Planning to Import furniture from China? Following are the points we are going to cover in this article and much more as a furniture buyer.
When Sourcing Furniture from china there’s a variety of factors to use when assessing potential suppliers.
Specialisation in Product
Manufacturers producing all sorts of furniture under one roof doesn’t exist. As in the case of every industry, furniture manufacturers are always specialised in a certain area – with the following being the most common:
Ofcourse, you may find suppliers who may be specialised in more than one category (Sofa Sets and Beds room sets), you’ll never find a manufacturer offering the everything. If you need to cover more than one type of furniture, you shall, therefore, consider sourcing different groups of suppliers, rather than trying to find one that offers everything on your list.
Mainly for School and hotel projects there are mandatory Compliance with applicable substance regulations.
It’s always the importer’s responsibility to ensure compliance with all applicable standards, including those regulating substances. This responsibility cannot be shifted to a foreign manufacturer.
The minimum number of units a supplier is willing to sell or MOQ in the furniture industry varies greatly depending on the factory and the product. For example few factory have MOQ as just 5 Pcs and few would not be willing to sell less than one 40 HQ (40 feet HQ contianer). Few factories we came acoss can also have MOQ in value. e.g. MOQ of USD 20000.
Therefore, you are required to choose factories based on your target purchase or budgets.
For Individual personal buyers there are lots of factories who can offer as small as 1 set or 1 unit however it is advised to get in touch with our team for more information
Size of the Factory
A Furniture manufacturer should have at least RMB 1,000,000 in registered capital, which is specified on their business license.
When buying furniture from Chinese suppliers it important to first filter suppliers based on how they have in house quality testing standards. As furniture as a product can have wide variety in qaulity standards and specifications.
During your Visit to china you should be visiting the Factory showroom to check the Quality and Finish. Tip: Small factories tend to show a good sample
a. Are they specialized in your product category? If you’re buying home furniture, the supplier should primarily manufacture exactly that.
b. Are they manufacturing for other customers? It’s a good sign if they have regular orders from other importers.
c. What kind of customers do they have?
d. How do they manage defective units? Are they willing to show you where they store defective units?
e. How do they pack the products?
f. Is the warehouse full? Do you recognize any brands printed on the export cartons in their warehouse?
a. Ask for a product specification or datasheet, with dimensions, bill of materials and material specification, for the furniture samples that you find in the showroom.
b Can they offer other materials?
c. Do they have design drawings?
d. Can you customize the design? If yes, what design drawing formats do they prefer?
e. Will design customization result in additional tooling costs?
f. What is the MOQ?
g. What is the unit price?
a. What is their production time?
b. Do they have any product test reports?
c. Do they implement any quality management system? (i.e., ISO 9001:2015)
d. Do they have an export license?
e. Which bank account will you pay to? (ask for complete details)
f. What are their payment terms?
g. Which payment terms do they offer?
h. Do they accept pre-shipment quality inspections?
Most factory in china are willing to customise size, desing and Material as per the requirement given by you. You can either create a new furniture design from the ground up or base your product on designs available in their online catalog or showroom.
The manufacturer simply expects that the buyers know what they want, so a detailed desing or a CAD drawing with size in cm along with what material and standards you would require must be specified.
Given the fact that you can’t return a container filled with defective or damaged goods, it’s absolutely essential to book a quality inspection before your furniture departs the factory.
Checklist
Shipping Goods could be done based on the quantity that you have orders. it could be 20/40 Ft contianer or share container spaces with one or more importers with our mixed contianer service.
Hiring an Agent to handle you Exports and import is essential while Importing furnitutre from China. As 90% of the factories donot have Export rights they eighter hire agents or trading companies to smoothen the export procedure.
Tip: Freight insurance is equally essential, as you cannot return damaged pieces to your supplier, or request a refund.
HKTDC Hong Kong Houseware Fair is among the most well-recognized and well-received furniture fairs in Hong Kong. In 2017, the fair was attended by more than 29,000 visitors, and around 2,200 brands and businesses displayed their products.
International Design and Furniture Fair Hong Kong, also known as IDFFHK, takes place in Hong Kong after every two years.
The fair focuses more on interior design and hosts many top interior designers, in addition to exhibiting their designed products. The event is mostly attended by architects, property developers, interior designers, hoteliers and other professionals working in the design industry.
The Gifts & Home Exhibition is another major fair in Hong Kong that will take place in April in Hong Kong.
You can also explore different product categories that include:
The exhibition takes place twice every year, mostly in April and October.
The annual China International Furniture Expo will take place in Shanghai in September. The exhibition takes place once every year, mostly in the month of September.
It is also one of the largest furniture expos in the world. More than 150,000 people attended the event in 2017 from 155 different countries.
In terms of visitors and exhibitor numbers, China International Furniture Fair is among the largest furniture fairs in the world. More than 170,000 visitors from all around the world visit the event every year, while more than 3,900 exhibitors take part in the exhibition.
The event will take place in Guangzhou in March. It takes place twice a year, every March and October.
The Shunde furniture wholesale market extends more than 5 km and is arranged by 12 rows and 20 streets. There are over 3,300 domestic and foreign furniture Traders and more than 1,500 manufacturers they display over 20,000 different types of furniture.
Products ranging from living room furniture, dining room furniture, bedroom furniture, kitchen furniture, Wardrobe cabinets, hotel furniture, hotel mattress, contract furniture, Office Furniture, restaurant furniture, cafe chairs, bar stools, bathroom furniture, sanitary ware, furniture accessories, material & hardware. The market is open year-round with furniture trading more than USD1 billion in sales volume each year.
There are two major furniture exhibitions held in March and August each year in Longjiang town of Shunde district.
For International Furniture Buyers they also have China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) held twice in a year in March and September.