Dubai, UAE: Paperworld Middle East 2019 has come to successful end in Dubai, with 6,908 trade buyers and visitors from across the wider region treated to a whole new world of potential business opportunities.
The 9th edition of the region’s largest international trade fair for stationery, paper, gifts and office supplies, featured 305 exhibitors from 42 countries, with its bold new ‘More than Paper’ theme well received by visitors.
The annual showcase took place from 18-20 March 2019 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, with organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East also announcing the launch of a new show to take place next year that will further underline Paperworld Middle East’s More than Paper credentials for 2020 and beyond.
That new show will be Interior Lifestyle Middle East, offering a holistic platform for exhibitors to showcase mid to high-end consumer goods, specifically oriented toward the giving and dining segments.
The two exhibitions will be co-located in 2020 at the same venue, providing an even more comprehensive business development platform, and leveraging the existing synergies between related industries.
Alexandria Robinson, show director for both Paperworld and Interior Lifestyle Middle East, said a key objective this year was to present an all-encompassing platform filled with new ideas and creations: “This year we really stepped up our efforts to engage with exhibitors and encourage them to showcase their most vibrant offerings, and I think that really showed on the exhibition floor this year,” she said.
“So whether it was baby clothes and children’s lifestyle products, stationery, school bags, writing instruments and creative supplies, or premium gifts and leather accessories, there was plenty on offer to entice regional trade buyers to think outside their traditional product portfolios and expand into new areas.”
Robinson highlighted the show features that continue to display a lot of promise, in particular the Playworld Village, which for the first time hosted the Qualatex Mystery Box competition; and the Green Room for sustainably produced stationery and office supplies.
“Sustainable production is a critical component throughout the whole value chain in this industry, whether for printing, paper, stationery, or remanufacturing, and it’s pleasing to see a lot of exhibitors put this at the forefront of their strategy,” she added.
“We plan to continue to develop the Green Room, the Playworld Village, and of course our Corporate Gifts section which impressed with a wide range of innovative promotional gift ideas for resellers and corporate end-users alike.”
Paperworld Middle East 2019 also featured a comprehensive programme of seminars as well as the UAE’s only gift wrapping competition - Wrap Star, which saw the best gift wrappers in the region showcase their bewildering variety of skills.
Paperworld Middle East and Interior Lifestyle Middle East will both next take place in March 2020. More information is available at www.paperworldme.com.