CebuX 2009 opens today with the "best of the best"

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the hostile market environment, the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF) opens today its most expensive, yet smaller, Cebu International Furniture & Furnishings Exhibition (CebuX 2009) at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

This year’s CebuX, which was almost called off due to fewer participants brought about by the bleak economy, spent P18 million that included intense promotion to squeeze in international buyers’ to come.

In the last few years, CFIF had been allocating between P12 million to P13 million for organizing the event. This year’s show is so far the most expensive one as hurt players’ are still holding on to their hopes and optimism.

As of yesterday, CFIF reported that a total of 483 global buyers have pre-registered to come to the show, this is down by over a hundred from a usual buyer pre-registered record of at least 600 a day before the show opens.

In an interview with CFIF president Eric Casas yesterday, he said that the organizers are not surprised of the downtrend of pre-registered buyers, however, he said what is important to know, is that “these buyers are serious ones.”

Casas said although this year’s show is the smallest among all shows in the recent years, players considered this show as the “best of the best” as products are created out of desperation and pressure.

“When we are pushed through the wall, we don’t have other choice but to excel,” Casas said.

 According to Casas, the four-day show will be showcasing Cebu’s excellence in furniture making, wherein “out-of-box” designs and innovations are displayed by the crises-laden companies.

“We don’t want to throw away P18 million for nothing. We are making sure that what is displayed in the show are the “world’s best” in furniture products,” he said.

This historical year of the CebuX has also earned the support from the Department of Tourism (DOT) for the first time with P2 million worth of support given to the show.

“DOT has recognized the importance of CebuX to Cebu’s tourism industry. Buyers also come here because they can make business and at the same time relax and have brief vacation,” Casas said.    

DOT secretary Joseph Ace Durano, along with other officials from the government like Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and local government executives are the honored guests in this morning’s CebuX formal opening.

With the help of DOT, CebuX 2009 is bringing the largest delegation of media practitioners from all over the world.

According to Casas, CebuX this year which will culminate on March 8 provides dozens of surprises to buyers. Some of the products being showcased are produced by best designers who are helping out some companies to innovate, including products made by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines’ supported program dubbed “Materials Manipulation Program”, a research and development program on indigenous materials and discovering new applications to existing new materials.

This year’s exhibitor participation is expectedly down, with 56 exhibitors occupying 1,740 square meters compared to last year’s 85 exhibitors occupying 2,784 square meters, a 34 percent and 38 percent decline in participation and space occupied respectively.

During the “heyday” of furniture exports, from 2002 to 2005 the four-day CebuX generated an average sale of US$27.4 million. From 2006 to 2008 the performance had been on steady downtrend, she reported.

In the middle of last year, furniture stakeholders debated whether to pursue the 2009 CebuX or not, as participation is expected to shrink and most players’ feared that small show will not create a good impression to the foreign buyers.