Jim Ivanoff | [email protected]
With our new programs approved by our funders, BC Wood is ready to start delivering an enhanced Asia Program on behalf of members. The GBM is our first major activity of the year and we have already begun recruiting buyers in Japan, Korea, and China. We have started these promotions earlier than in past years and the response has been strong already. We expect to have another great group of buyers at the GBM from our main Asian markets.
Our in-market programs will start in Japan in late October with the Living & Design Show in Osaka, which has been our main program for targeting the Japanese design community. This show is being expanded for 2019 at a much larger venue that is expected to accommodate double the amount of exhibitors and a 50% increase in visitors. This show will be quickly followed by the Japan Home and Building Show, which is always the main launching point for companies initially entering the Japanese market. This show will be held in the brand-new South Halls at Tokyo’s Big Sight in mid-November. In February, BC Wood will be back at the HoteRes Show in Tokyo to develop new contacts in the booming hospitality market, that is planning to accommodate the millions of new inbound visitors coming to Japan each year. We will also, of course, be back at the massive Nikkei Architectural & Construction Materials Show at the beginning of March, which will also be held at Tokyo Big Sight.
As we have been targeting new opportunities in Japan’s resort and hospitality sector, BC Wood also received funding for some exciting new programs that will both help us educate the Japanese industry with Canadian resort development know-how, as well as develop new contacts. We plan to produce some print materials that will allow members to cost-effectively reach developers, architects, and designers working in these resort markets. While we have been targeting the resort sector in Japan for several years, this year we will begin this work in Korea as well, with this brand-new technical training program.
BC Wood will of course be back at the Housing Brand Fair which is held in February at Seoul’s COEX facility. Our in-market staff will be supporting more members to develop new business in Korea and the HBF will be the focal point of these efforts. Our last activity for the year will once again be the Interzum Show in Guangzhou, China. It is always great to end the fiscal year with the biggest and most international woodworking show in Asia!
If you have any questions about BC Wood’s Asian Program for 2019-20, please feel free to contact Jim Ivanoff ([email protected]) for more information.