Inauguration of the 50th edition of the Dobrodzień Furniture Fair 2012
On Friday, August 24, at 12:15 p.m., the official opening of the 50th edition of the Dobrodzień 2012 Furniture Fair took place.
The inauguration was led by Mr. Rafał Desczyk, representing the Fair participants, and Ms. Róża Koźlik – the mayor of Dobrodzień.
Among those present at the ceremony were Mr. Damian Karpiński – Chairman of the City Council in Dobrodzień, and Mr. Norbert Hober from the Olesno County Office, who, on behalf of the starost Jan Kus and deputy starost Stanisław Belka, congratulated the City of Dobrodzień on this extraordinary initiative.
The inauguration of the fair was accompanied by lectures. The first was delivered by Ms. Monika Wietrzyńska, representative of the Poznań International Fair, Director of the Arena Design event: a lecture titled "Poznań International Fair for the furniture industry".
The lecture presented opportunities for promoting Polish furniture through participation in three events coordinated by the Poznań International Fair: the Meble Polska Fair, which this year achieved record statistics in terms of exhibition area and number of visitors (28,000 sq m and 13,000 visitors), the prestigious arena DESIGN event, within which the TOP DESIGN award competition is held, recognizing companies investing in world-class design. Also presented were the benefits of participating in the Sectoral Promotion Program for the furniture industry, announced by the Ministry of Economy and implemented jointly by MTP and OIGPM.
The second lecture, titled "Do Poles want to buy more furniture? Current situation and forecast for 2013" was delivered by Dr. Eng. Tomasz Wiktorski, market analyst, Owner of B+R Studio Furniture Market Analysis. According to research conducted by B+R Studio, nearly 50 percent of respondents declare a need to purchase furniture; unfortunately, these needs are verified by the financial capabilities of households, and as a result, only 6-22% seriously consider making purchases. At the same time, sentiments regarding the assessment of the economic situation in the country and future forecasts are also deteriorating. However, it is comforting that declarations regarding current possibilities for making "important purchases" are not significantly worsening. The structure of furniture purchases is determined by the financial situation of individual households. Retail furniture sales for individual customers in 2012, thanks to an increase in the number of apartments put into use, may be better than in 2011. However, deteriorating sentiments do not give grounds for optimism for the coming year.
Dr. Wiktorski also delivered a lecture titled "Proud of Polish furniture. How the Polish furniture industry became the world's second-largest furniture exporter." In 2011, the Polish furniture industry exported 2.7 million tons of furniture, more than the German or Italian industries – leaders in terms of value. This high position of Polish furniture on global markets is not a coincidence, but the result of the hard work of many generations of craftsmen and carpenters from Poland and investments by foreign concerns. The furniture industry in Poland has at least 15 advantages, a set of which no other country in the world can boast.
