By: Lenka Ponikelská,
Interior design firms and furniture makers are gearing up for two major industry events in Prague this September —


Pragointerier Living/ Building Fair (LBF) and For Arch — with participants keen to showcase their product lines to the public, network with potential business partners and spot new trends.

“The LBF is a chance for furniture makers and interior makers to present themselves before Christmas, typically the highest sales season,” said Maria Wohlrábová, manager of the furniture and household decoration fair that runs Sept. 7–10. Incheba Praha, which manages the Výstaviště fairgrounds in Prague 7–Holešovice, organizes the LBF, which this year will showcase 300 exhibitions from both foreign firms and local companies such as leather sofa maker in – Elis CZ, which has rented 200 square meters, the largest single exhibition area.

Other big Czech names include leather and upholstered sofa makers Böhm and kitchen furnishings producer Antico. Foreign exhibitors will include about 10 Italian makers of decorative alabaster, metal and glass products, joined under the banner of the Commercial Chamber of Pisa; Egypt-based Waritex, a producer of bathroom decorations; and Bangladesh-based wood and leather goods maker Padmatex.

“[Pragointerier and For Arch] present a chance for both large and medium-sized makers to market themselves despite the huge expositions of giant manufacturers [like Sweden’s Ikea], and for visitors to get acquainted with the latest market trends,” said Tomáš Lukeš, the executive secretary of the Association of Czech Furniture Makers (AČN).

In 2012, 347 companies participated in Pragointerier, out of which 43 were foreign, including Italian, Thai and Indian firms. The fair had 15,000 visitors, and some 21 percent were industry professionals, according to Incheba. Nearly half the exhibitors said they took part mainly to make new business contacts, while one-third said they chiefly wanted to present their latest wares and monitor trends, according to a 2012 Incheba survey.

Pragointerier New Design, a February event similar to LFB and also organized by Incheba, included a consulting center, which provided information about financing homes, expertise from different fields such as carpentry and plumbing, and advice concerning consumers rights regarding home interior products. Wohlrábová said this year’s Pragointerior LBF won’t include a similar center, but it will remain a major feature for the spring New Design fair. “Right now we plan to make conceptual changes to distinguish the spring and autumn events,” she said.

According to the Association for Consumer Rights Protection (SOS) spokeswoman Ivana Picková, who also took part in the spring fair, most of the complaints that the watchdog agency receives (of those that relate to interior and construction work) are about poor quality flooring. “There’s a common six-month guarantee period, but most flaws [become apparent] after that period,” she said.

Later this month, the 17th annual architectural fair For Arch (Sept. 17–23) expects to host over 1,000 exhibitors ranging from construction firms to door or window design firms. This year’s main theme will be Czech construction in the EU, with special attention given to facades, windows, doors and roofs.

Last year, the event drew 110,000 visitors, according to organizers ABF, which holds an 89 percent stake at the PVA exhibition grounds in Prague 9–Letňany, where the fair will take place. The financial group SPGroup of entrepreneur Pavel Sehnal bought ABF this May.

Home furnishings is a significant industry in the Czech Republic. The sales of the furniture makers and interior services amounted to Kč 52.4 billion (€ 1.6 billion) in 2012, according to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.