SPAIN – Feria Hábitat Valencia is putting the final touches to its preparations for the upcoming edition of the fair, which takes place from September 18 – 21 at Feria Valencia and is poised to boast a markedly stronger international profile in terms of both supply and demand.

This trend was already evident in last year’s edition when 18% of the 23,174 Habitat visitors came from abroad and specifically from 51 different markets.

One standout feature of the fair will be the significant presence of high-end Italian firms, which are staging a major comeback at the Hábitat showcase. In fact, the number of Italian exhibitors that have confirmed already is twice as high as the number from last year.

These are top-level operators that are once again investing time and effort in the Spanish market, which is now recovering and attractive to international suppliers. Those that have already committed include companies such as Cattelan, Target Point New, Corium, Franco Ferri, AmbiensVR, Officina Nove, F.Lli Rossetto, Fan Europe, Magniflex, Plust Collection, Ilpo, FIM, Novamobili, Nidi and Tonin Casa – just some of the Italian names that are exhibiting at Hábitat for the first time. Alongside them will be manufacturers Sitland, Siru, Ferroluce and Antonio Lupi, which exhibited last year.

Portuguese firms are also set to account for a significant proportion of the foreign exhibitors at Hábitat. Companies returning or taking part for the first time include Ducampus, Materflora, Cortimoveis, Gualtorres and Grupo Costa & Januario, together with designers Serip and Fenabel. To date, there are almost 40 Portuguese brands set to exhibit at Hábitat.

France, Germany, Slovenia, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Romania, Turkey and the Czech Republic are some of the other countries that will be contributing to the number of international exhibitors that is expected to account for over 20% of the total Hábitat showcase.

On the demand side, forecasts of visits by foreign buyers are also high. In fact, the fair has booked twice as many travel and accommodation packages than last year, with the result that almost 2000 VIP buyers will be coming from 45 different markets. The move is a joint initiative between Feria Valencia, public entities such as IVACE and ICEX and trade associations ANIEME and FEDAI.

Hábitat will also, as part of the international buyer recruitment drive, be promoting an initiative specifically targeted at the contract sector that will involve identifying a large group of specifiers from Latin America who are working on major residential, hotel or shopping center projects in Central America and the Caribbean and inviting them to attend.

“Hábitat is on the way to being a first-class international showcase once again,” explains the event’s director, Daniel Marco. “There is no question that our showcase is attractive to international purchasing decision-makers. Spanish exports of furniture grew 2.8% in the first quarter of this year, and the figure for the Comunitat Valenciana rises to 10.5%. Hábitat is therefore a very positive platform for consolidating our products’ competitive edge abroad.”