CAIRO: Making your way through the crowds at Furnex 2008, it is obvious that interest in furniture in Egypt has grown and the exhibitions that were once only targeted at the soon-to-be-married couples or the interested few have gained a larger array of fans. The exhibition was packed with visitors, including businessmen who scouted the area and talked with the exhibitors on the latest happenings in the furniture industry, in search of investment opportunities in this widely expanding sector. More than 200 Egyptian manufacturers show cased their latest products, over 21,000 square meters at the Furnex 2008 exhibition that took place at the Cairo International Conference Center from 2-6 June. "Furnex 2008 is a unique opportunity to discover Egypt as a sourcing destination for furniture. If you are an architect, designer, importer, chain store, hypermarket, retailer, specialized dealer or a project contractor then certainly Furnex 2008 is the market place where your needs will be realized, the Egyptian Exporters Association, Expolink, organizers of the event, wrote on the Furnex 2008 website. This year, Furnex 2008 was organized in such a way as to meet people's unique tastes. All classic furniture exhibitors were showcased together in a hall separate from that housing modern exhibitors. Lighting, flooring and outdoor furniture were likewise displayed in a different hall. "I am enjoying this exhibition because I can easily target what I want and go there. It is well organized and the furniture looks very trendy and appealing, a young visitor interested in modern furniture said. However, show really did itself proud with the lavishness of the displays, proving that exhibitors have started to invest more in their presentations. The use of colors, lighting and diverse furniture arrangements made it a pleasure to walk through, even if buying furniture wasn't really your aim. "People want something organized and pleasant to look at. Of course, every displayer has to have a special booth or they won't attract the visitor's attention. There are so many options now. In the past there were only a few well-known names; now there is competition, explained a sales representative from Al-Cazar, a classic furniture exhibitor. Over the past decade, the growing Egyptian furniture industry has transformed into a global provider of quality products, making Egypt a reliable source of world class furniture and accessories to international markets. According to Expolink's figures, Egypt now has 200,000 furniture establishments, with one million employees, 100,000 of whom are annual fresh graduates from technical institutions. An area that grabbed the attention of many of visitors was the kitchen display. With Amr Helmy Design boldly staged at the center, leading the way to competitors Contishtahl, Kabnoury and Yoni, it was obvious that modern kitchens assembled with steel are the latest trend. "While some people will always come to us for wood kitchens, the demand now definitely is for the modern kitchens with more metal in them. They are more practical now; not only amongst the young generation, the old one too, a sales representative from Contishtahl said. With over 200 exhibitors, making a purchasing decision could prove difficult, but there is no doubt that the choices in Egypt are now abundant.
