In one week the inaugural edition of C-star, Shanghai's International Trade Fair for Solutions and Trends all about Retail, will kick off in Shanghai.
C-star will be held on May 13-15 2015 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre and will be the most international retail show of Eastern China.
With EuroShop, the world's largest and leading retail trade fair, as its official mother show, C-star is set to write a new success story in China. Alike its mother fair EuroShop, C-star will have a clear structure with four distinctive exhibition areas:
- Shopfitting, Lighting, Refrigeration, Store Design
- Retail Technology
- Visual Merchandising & Marketing
- Stand Construction
Eastern China's most international retail show
With all of its floor space completely sold, C-star will feature a net exhibition space of 5000 square meters where 160 exhibitors from 23 countries will present their newest solutions and latest products geared to the needs of the Chinese retail market. The show will feature an exceptionally high degree of internationalism, as 47% of all participating exhibitors' headquarters are based overseas. This makes C-star the most international retail show in Eastern China.
Most exhibitors (44%) will represent the Shopfitting sector (44%), followed by Visual Merchandising (22%), Retail Technology (13%), Lighting (11%), Stand Construction (4%), while refrigeration and general services for retail make up for the remaining 6%. Among the 160 C-star exhibitors will be numerous industry leaders such as Sibu Design, Schlegel Concept, Interstore, Ezidone, Changhong Decorations, Octanorm System, LS Lighting, Nedap, Checkpoint, Bizerba China, Mettler Toledo and many more.
Unanimous support by leading industry associations
C-star will not only be a very international but also a very professional show. This is shown by the unanimous support C-star has received so far by various leading industry associations, who will organize group visits to the show. Numerous of such buyer and visitor groups have already announced their participation at C-star, with groups coming from regions as far as North America or India, including:
- EHI Retail Institute, which will bring top retailers from Europe
- asia a gogo, bringing top retailers from North America to Shanghai
- Mumbai based VJ Media will organize a buyer's group from India
- China Commerce Association for General Merchandise (CCAGM)
- Shanghai Franchise Enterprise Association will organize a group with Shanghai's top franchise retailers to C-star
- the organizers of CHIC, Asia's largest fashion retail show, Nanjing Association of Garment Merchandisers, and The Fashion Shop, one of China's leading fashion publications, will bring VIPs from the fashion retail industry to C-star
C-star will also feature a German Pavilion on-site, which is officially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie). On 269 square meters this joint company exhibition will host 11 companies exclusively putting their latest "Made in Germany" products on display at C-star. The fact that a German federal ministry is backing an inaugural event further emphasizes the strong belief of C-star's supporters in the show's expertise and professionalism.
Extensive supporting program
However, C-star is more than just a trade fair and will feature an extensive supporting program. The C-star Retail Tour, a full day guided tour that will introduce Shanghai's most exciting shopping destinations to international retailers, will be held on May 12, one day prior to the show. The tour will start at the iconic Himalaya Center, then a brief stop at City Super, which is the most popular case study for how fresh and high-end food retail captures the heart of the growing Chinese middle class, and continue to Puxi at iapm Mall and Lane Crawford, which are both demonstrations of how malls are not only smart show rooms for multiple brands but also transforming themselves into multifunctional social meeting places in China. This initiative will not only give foreign retailers exclusive insights into Shanghai's retail market but will also help them to better understand the needs and requirements of Chinese customers.
Throughout the whole show time, C-star will also feature the "Designer Village", a special exhibition area located in the center of the exhibition hall, which is devoted to the world’s top retail design agencies. With rising demands of Chinese customers regarding their shopping experience, advanced and sophisticated shop designs and outfitting are becoming increasingly important factors in China's retail industry. Thus, C-star's Designer Village will feature internationally renowned architects, who will present their latest innovative Shopfitting and Store Design solutions to the Chinese market.
Those interested in shopfitting and store design should also not miss the EuroShop Retail Design Award (ERDA) Reception Dinner, which will be held on May 13 at the rooftop bar of the Kerry Hotel Pudong. At this glamorous ceremony, which is organized annually by the EHI Retail Institute and Messe Düsseldorf, the world's three best store designs will be awarded. Retail professionals should not miss this outstanding event.
The highlight of C-star's supporting program will definitely be the C-star Retail Conference, which will be held on May 13-14 at the Kerry Hotel Pudong, right next to the C-star fairgrounds. There, leading industry peers will discuss the trending topic of "The Future of Retail - The Future of Creating Destinations". As increasingly more retailers struggle to find ways how to bring customers back to their physical stores in times of rising e-commerce, the conference topic is exactly at the pulse of time. Participants of the C-star Retail Conference will have the unique chance to learn from the first hand experiences of key note speakers from leading retailers such as METRO, Walmart, Bon Marché, Montblanc, Yi-Hao-Dian and many more.
But also those, who don't want to leave the fairgrounds, will have the opportunity to exchange their ideas with leading industry peers, thanks to the C-star Open Forum. Co-organized by the EHI Retail institute, the Open Forum will be located on-site at the C-star exhibition hall and will feature an area of 270 square meters in theater form, able to accommodate up to 60 participants. As the name suggests, C-star's Open Forum is open to anyone wanting to attend and will be opened throughout the show time of C-star.
Such a vast supporting program is exceptional for a trade fair being held for the first time and emphasizes C-star's ambition to not only become a leading business platform but also an outstanding knowledge hub for people striving to share and exchange their knowledge with leading industry peers.
At a glance:
- C-star, Shanghai's International Trade Fair for Solutions and Trends all about Retail
- When: 13-15 May 2015
- Were: Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Hall N1
- Scope: 160 Aussteller aus 23 Ländern
- Pre-registration via: visitor.c-star-expo.com
Source: Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
