Post Show Report Mebel 2021

13 / 12 / 2021

Mebel 2021 is a key annual event for professionals in the furniture industry. Every autumn, the world’s leading furniture manufacturers and designers show new collections and the best pieces of furniture, generate sales leads and sign contracts on Mebel’s show floor.

The exhibition was held in its usual offline format and offered visitors a large-scale showcase that confirmed its status of a major show, which our visitors had become accustomed to over the years. 

Dates: 22–26 November 2021

Venue: EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia  

Organised by EXPOCENTRE AO

Supported by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia

Under auspices of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Floor space: 76,000+ sq. m

Attendance: 32,082 visitors form 82 regions of Russia and 54 countries (90% of them are industry professionals)

Conference programme: 90+ events

Exhibitors: 618 companies (517 of them are Russian companies)   

Countries: 21 (Armenia, Belarus, China, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, the UK, the USA, Uzbekistan) 

The official opening ceremony was attended by Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Oleg Bocharov, member of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management Tatiana Gigel, Deputy Chair of the Russian State Duma Committee on Economic Policy Artyom Kiryanov, Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Maxim Fateev, Vice-President of the Union of Timber Manufacturers and Exporters of Russia Evgeny Kesarev, General Director of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia Timur Irtuganov, First Deputy Director General of EXPOCENTRE AO Sergey Selivanov, and other officials. 

First Deputy Director General of EXPOCENTRE AO Sergey Selivanov

“EXPOCENTRE has been organising Mebel for more than 40 years. This is a unique project where furniture industry professionals can see trends in furniture and interior design, and the production innovations that they can use. The most important thing at today's event is its participants. My special thanks go to them. I would also like to thank the team of EXPOCENTRE, which under the current difficult circumstances has made an enormous effort to prepare this long-awaited event.” 

According to the speakers, Mebel promotes the development of the furniture industry, generates fresh ideas, opens up new opportunities, and helps to expand practical connections and consolidate the professional community.

Member of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management Tatiana Gigel

“Despite the economic difficulties in Russia and a drop in people's purchasing power, the industry’s enterprises have managed to persevere and delight us with new furniture displayed at the show.” 

The exhibition is of great importance for the promotion of Russian products in the world markets, opening new sales markets and generation of new business contacts.

Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Oleg Bocharov

“The exhibition brings together furniture manufacturers and suppliers of furniture, fittings and upholstery, as well as representatives of sales companies, architects, designers and direct purchasers of furniture products.”

Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Maxim Fateev

“Leaders of the Russian furniture industry and major exporters have come to EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds today. Thanks to them, it is a special day.”

Show highlights

Uzbekistan arranged a national pavilion.

The exhibitors included such industry leaders as Kronospan, MAGAMAX, ÌÀÊÌÀRÒ, M-Stone, OdinArt, Prospekt, Express Office, Ever Spring. 

Our regular exhibitors are such market leaders as Ametist, Anrex, Arida, Arben Textile, ASM, Valmaks, InterDesign, Lerom, Lyubimy Dom, Melodia Sna, Ormatek, Pinskdrev, Sokol Yar, Souz-m, the Syktyvkar Plywood Mill, TriYa, Egida+, Aristo, Boyard, Brass, BRW, Blum, Hafele, Hettich, Sonberry, Via Ferrata, etc. 

A special attention was attracted by Italian and Turkish manufacturers: Ceramicarte Deruta SRL, Fergam Arredamenti, Arredoclassic srl, Jago, Keoma, Yatas Bedding, Enza Home, Ipek Mobilya, Boytex, Arici Mobilya, Aybil Mobilya, Cilek Mobilya, Dome Mobilya, Fiba Mobilya, Gumus Mobilya, Pemode Mobilya, and Sanat Mobilya.

Thanks to support centres for entrepreneurs and government support, companies from 19 Russian regions – the Arkhangelsk, Chelyabinsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kirov, Kursk, Leningrad, Penza, Tambov, Ulyanovsk, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl Oblasts, the Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Buryatia, the Komi Republic, the Mari El Republic, the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Udmurt Republic – has an opportunity to show their products at the highest international level. It helped the participants to generate new business contact and partners, sign contracts, and enter new markets.

Ten product sectors brought together all segments of the furniture industry, including franchising and advanced digital technology for furniture production and retail.

Conference programme 

The conference programme of Mebel 2021 offered more than 90 high-profile events that brought together interested industry professionals. Leading industry companies and associations chose Mebel’s platform to discuss business development, sales growth, current design trends and modern technological solutions.

The conference programme was opened by the Furniture Retail Fest. It was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO and FC Project for the first time.

