The Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) opened its 23rd edition on 8 March 2016, welcoming a total of 550 exhibitors. Covering 80,000 square metres of space at both the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) and the Matrade Exhbition and Convention Centre (MECC), the fair saw a huge turnout of local and overseas exhibitors – a 12% increase from last year’s. This year MIFF also drew 20,000 visitors from as many as 140 countries.
2017’s highlights include the Muar Hall by MIFF’s strategic partner, Muar Furniture Association, China Hall, Taiwan Hall and MIFF Office, the largest office furniture showcase in Southeast Asia occupied by 100 companies from Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia.
In conjunction with the show, MIFF hosted the 20th anniversary celebration of the International Alliance of Furnishing Publications (IAFP). Over 30 members of overseas trade media from 22 countries, including IAFP members were present.
MIFF also featured designers from Asia and Europe in a series of enlightening talks and seminars. These personalities shared their experience and insights on the industry while discussing trends, design quality and impact on communities.
Additionally, the MIFF Furniture Design Competition 2017 (FDC) was announced at the MIFF prize presentation ceremony. The prototypes of the FDC finalists were showcased at MECC during the trade show.The winners of the Best Presentation Award for the most outstanding booth and Furniture Excellence Award for exhibitors were revealed as well.
During one of the key press conferences at MIFF, the details of MIFF’s expansion in 2018 including their new tagline “Design Connects People” were announced. Slated for Mar 8-11, MIFF 2018 will be 25% bigger, expanding to 100,000 square metres spread across two venues – the new Malaysia Internation Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) and PWTC.
Two new segments will also be launched in 2018:
• MIFF TIMBER MART – a one-stop wood and wood-related material showcase and trading cum networking platform for global wood suppliers and buyers
• designRena – a dedicated hall for Malaysia’s best selected exhibitors to showcase their products and lifestyle built around the furniture. Named from the combination of “Design” and “Arena”, this segment is supported by a collaboration platform FDC in Action that links past winners of the MIFF Furniture Design Competition (FDC) with industry players on product innovation and presentation.
