Case goods and upholstery resource Lifestyle Enterprise is bringing its Forbidden City concept here next month with a new 35,000-square-foot showroom it will open at the JSWB Global Home Furnishings Center.
The company announced that the three-story space Global Forbidden City Showroom will open Sept. 9-10 for a two-day invitation-only event. This is expected to draw as many as 500 guests, the company said.
Two floors of the new showroom will feature upholstery and a third will offer case goods.
The private show is similar to Forbidden City shows in both High Point and Las Vegas. However, while those shows are geared primarily to the U.S. market, the new showroom targets Chinese and international buyers.
Company officials said the new showroom also will be open to the trade on a year-round basis.
"Lifestyle is betting on Shanghai, which it believes will be the future of home furnishings sourcing in Asia," said Simon Siow, chief operating officer. "When retailers worldwide are looking to source Asian furniture, they will look to China and Shanghai as the first point of entry. The Shanghai showroom will serve as a permanent showroom that opens year round and features all new products fresh off the production line."
The JSWB furniture complex first opened in 2007 with more than 200 brands and spanning about 2 million square feet of showroom space that is open to the public most of the year. The second phase of the three-phase project will include new components including a lighting center, a solid wood furniture pavilion and a mahogany furniture pavilion, JSWB said on its website.
Lifestyle Enterprise also has a separate showroom at the Sept. 11-15 China International Furniture Expo in Shanghai. Located at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, this is about a 45-minute drive from the JSWB complex.
Lifestyle said is working with JSWB to provide shuttle service every 30 minutes from the Furniture China show to the new Forbidden City showroom at JSWB.