The first day’s topic was the Marketplaces and the Furniture Market. Maria Kolpakova from Yandex gave a brief overview of the market. She explained what is happening with user queries and what trends currently exist. A plenary session was held by Natalia Peksheva, a founder of Delicatex. Representatives of Wildberries, Mebel.ru, AliExpress Russia, Furniture and Goods for Home of Yandex.Market, Home24, Askona Life Grou, Hoff and others spoke to a large audience and explained how marketplaces could be used to significantly expand sales geography and enter new markets.

The second day was devoted to Franchising and Management Systems. The speakers talked about which franchises their companies represented and how they operated. Market professionals from Askona Life Group, Lyubimyi Dom, Ormatek and other companies took part in the discussion. Representatives of Kitchen City, Askona Business and First Furniture spoke about the franchise functioning system. Participants of the special session discussed staffing collapse and what threatens the furniture industry without new people and new ideas. 

During the following days of the festival, the experts gave a presentation of the immersive Shop of the Future zone and talked about the in-demand retail formats in the digital society, the transformation of the furniture business, and how rebranding and merchandising could change a company's positioning and business processes. 

One of the key events was the RusMebel Forum 2021, organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia and EXPOCENTRE AO. Its participants discussed a wide range of important topics from price increases to vocational education.

The forum was opened with the Conference on Current Problems in the Panel Industry, which was attended by almost all the leading wood-based panel manufacturers.

Oleg Bocharov, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, outlined the ministry's position on the need to create an automated system for comparing the volume of specific production and available forest resources. He also assured wood-based panel manufacturers of state support and specified that balanced development taking into account the inter-industry balance in each particular region is important for this purpose. Svetlana Fedorova, Director General of the Express-Obzor marketing company, presented data on the production, market of wood boards and plywood in this country over the first nine months of 2021. The production of chipboard increased by 21%, and the production of plywood by 14%. An important feature of the plywood market is its export orientation.

After the conference, RusMebel 2021 hosted a meeting of Russian plywood manufacturers

The conference of furniture manufacturers was devoted to a problem of legalisation of the furniture industry due to the high level of shadow production in the industry.

The main topic was unregistered businesses producing cheap furniture of dubious quality. Some shady companies hide their real production volumes in order to avoid taxes, which allows them dumping prices. The demand for such furniture is also very high today due to its low price. 

Director General of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia Timur Irtuganov, the Association’s President Aleksandr Shestakov, and Deputy Director of the Textile and Timber Industries Department of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Veronika Bobrovskaya took part in the event. 

Watch the broadcast

RusMebel 2021 also included the Russian meeting of sectoral Qualification Assessment Centres for the Furniture and Wood Processing Industry under the auspices of the National Council for Professional Qualifications under the President of the Russian Federation. 

The event was organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia and EXPOCENTRE AO. It was held as a video conference of the meeting of the Forestry Advisory and Expert Council with representatives of the executive and legislative branches of government, heads of educational institutions, and the business community.

The meeting focused on staffing, training and employment issues in the industrial sector. The first part of the meeting was devoted to the coordination of educational institutions in the timber industry. 

According to Tatiana Gigel, Chairman of the Forestry Expert Advisory Council of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management, the Russian Federation Council pays great attention to the staffing problem in the timber industry complex and holds various events with the participation of representatives of scientific institutions and business leaders. 

The topic was continued by Vera Khmyrova, Director of the Department of Textile and Timber Industries of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Mikhail Klinov, Deputy Head of Rosleskhoz. Timur Irtuganov, Director General of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises, made a presentation on the general algorithm of the secondary vocational education system and employment of personnel. Sergey Vostrikov, Director of the Moscow Educational Complex of Urban Development "Stolitsa", shared his experience in training specialists. 

In the second part of the meeting, representatives from Qualifications Assessment Centres and industry spoke about independent qualifications as a form of training quality assessment. 

Watch the broadcast 

The hybrid Workshop on Furniture Export Roadmap. I/Z-2022: how to start exporting without mistakes and risks was devoted to a roadmap for furniture companies in 2022 in export destinations such as the neighboring countries, Europe, China, the USA and the Middle East. 

Reputable experts in marketing, logistics, intellectual property protection and product certification, as well as in building sales channels, took part as speakers in the workshop. They detailed the fundamentals that will help start exporting. Nikolay Evdokimov, executive director of marketing agency HENRY, Rod Tuvaev, CEO and founder of RODUP.US (Los Angeles, USA), Mikhail Medvedev, digital expert, co-founder of Inter Trade Bridges (ITB), Pavel Katkov, owner of Katkov & Partners law firm (KIP), member of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Committee on Entrepreneurship in Media Communications and others shared their experience and knowledge. 

Particular attention was paid to what indicators are most important when selecting an export destination, what are the special features of these destinations, what is the difference between product certification, what sales channels to use, what are the risks when entering foreign markets and how to mitigate them, as well as to object design, intellectual property protection in the furniture industry and other issues of great practical relevance. 

