For five consecutive years the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai has celebrated its status as the first national expo themed on imports, creating an ever-growing number of beneficial spillovers – including transforming exhibited items into popular commodities.
That process has been continuously accelerating, positioning the CIIE as the preferred showcase for debuting hundreds of new global products and the first choice for unveiling cutting-edge technologies and innovative services.
Infusion into the Chinese market of such international staples as Spanish ham, French wine and milk from New Zealand has accelerated the transformation and upgrading of the domestic consumption structure, while high-grade products like “flying” cars, coin-sized cardiac pacemakers and robots that can play table tennis effectively promote expansion of the domestic industrial chain.
Among exhibitors that have participated in the past five editions of the CIIE, Amorepacific is a global cosmetics company that has been in business for more than 70 years. Addressing Amorepacific’s loyalty to the CIIE, Mike Hwang, president of Amorepacific China said: “The platform effect of the CIIE is unusual when compared with other expos. It rewards us with huge exposure and provides an excellent opportunity for carefully scrutinizing consumers. Many of our exhibits have quickly entered the Chinese market and become beloved commodities by Chinese consumers.”
Thanks to the CIIE, Amorepacific has showcased its strong research and development capabilities and innovative achievements to a global audience and reaped international acclaim. At the fifth edition of the CIIE, which happened to coincide with Amorepacific’s 30th anniversary of entering the Chinese market, the company spotlighted seven brands, more than 500 exhibits and more than 20 new product debuts.
Because the CIIE caters to exhibitors and buyers from a wide range of age groups, incomes and territories, it serves as “a comprehensive expo held professionally,” providing companies the opportunity to mine fresh new markets. At last year’s expo Amorepacific’s 3D printing mask technology, Hera skintone finder, smart mirror, mind-linked bathbot proved to be big hits, and its researchers received a lot of valuable feedback through communication with visitors.
Other repeat exhibitors have experienced similar success.
Over the past five editions of the CIIE, L’Oréal has showcased 16 new international brands and hundreds of debuts, while Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has had nine innovative products approved and Germany’s Karcher launched a municipal sanitation solution specially customized for the Chinese market. As well, British high-end electrical appliance enterprise IAM put forward an air purifier with dealdehyde sterilization and degerming functionality, the Chinese market share of which occupies first place among high-end purifiers costing 4000 yuan ($558) and above.
The sixth edition of the CIIE will take place in Shanghai from Nov. 5-10 this year, enabling companies like Amorepacific and IAM to build on their success and continue to make remarkable inroads in both the Chinese and international marketplaces.