More than one year before the start of C-star 2015, China’s International Trade Fair for Solutions and Trends all about Retail, 300 international companies have already stated their interest in exhibiting at this new event. Exhibitor registrations have already been received from companies from the U.S., Australia, France and China. C-star will take place from May 13-15, 2015, at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC).
Renowned as the organizer of EuroShop, the world’s leading retail trade fair, in Düsseldorf, Germany, Messe Düsseldorf is also organizing C-start 2015 in cooperation with its subsidiary Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai. With C-star, they plan to establish a first-class event with a high percentage of international exhibitors as a firm fixture for China’s retail sector. As with EuroShop, the EHI Retail Institute will act as a conceptual sponsor of C-star.
Local developments confirm that C-star will be held at an opportune time. With 1.35 billion inhabitants, China is the most populous country in the world ranging fourth in terms of land surface area. Shanghai is among China’s top four cities with the highest net per-capita income. With its population of 23 million and the largest proportion of foreign companies including numerous top brands, Shanghai’s offers a multitude of business opportunities. In addition, the ongoing construction of shopping centers in this city demonstrates its importance for the retail sector. At present, there are some 100 shopping malls in existence with further ones under construction. Every year some 300 shopping malls open in China and by 2015 the total number of malls is expected to reach 4,000. The high demand and rising quality expectations of the Chinese consumers will stimulate an increase in local brands, which in turn will result in a strong interest in exceptional and up-market shop-fitting solutions.
C-star will be modeled after EuroShop on a smaller scale and specifically geared towards the Chinese market. As with EuroShop, it will also cover the segments of store fitting, lighting, refrigeration, store design, retail technology, visual merchandising and marketing as well as exhibition stand construction . The event will also feature a Designer-Village. Like at EuroShop 2014, the multi-channel theme will play a pivotal role at C-star 2015 since China is the most attractive growth market for e-commerce activities. China currently registers 618 million web users, 164 million of whom shop online generating annual sales of US$ 23 billion, according to Retail E-Commerce-Index/ A.T. Kearney, 2014.
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