Less glamour and showgirls at the world's largest gift fair

Every April buyers from all over the world descend on Hong Kong to source the latest in gifts and electronics.

Most of you have never had the opportunity to attend the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fairs, which is boasting two of the largest gift fairs in the world. So, we thought we?d take you on a little virtual visit.

This year was slightly different. Yes, you guessed, it visitor numbers were down from last year. I have to say it was quite comfortable with more space, less queues, and more room for negotiations with the suppliers.

As for exhibitors, it was not noticeable if there were less of them. Another characteristic was that there were fewer big stands and less model girls promoting them. At the end of the day, if you can?t sell your product without glamour girls, maybe your product is not so good.

There were two main gift shows taking place at the end of April.

HKTDC Gifts and Premiums
Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Hong Kong Exporters? Association, the annual show celebrated its 24th event in April.
The fair is simply amazing, both in size and scope. Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 3,974 exhibitors from 38 countries attended the expo, including India, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, China, Korea, Macao and for the first time, Turkey.

Globalsources - Gifts & Premiums
Organised by Globalsources, the annual show is held over four days from April 28 to 1 May. Held at the AsiaWorld-Expo the fair featured more than 2,500 booths of quality gift suppliers shared among 1600 exhibitors? the event's biggest staging for spring so far!

Even though attendance was down at both shows due to the economic downturn, there were still lots of new items to see. It seems innovation and invention never take a vacation, even in a recession. The items covered a wide range of goods, from advertising premiums and corporate gifts to tech gifts and toys. A special highlight of the fair was a section devoted entirely to upscale gift items, ones that emphasised superior design and elegance.

These fairs are some of the premier places to exhibit new products and meet key buyers and suppliers from around the world. Since attendance was down a bit, it was a great time to do bargaining for good deals on some of the newest and freshest items out on the market today.

Of course, we are always on the lookout for the latest trends in USB drive products and you can count on seeing many of these new items in the coming months as we start to take our first deliveries.

Johan Ellingsen
USB Company

Editor?s note
Thanks Johan for your review of the show.

I?m sure there must have been other readers at the show, so let?s hear your take on this all-important event. Either e-mail me or add your comment right here.

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