The Chinese International Furniture Fair is the largest furniture expo in the world, and this year it was held in Guangzhou, close to Hong Kong and the part of China from where we source most of our value-for-money hospitality chairs, stools and tables. In March every year, the Chair Crazy team attends this extraordinary event and catches up on all the hot and happening products making waves in the hospitality industry worldwide.

The scale of CIFF is simply mind-blowing. Our Chair Crazy showroom in Woodstock is pretty big – about 750 square meters in total. By comparison, CIFF covers 850 000 square meters of floor space! This year, there were nearly 5000 exhibitors and over 400 000 visitors. You really have to see it to believe it.

Two separate phases

Divided into two phases CIFF 2024 lasted a total of eight days, and it covers the output of the entire Chinese furniture industry supply chain. This year was a step-change from previous editions, and we saw significant improvements in the scale, product range, quality, display and business opportunities on offer.

The first phase, (which is the one we attended) was dedicated to home/hospitality furniture and took place from the 18th to 21st March 2024.  It showcased all of the latest home and hospitality furnishings, decorations and textiles for use in both interior and exterior environments, and products for both residential and commercial applications. One of the big themes this year was smart furniture, smart homes and smart living, and domestic technology was far more prevalent this year than in those gone by.

Simply mind-blowing

Apart from all the exhibitor stalls, we were further overwhelmed by the wide range of lectures and forums on offer, involving famous designers, journalists, and curators. And we were able to network with an increasing number of manufacturers from the Guangzhou region, as well as reconnect with our tried and trusted partners in the area, ensuring we have access to an ever-growing range of contemporary hospitality furniture all year round.

Extraordinary. Exhilarating. Exhausting.

We always return from Asia inspired, exhilarated and exhausted. As the new furniture we sourced this year arrives in South Africa we’ll showcase a few select items to hopefully stimulate your collective imaginations.