visitors, the show provided an excellent opportunity to find products that they are unable to source in their local regions. Mr Amit Rehmat, a sourcing specialist from Merricns International, travelled to the show from India in order to find manufacturers that his company can co-operate with: “My experience at the fair has been very positive. Today I have successfully located a number of products that are popular in the Indian market. I am very impressed with the new-to-market drawing boards - this is something that I cannot find from Indian suppliers. The range of exhibits is very satisfying and I will certainly be coming back again next year.” Positive sentiments from visitors also extended to the quality of products that were on offer at the fair. Mr Dietrich Horter, Managing Director of Innovative Merchandise GmbH, has been returning to the show since 2004. Shortly after attending one of the fair’s informative fringe seminars, he spoke about his satisfaction with the exhibitor quality: “We are a merchandiser based in Germany. At this edition, there are a lot of products that I am interested in. The standard of exhibitors is high, and the suppliers here are focused on quality. The fair is a great place to network, collect samples, and compare different products. I will definitely return again next year.” Fringe seminars deliver practical commercial advice To give visitors the information they need to make important commercial decisions with confidence, a series of seminars were held during the course of the fair. The seminars covered stationery and retailing trends, digital marketing and trade financing strategies. Mr Chuen-Pei Ng, an attendee at the “Insight into the Upcoming Stationery Trends” seminar, talked about how the topics covered at the seminar were highly applicable to his business: “My business, Muze Culture, focuses on global distribution of high quality fountain pens. I found the video marketing topic highly relevant, with practical advice for sustaining my business in the digital era. I am joining all three days of the seminar programme as I find the topics are interesting and pertinent to my company’s development.” Ms Vicki Wai, Group Account Director of Guru Online, and a speaker at the “Digital Marketing: Innovation Key to Success” seminar, shared Mr Ng’s sentiment and spoke about the important role that the fair plays in spreading valuable business advice: “This is the right platform to introduce attendees to new ways of developing their stationery business. New marketing channels are emerging that can help brands to illustrate their exciting stories, concepts and innovations. Brand owners can use the information from the seminar to develop their own personalised online channels after the show.” In addition to the seminars, another highlight of the show was the “One Moment in Time” theme display, which was located at the entrance of Hall 5B. The display demonstrated the various ways in which stationery is an important element of daily life and featured a selection of noteworthy products for school, work, travel and celebration. The Hong Kong International Stationery Fair was held concurrently with the HKTDC’s Hong Kong Toys &amp; Games Fair, the Hong Kong Baby Products Fair and the Hong Kong International Licensing Show from 7 – 10 January 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Both the Toys &amp; Games Fair and the International Licensing Show are the largest fairs of their kind in Asia. The four fairs together gathered more than 130,000 buyers, creating even more business opportunities for participants. The next edition of the Hong Kong International Stationery Fair will take place from 6 – 9 January 2020. For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.hkstationeryfair.com" rel="noopener">www.hkstationeryfair.com</a>.

The 2019 trading season got off to a promising start as 21,871 stationery buyers converged at the 19th Hong Kong International Stationery Fair. In a testament to the fair’s important role as a premier business hub for the Asian market, both buyers and exhibitors left positive feedback about the comprehensiveness, quality, and internationality of the fair.

Hong Kong International Stationery Fair

Fair Website

Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd

Media Enquiries

Background information on Messe Frankfurt Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,500* employees at 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €715* million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent). For more information, please visit our website at: <a href="https://www.hk.messefrankfurt.com/hongkong/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.messefrankfurt.com</a> *preliminary figures 2018

About the HKTDC Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With 50 <a href="http://aboutus.hktdc.com/en/#global-network" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offices</a> globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises <a href="http://www.hktdc.com/info/trade-events/EX/en/Exhibitions.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">international exhibitions, conferences </a>and <a href="http://www.hktdc.com/info/trade-events/ci/TDCWORLD-upcoming/en/HKTDC-Worldwide-Trade-Events.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business missions</a> to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing business insights and information via <a href="http://www.hktdc.com/mis/pm/en/HKTDC-Product-Magazines.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade publications</a>, <a href="http://research.hktdc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research reports</a> and <a href="http://www.hktdc.com/tc-supplier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">digital channels</a> including the <a href="http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media room</a>. For more information, please visit: <a href="http://www.hktdc.com/aboutus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.hktdc.com/aboutus</a>. Follow us on <a href="https://plus.google.com/+hktdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="alignnone" src="https://vep-tradeshow.hktdc.com/event/hkstationeryfair/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2022/07/icons__gplus.png" alt="G+" width="25" height="25" /></a> Google+ <a href="https://www.twitter.com/hktdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="alignnone" src="https://vep-tradeshow.hktdc.com/event/hkstationeryfair/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2022/07/icons__twitter.png" alt="Twitter" width="25" height="25" /></a> Twitter @hktdc <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-trade-development-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="alignnone" src="https://vep-tradeshow.hktdc.com/event/hkstationeryfair/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2022/07/icons__linkedin.png" alt="Linkedin" width="25" height="25" /></a> LinkedIn

“Our priority was to ensure that both exhibitors and visitors were able to take away concrete business results from the show,” said Ms Judy Cheung, Deputy General Manager, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. “The feedback indicates that this goal was achieved, with many valuable industry connections having been made during the course of the fair. I am delighted that the show continues to receive strong industry support from across Asia, and this year we are proud to have welcomed back two well traversed pavilions from Korea and Taiwan.”