A cupful of quality: Inhesion Industrial at the show.

The emphasis was on quality and presentation at the 17th Interior Lifestyle Fair, held 11 to 13 June in Tokyo. The event featured a strong presence from luxury European brands, and a range of presentation styles from Hong Kong exhibitors - one of which successfully paired with another foreign player to make a more attractive offering and set a new stamp on innovative marketing.

But there was plenty of negative news to exercise suppliers' minds at the show. Recent increases in the price of gasoline and groceries have been the most widely-publicised indications of Japan's rising inflation rate.

Bloomberg reported that many Japanese consumers, whose formidable savings sit largely in near-zero-interest postal accounts, have begun buying to stay ahead of further price increases. The IMF meanwhile predicts that Japan's economy will expand by 1.4% this year, largely tied to increased consumer spending.

Japan's trade fairs attract a great many overseas companies keen to cash in on the world's second-largest consumer market. In the interiors sector, the Interior Lifestyle Fair, held each spring at the Big Sight International Exhibition Center, is among the biggest, held at Tokyo's largest exhibition venue.

Among the biggest fairs in the sector.

Colourful crockery.

This year's fair featured products in five categories - table, kitchen and houseware products; home textiles; gift items; design and style and interior products.

At Interior Lifestyle, foreign companies make up roughly half the exhibitors, so the fair's appeal extends to Japanese looking for the latest international design and product innovations.

The majority of this year's foreign exhibitors was European - primarily from Germany, France and Italy. Four suppliers participated from the Chinese mainland, while the Hong Kong contingent numbered 11.

How Hong Kong can compete in a tough sector

Inhesion/Stolzle table layout.

Hong Kong exhibitors faced a challenge - how to compete with the Europeans for a Japanese buyer's attention? Inhesion Industrial appeared to have found a way.

Founded 30 years ago, Inhesion is a Hong Kong tableware company with a particularly aggressive line in international promotions. Over the last year Inhesion has taken its goods to Germany, Dubai and now Japan.

Distinct product lines - trendy for lifestyle shops and traditional for department stores - allow the company to target different types of prospective customers. Prices ranged from US$9 to US$92.

For this fair, Inhesion came up with a brilliant idea - to cross market with German glassware supplier, Stolzle.

Inhesion director Aric Chang, who visited Japan five times in 2007 to develop the market and set up local distribution, said: "it's boring to just have our porcelain tableware. It is much more exciting to also have the [Stolzle] crystal glassware on the table, and display it nicely with flowers. That way, people see the concept as it would look in their home."

"We were in Germany two years ago," explained Chang, "and I saw Stolzle in the German pavilion. I asked: 'why don't we do it together? We can have a better location, outside of the national pavilions with their standard booths. This way, we can have our own design, better presentation, and give a better image.'"

Chang (right) with Zschiesche: presenting a better image.

Stolzle's export manager Jan Zschiesche agreed. "Definitely getting involved with Inhesion has been successful. [Inhesion is] our partner here and by presenting together in the main exhibition area it's easier to deal with Japanese customers, since all the brands are here. We have a good mix of products for table settings and that is benefiting both of us."

Stolzle and Inhesion deal with both Japanese department stores and smaller independent retailers. Because their distributor keeps stock in Japan, they can quickly service even orders of fewer than 10 items.

Cup in hand: Inhesion design.

Inhesion's lifestyle line was also well-received. A hot beverage gift set containing a hand-held electric blender, ceramic cup and plastic stencil for patterning cocoa sprinkles atop the drink, retails at US$16, one of the best-selling items.

Also popular was a designer cup and reusable printed box set priced at US$13.

"On this concept," said Chang, "we've worked with an Australian designer called Christopher Vine since 2004. We promote the designer with exhibitions around the world. Having our own designer is a natural development for us."

Chang pointed to this next-generation marketing as one of the advantages Hong Kong suppliers have compared to the Chinese mainland. "I think we have better [repeat orders], we speak English, and I think lots of buyers find it easier to communicate with us because we do a lot of work internationally. Also, we are closer to markets; we are on the same wavelength."

Inhesion's booth staff could all speak Japanese and, unlike temporary translators, were familiar with the company's products. Inhesion reported some 20 new and repeat orders over the fair's three days.

Hong Kong exhibitors had variable success

Hugin International's Stella Chung: exploring the market.

Hugin International, a Hong Kong tableware supplier making its first appearance at Interior Lifestyle, showed safari-themed plastic and ceramic serving trays and other tableware. The line is of an original design, with prices at about US$1 per piece.

Hugin reported no sales at the fair, but the company's Stella Chung said a few lessons had been learned. "We came here to explore the market, so it was satisfactory. Japanese buyers want trendy designs and good quality items, so we'll be looking for new ideas for next time."

Prominent throughout Interior Lifestyle was the growing "eco-friendly" theme.

Previously the domain of unbleached canvas bags and recycled materials, the "eco goods" concept was extended still further at the show so that even frying pans were promoted as "green".

French cotton drapery.

Worm turns: Stockform's new sleeping bags.

Innovation continued for reusable drink containers. Thermo Mug colourful personal beverage bottles have a freezable gel inner cylinder, and are designed to keep a beverage cold for hours without the adulteration that results from the use of ice.

Acute market research and creative product development were evidenced in Japan-targeted products such as Stockform's Bagworm, a line of indoor cotton sleeping bags. Retailing for US$92, these are washable and compact when rolled - a useful solution for occasional sleepovers in Japanese homes, which generally do not have guest rooms.

A Stockform representative said some buyers also saw the Bagworm's potential for office use, where workaholic Japanese businesspeople can end up spending the night.

Other goods, such as huge nutcrackers and wall clocks, seemed less suited to Japan's consumer preferences.

Plastic kitchenware in profusion.

Branded cleaners from the UK.

Some products - such as Henry vacuum cleaners from the UK, got it half right. While cute, these cleaners are ridiculously large for small Japanese apartments, although the suppliers promoted them as possible in-room decor.

Most booths were either uniquely-designed or heavily customised.

France's Peugeot again brought an automobile to promote their electric pepper mills and other kitchen goods.

Other attention-grabbing displays included a food preparation counter for Italian company Ariete's Chinese-made Mickey Mouse character waffle irons where visitors, attracted by the aroma of fresh waffles, could step up and taste the goods.

Toy in exotic fabrics.

Thermo Mug cool thermos design.

There was an interactive presentation of pre-owned personal diaries from Moleskin. The hands-on display - where visitors were asked to don white gloves - was swarming with people.

That was mainly because the selected diaries, with their user-created formatting, interesting notes and inspired doodling, gave prospective buyers practical illustrations of how the product could be used. Also, the white gloves lent a museum-like air of reverence and quality to the product.

The Interior Lifestyle Fair comprised 632 exhibitors, up from 600 last year and attracted 27,390 visitors compared to 26,332 in 2007.

from special correspondent Monty DiPietro, Tokyo