Thomas Russell –
ZHAOXIANG, China — A Chinese furniture retailer and entrepreneur is planning a huge furniture exhibition center west


of Shanghai that he believes could one day overshadow High Point, Cologne and Milan.

Zou Wenlong, founder of JiSheng WellBorn Co., a Changchun-based furniture manufacturer with an eight-store retail chain, said he wants to build a nearly 11 million-square-foot international furniture village here in Zhao-xiang.

Spread out over 195 acres, the village would have exhibition space for 600 Chinese manufacturers and other international exhibitors. Each manufacturer would own at least 11,000 square feet of showroom space and have access to more for future expansion.

The village also would have a furniture management and design training center, a furniture museum, hotels, restaurants and a transportation system.

Construction began in May. The first of three phases, which will include more than 2.2 million square feet of showroom space, will be completed in September 2014, according to Zou. By comparison, the Furniture China show in nearby Shanghai has about 2.5 million square feet and 1,500 exhibitors.

In High Point, which has about 12 million square feet today, International Home Furnishings Market Authority President Brian Casey said he believes a furniture center like the one that Zou describes would compete more directly with other shows in China.

“It becomes more of a regional battle than anything else,” he said. “It’s too early for me to predict any impact on this market, but I don’t see that drawing down from the impact of this (High Point) market because of our representation.

“We still tend to be a global show. It will be interesting to see if they are able to accomplish what they are claiming.”

Zou’s project also could compete with Las Vegas, which has said it plans to build about 12 million square feet of furniture showroom space by 2015.

In e-mails, Zou declined to comment on specifics of the project, such as size and his investment, which leaves some uncertainties about its scope.

For instance, an ad he is running in this week’s Furniture/To-day states that the surrounding 100 million-plus people that live within a three-hour drive of the complex will have a strong impact on the center. But Zou declined to say if that means the center will have a year-round retail component or whether it will be open just to the furniture trade.

He also did not say whether the facility would host an annual or semiannual furniture show, or what type of attendance he expects.

At first glance, a major thrust of the project appears to be to gain respect and recognition for Chinese manufacturers, particularly those at the high end. The furniture village would attempt to bring together some of the best and most well-known brands in China.

“Even though China has the world’s largest number of furniture enterprises, it has no world-famous furniture brands, no master designers, no global sales network and no world-class exhibitions,” Zou’s ad states.

“Chinese furniture is regarded in Western countries as only cheap substitutions. Zou bitterly recognized this and thus made a bold decision: to build a furniture center even larger than Milan and High Point by bringing together and organizing the best brands in China.”

He said he believes the success of the center ultimately will be fueled by the growing Chinese middle class. But he believes the brands shown there will appeal to a broader international base as well.

Zou, 40, started JiShang WellBorn in 1992, having previously worked for a furniture manufacturer and as a manager of a nationally owned furniture store. Today, his eight-store chain has locations in Shanghai and Guangzhou and is ranked as the 20th largest retail chain of any kind in the country, according to the Hurun Report, which tracks the top philanthropists, retailers and wealthiest people in China.