<<Print>>

A one-stop shop to promote the furniture and d�cor industry has ended in Accra offering visitors access to the latest styles and trends of modern furnishing designs. The four-day event, organized by XODUS Communications, an events management company, specialized in fairs, theater production and marketing showcase home furniture, office furniture and commercial furniture. Operators who offer interiors decoration services also displayed their services and employed different strategies such as distributing flyers to attract customers. Richard Abbey Jnr., Chief Executive officer of XODUS Communications, shortly after the fair, said the event which was the second to be organized by his company was designed to serve as a marketing tool for offering ample business opportunities for players. The second Furniture and d�cor fair which was built on the success of last year�s, featured a seminar on project investment where resource persons took exhibitors and the public through project financing options. Some renowned furniture companies, which participated in the fair, included Simbin�s Furniture, Woodeck Company Limited, Tekua, Nest Furniture Company Limited and Woodjoynts limited. Others in the d�cor industry showing off their latest products and seeking business opportunities are KETS D�CORand Curtains, Design Xpress, Mosaix Interior, Ceiling Professionals Limited and Hortserve Lanscapes Consult. Ronald Kojo Binder, Chief Executive Officer of Simbin�s Furniture, described last year�s fair as phenomenal as it boosted his company�s business. �We picked up large customer base and the follow-up was good, we hope it would be bigger this year.� After seven years of being in the furniture industry, Simbin�s, which generally deals in imported products from the Unites States, has since the last two years commenced the manufacture of local furniture for which 70 per cent are exported. Audry Forson of Ketura, producers of handcrafted furniture and d�cor, participated in the maiden fair but was not happy with the outcome. �We decided to be at this year�s because we can see the organizers have improved on the last fair and so far it�s been good.� Ketura has been in business for the past ten years and mainly exported its hand-made wood work. The company that has grown from producing only traditional handicraft pieces to contemporary African furniture and decor and is now a growing business in the Ghanaian economy and now sells some of its products on the domestic market.