THE 3RD EDITION OF FIND: DESIGN FAIR ASIA

Images courtesy of FIND – Design Fair Asia

MARINA BAY SANDS: 26-28 September 2024

After a celebrated 2023 edition, FIND – Design Fair Asia, the key marketplace for furniture, interiors, and design objects returns to the Singapore Design Week on 26-28 September 2024 with an expected 15,000 visits, 350 brands at the iconic Marina Bay Sands.

The highly curated tradeshow will be Southeast Asia’s meeting point for the vibrant furniture and interior sector as prime property developers, architects, hospitality, retail, and interior designers are to converge with leading manufacturers and finest suppliers across 17,000 sqm of exhibition space. Jointly organized by dmg events, global tradeshow professionals for design, construction, and hospitality trade shows, in conjunction with Fiera Milano, a leader in Italy and one of the main integrated operators worldwide in the exhibition and congress industry, FIND – Design Fair Asia is well positioning in the heart of Southeast Asia to unite the regional design industry and build on encouraging market trends.

“FIND testifies to the international vocation of our Group,” comments Roberto Foresti, Deputy General Manager of Fiera Milano. “It exemplifies our commitment to the organization of trade events abroad and in sectors which have particular geographical or market significance. Singapore reaffirms its position as a key hub for Asian design and provides the ideal setting for this event, which we have been organizing in collaboration with an excellent partner like dmg events. This edition, with a 15% growth compared to 2023, is also thanks to the support of ITA Agency who are adding value to Italian companies in foreign contexts by promoting the uniqueness of Italian creativity and design.”

FIND – Design Fair Asia will again be building on strong industry partnerships from around the region, including the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg), Society of Interior Designers, Singapore (SIDS) celebrating their 30^th anniversary, Asia Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA), the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP), Thai Furniture Association (TFA), Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC), VDAS Design Association, HCMC Vietnam (VDAS), amongst other leading groups.

“The broad endorsement from leading manufacturers and industry groups ensures that FIND – Design Fair Asia is a platform by the industry, for the industry in the region. Headwinds such as interest rate fluctuations, China’s liquidity, and property downturn slowed the post-covid recovery, but by contrast, the economies of Southeast Asia show resilience and are poised to be the world’s fastest-growing region in 2024, offering intriguing opportunities,” says Carl Press, Director of FIND.

International interior design brands operating in furniture, office spaces, commercial and residential real estate, and the hospitality industry in Southeast Asia can look favorably at some market trends. The furniture sector is projected to generate a revenue of US$ 14.58 billion in 2024 for the region alone, at an annual growth rate of 7.11% (CAGR 2024-2028) (Statista). Among the furniture segments, the living room furniture sector is estimated to have a volume of US$ 4.96 billion in 2024.

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The interior design sector is also anticipated to benefit from robust growth in the hospitality sector as the total hotel construction pipeline in APAC (excluding China) increased 4% year-on-year with 1,977 projects and 402,156 rooms as of the 4^th quarter of 2023 according to Colliers International.

FIND – Design Fair Asia is strategically positioned to leverage these favorable market trends and poised to draw substantial visitors from all corners of the region, building upon last year’s already impressive 22% international visitor proportion. To improve visitors’ experience and enhance business opportunities, FIND is introducing an improved business matching service. This service will connect prequalified buyers directly with suppliers through dedicated meetings, extended networking events, and even exclusive showroom visits, ensuring a tailored and efficient approach to making contacts and collaboration.

FIND ’24 – Key Event Highlights
FIND Global Summit attracted some 2,300 visits in 2023 and is again poised to unite a remarkable lineup of leading figures from the design and business community. Yoko Choy, content chair and editor of Wallpaper* Magazine China spearheads an industry insider committee that curates the exciting sessions for 2024. The summit will ignite discussion on innovative strategies spanning various disciplines, such as design, architecture, hospitality, and the consumer design market to devise actionable solutions and draw inspiration to navigate forthcoming opportunities.

EMERGE Showcase @ FIND
This exhilarating Southeast Asian design talent showcase returns for its third edition with its largest-ever showcase space at 1,015 square meters. Presented by DesignSingapore Council and curated once again by Suzy Annetta, it will feature new works from more than 50 emerging and established designers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam responding to the new curatorial theme of “These Precious Things”.

