15 September 2014 – More than 180 companies from Hong Kong and Guangdong took part in the 2nd edition of the Lifestyle Expo in Istanbul, which ended yesterday (14 Sept) at the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center.
New Silk Road
Speaking at the opening ceremony on September 12, Andrew Leung, Council Member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), spoke of the opportunity to strengthen the new Silk Road between Hong Kong and Turkey. “Trade between our two countries, Turkey and China, dates back centuries,” Mr Leung said. “This Expo is an opportunity to build new B-2-B (business-to-business) bridges along the new Silk Road. We have a wide range of exhibitors from Hong Kong and Guangdong taking part in this Lifestyle Expo. They represent many of our key lifestyle sectors including electronics, fashion, watches and clocks, household products and gifts and premium products.”
Last year, the total value of bilateral trade between Hong Kong and Turkey exceeded US$1.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of seven per cent.
Satisfied Exhibitors
Tic Toc International Limited said its participation in the expo had exceeded expectations. Mr Evan Miao, a representative of the company said: “The Expo is better than our expectation in that we have entered serious discussion with local distributors in the first two days. We are optimistic that an agreement could be reached for signing a local distributor in Turkey. From our previous experience, we have chosen middle-to-high-end products with special design watches to catch up with the rising Turkey economy. In addition, we have focused our promotion to Turkish buyers on few brands to arouse their interest in the Expo.”
Asia’s Lifestyle Trendsetter
The Expo showcased a series of lifestyle and quality products from Hong Kong and Guangdong. A total of 40 award-winning products from Hong Kong designers were displayed during the expo period. There was also be a strong focus on the fashion industry with the introduction of “Fashionally”, which was dedicated to highlighting the talents of young Hong Kong fashion designers.
Global Success
As one of the HKTDC’s signature emerging-market events, Lifestyle Expos have a successful track record in promoting trade between companies from Hong Kong and new markets worldwide. Previous Lifestyle Expos have been held in Central Europe, India and Indonesia. As well as providing new sourcing opportunities, Lifestyle Expo in Istanbul brought together business people from Turkey, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland during networking sessions, while the HKTDC provided one-to-one business-matching services at the expo.
Mr Erkan Sarlioglu of Onem Limited Sti, a buyer from the Turkish city is Izmir, said: This is our first time to attend an exhibition organised by HKTDC. We really appreciate the trade ambassador services provided during the Expo, which can cater to different special needs of every buyer. Also, we found that the products from Hong Kong and Guangdong are of good quality, and we already identified several potential suppliers and requested them to provide the samples with slightly amendment. We are optimistic that new business connections will be established later.”
Lifestyle Organisers
Lifestyle Expo in Istanbul is organised by the HKTDC and the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province (GD-DOC). The HKTDC and GD-DOC are the official trade promotion organisations of Hong Kong and Guangdong Province respectively.
Expo Website: www.lifestyleexpoinfo.com/istanbul
Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC's Corporate Communication Department:
Joe Kainz
Tel: (852) 2584 4216
Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org
- Published & Distributed via AsiaToday.com