Watch the broadcast

Interesting ideas and solutions were presented at events organised by EXPOCENTRE AO and Archdialog in the special DESIGN LOUNGE.

The audience was very interested in the colourful presentation by well-known TV presenter, designer, architect and artist Helena Teplitska on how does colour affect a person's sense of space. According to the speaker, architecture and design are the most interesting things in life. She talked about what can colour do, what colour can be used, and what are its properties. "Colour is the most powerful tool in the hands of a designer," said Elena Teplitskaya and urged that it should be used as effectively as possible. 

Interior designer Diana Balashova talked about furniture trends in 2022 and gave an overview of the Milan Trade Show. The expert focused on the trends of eco-friendliness, harmony and the desire for simplicity.

Kirill Istomin, a well-known and internationally recognised designer and decorator, spoke about designer furniture in his presentation. In 2002, Istomin created his own brand Kirill Istomin Interior Design & Decoration. The audience's attention was attracted by the story of different-scale projects ranging from designing interior architecture to creating interiors for historical buildings and large luxury residences. In practically every project, Istomin uses fabrics, wallpapers and furniture items of his own design. He specially selects exclusive collections of bed linen, tableware, antiques and art from different eras.

DESIGN LOUNGE also hosted a series of master classes dedicated to light in the interior, smart technologies, interior ergonomics, eclecticism, design of small flats and studio flats, specifics of designing public spaces, trends in interior design for HoReCa, and other topics. 

The audience showed great interest in the events held on the Business+ platform: there were seminars on sales development, neuromarketing, promotion on YouTube, and the development of safe materials for mattresses and upholstered furniture production. 

Mebel 2021 featured the Purchasing Centre for Retail Chains™: Furniture, Accessories, Furnishings for direct negotiations with purchasers of retail chains, online shops, buyers of furniture factories for the supply of products and components. 

The second WorldSkills championship in the furniture and woodworking industry, Woodworking Skills 2021, took place over three days. It was organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, WorldSkills Russia and EXPOCENTRE AO. It was attended by employees of small, medium and large businesses in the furniture and woodworking industry, as well as students of specialised educational institutions from Moscow, Vladivostok, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and Yekaterinburg. 

For the Woodworking Skills 2021 competition, the traditional competences for the furniture and woodworking industry were selected: Carpentry, Furniture Production, Woodwork Restoration, and Industrial Design. In addition to these, another competence was introduced for the first time, Foreman of Furniture Production. Representatives of the WorldSkills Russia national team in the furniture making and carpentry skills had an open practice in preparation for the 46th WorldSkills Shanghai 2022 World Championships under the guidance of international experts. 

Alexey Tymchikov, Deputy Director General and Technical Director of the Professional Skills Development Agency (WorldSkills Russia)

“The tasks performed by the contestants help to form a real functionality of specialists in furniture and woodworking competences in production, give direction for updating training programmes of profile educational institutions, and determine the focus of development of professions for the next few years”. 

The award ceremony as attended by Director General of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia Timur Irtuganov, Deputy Technical Director of WorldSkills Russia Andrey Kryukov, and First Deputy Director General of EXPOCENTRE AO Sergey Selivanov

See the winners

Timur Irtuganov, Director General of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia

“We see the results of our young people at these championships, and we understand how hard they worked to get there. We want future and current employees of the industry to have the opportunity to hone their skills and achieve great results. We want to attract young professionals to the industry, and at the championships you can see for yourself how interesting and creative the contestants' work is. Here it is important not only to be able to work with one's hands, but also to invent, design and implement an idea using modern technology.”

Watch the broadcast

Mebel 2021 hosted an award ceremony for the winners of the 16th the Golden Cabriole National Award for Industrial Furniture Design. It is the most respected award in the Russian furniture industry. The competition is organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia and the Union of Russian Designers. The co-organiser is EXPOCENTRE AO. 

The winners were chosen by a jury in the categories: Cabinet Furniture, Upholstered Furniture, Kitchen Furniture, and Future Stars. The award ceremony was also attended by Kirill Cheburashkin, chairman of the jury of the 16th National Industrial Design Award for Furniture Golden Cabriole, head of the Furniture Design Department of the Stroganov Moscow State Art and Industry Academy. 

Watch the award ceremony

Mebel 2021 was concluded with an award ceremony for the winners of the 16th International Competition in nominations Best Consumer Properties and Successful Promotion of High Quality Goods, organised by Soyuzexpertiza ANO of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and EXPOCENTRE AO. The winners received ten first degree diplomas and ten gold medals, one second degree diploma and one silver medal in the Best Consumer Qualities nomination, and two first degree diplomas in the Successful promotion of High Quality Goods nomination.  

Learn more about the events at Mebel 2021 at the show’s website. 

We are looking forward to seeing you at the 33rd edition of the exhibition – Mebel 2022 – at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia, on 21–25 November 2022. 

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Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO


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