Seven trade events organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), covering lifestyle products and licensing opportunities, concluded on April 30, attracting some 100,000 buyers from 131 countries and regions.
The Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair recorded some 36,000 buyers, Home InStyle drew over 20,000 buyers, Fashion InStyle attracted over 11,000 buyers, while the Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair and DeLuxe PrintPack Hong Kong saw over 11,000 buyers attend the concurrent events.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong International Licensing Show (HKILS) attracted over 20,000 buyers, and the Asian Licensing Conference (ALC) featured nearly 20 international licensing industry leaders as speakers.
Non-local buyers at the six fairs came primarily from Mainland China, Taiwan and Malaysia, highlighting Hong Kong’s influence as an international trade platform.
HKTDC deputy executive director Sophia Chong said: “The seven major events held by the HKTDC in late April brought together some 6,000 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions. Despite the current challenges in the global economic and trade environment, we actively attracted buyers to our fairs to enhance trade resilience and assist exhibitors in gaining a foothold in new markets such as the Middle East and ASEAN regions.
“The HKTDC remains committed to promoting cross-sector and international trade co-operation among exhibitors, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as an international trade hub and showcasing its unique advantage in building connections regionally and globally.”
To gain deeper insights into current trends, the HKTDC conducted a survey of 1,583 exhibitors and buyers at the Gifts & Premium Fair, Home InStyle, and Fashion InStyle. Key findings include:
- Nearly half of respondents (49.2%) expected their overall sales would rise in the next one to two years, while 44.5% foresaw that sales will remain stable. The greatest challenges identified were growing protectionist measures (45.7%), fluctuations in the global economy (43.3%), and the impact of inflation (32.0%).
- Respondents believed sales prospects are promising or very promising over the next two years in Mainland China (77.3%), India (74.2%), Taiwan (67.6%), Republic of Korea (66.4%), and ASEAN countries (65.8%).
- The following are the markets that the respondents are actively exploring: Europe (30.5%), ASEAN countries (17.2%), Japan (13.1%), North America (12.3%) and Republic of Korea (9.5%).
- In the gifts and premium market, respondents believe cultural gifts (17.6%), tech gifts (17.0%) and fashion accessories (16.9%) have the most growth potential.
A German buyer at the Gifts & Premium Fair, Michael Baumann, a partner in Know How International GmbH & Co KG, said: “I source souvenirs and giveaways from various countries such as India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Mainland China. My clients are mostly based in Europe, including a European football league sponsor. At the fair, I identified a sports bag supplier and a recycled paper box supplier from Mainland China, as well as a metal souvenir supplier from Hong Kong in the fair, with a potential total order value of approximately US$2.3 million to US$2.8 million. I’m also highly interested in the licensed figures from a mainland exhibitor, with a potential order value of around US$600,000.”
In response to global trade challenges, exhibitors are prioritising market diversification and actively pursuing new customer acquisition. Hong Kong exhibitor Moral Team Holdings Ltd has participated in the Gifts & Premium Fair for 17 years, focusing on the development of eco-friendly bag products.
The company’s marketing & ecommerce manager Charlotte Chui said: “The new US tariff policies have impacted 10% of our export share, prompting us to focus more on the Asian market at this stage. The Gifts & Premium Fair has provided us with a platform to connect with buyers from Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Our mid- to long-term plan is expanding into the Australian and European markets. The concurrent fairs have attracted interest from fashion and houseware buyers. On the first day alone, we secured several orders from the Asian market and anticipate achieving total sales of over US$500,000 at the fair.”
The seven events adopted the EXHIBITION+ online-offline integrated model, enabling buyers to continue discussions with exhibitors online during and after the fairs, extending business interactions beyond the physical event.