“We are heartened by the positive reception of EMERGE as it continues to foster connections among designers, buyers, and other industry stakeholders. Since its debut during Singapore Design Week in 2022, it has become the go-to platform to discover Southeast Asian talent, paving the way for new commercialization opportunities for these designers from Singapore and the region,” says Dawn Lim, executive director of DesignSingapore Council.

Iconic Designs and Collective Areas:
B2B delegates visiting FIND will be able to discover prominent global and regional brands from Italy, Portugal (i.e. Serip), the Czech Republic, a collective from Indonesia’s Contemporary Art & Design (ICAD), the Netherlands (i.e. Arte International), Germany (i.e. HansGrohe, Axor), Japan and other design leading nations. The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) returns to FIND with over 30 iconic Italian exhibitors across 400 sqm to feature ‘Design Made in Italy’.

FIND ’24 – Sustainability
FIND’s dedication to reduce its carbon footprint and reach forthcoming net-zero goals, will go beyond hosting the tradeshow in one of Asia’s leading sustainable venues, Marina Bay Sands. With venue emissions already fully offset, FIND’s sustainability commitments also include minimizing waste by removing unnecessary carpets, avoiding printing of 15,000 badges by going fully digital for visitors’ passes, and offering modular booth construction options from upcycled materials for exhibitors, translating into 45% lower carbon footprint to conventional stands.

FIND City Activations & Singapore Design Week
FIND will be the springboard to venture into Singapore’s evening with exclusive showroom tours via dedicated shuttle buses to discover brands of selected furniture, lighting, decoration, design, fine crafts, and lifestyle stores. The city will also be home to one of Asia’s premier design festivals as the Singapore Design Week returns from 26^th September to 6^th October with a large array of events, night installations, and special experiences that allow design aficionados to discover special city districts, artists, and initiatives.

APAC Industry Recovery
Despite regional challenges, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is poised to be the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2024 (Mordor Intelligence). Regional interest rate cuts are anticipated for mid-2024, further strengthening investor sentiments, yet the commercial real estate market already shows a particular trend with Singapore emerging as the primary source of Asia Pacific real estate investments. The city-state surpassed the US for the first time as investors injected nearly US$ 8.5 billion into Asia Pacific real estate (Knight Frank).

As inflation is abating, the outlook for hotels is equally positive as airline capacity is expected to fully recover to 2019 levels by the end of the year (CBRE; IATA) and regional hotel occupancy rates already normalizing (CBRE). According to Colliers International, upscale and luxury developments are experiencing notable growth, constituting 54% of the region’s construction pipeline. In 2024, there are projected to be 381 new hotels with 74,341 rooms opening, followed by an additional 379 new hotels with 76,422 rooms to open in 2025.

Singapore’s commercial real estate market also grew by 462% in the 4^th quarter of 2023, clocking in US$ 4.1 billion (US$ 5.5 billion) in transactions, which reflects a 110% YOY increase compared to the same period in 2022 (Knight Frank). The SEA office real estate market is booming with nearly 6.5 million sqm of Grade A space due to come on stream in 2024, pushing up vacancies in almost two-thirds of markets (CBRE).

FIND – Design Fair Asia is a joint venture between dmg events (organizers of INDEX, HiDesign, etc.) and Fiera Milano (leader in Italy and one of the main integrated operators worldwide in the exhibition and congress industry). It is a combination trade show and design fair, offering a carefully curated selection of furniture, interiors, and design brands. The anchor event of the Singapore Design Week (organized by DesignSingapore Council) acts as a stimulating marketplace connecting leading suppliers across furniture, lighting, décor, textiles, design technology, home K&B, and surface materials with retail buyers, residential and commercial property developers, architects, hospitality professionals, interior designers, high-net-worth individuals, and Asia-based FF&E contractors.

With key stakeholders such as DesignSingapore Council, numerous regional partner associations, and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), FIND is to return to the iconic Marina Bay Sands with extended event offerings on over 17000 sqm, 350 international brands, a VIP buyer program, and exciting on-site initiatives.