Meanwhile – When I was back in China

Since I was in the neighborhood of Shanghai I decided to pop over to Changzhou (about 2.5 hour drive) which was having a regional show for laminate flooring. As it turns out this was the first ever show for them so I was glad to be there.

In terms of contrast there were many many visitors from around the world at the Domotex Shanghai show, but the Changzhou show I saw maybe 3-4 westerners. This was definitely a more localized show.

I am pasting in some random shots below:

This is the Exhibition center in Changzhou. It was somewhat large and well suited for the event. About 1/50th the size of Domotex in terms of square footage. (that is my guess) There were folks at Domotex trying to get me to take a free bus ride and stay in a free hotel to attend the Changzhou show, but I waited until I met with one of our long term suppliers on Saturday rather than take that chance.

 
Another shot at the front entry section of the Changzhou Exhibition Hall. The laminate flooring show was well attended and all of the vendors I spoke with seemed happy with the results and customer contacts. This was mostly focused as a domestic show. Some attendees also reported that they were forbidden from showing at Domotex.

 
This was a newer hotel in downtown Changzhou which was very nice and clearly growing like crazy!

 
And for those working at iFLOOR – I can say while I was near Changzhou I stopped by one of the long term manufacturers we purchase from and took a look at a pending shipment of South American Walnut. They are a terrific brand! One shipment has already left and the next shipment was going out this week. This is one of the hottest selling laminates that we have ever had so I know it will be great for team iFLOOR and our customers to have this product back in stock. (This was taken on the 31st of March 2007)

 
It was very interesting for me to see Google Advertising here. I asked someone for the rough translation and frankly I can’t remember what they told me. Something about peace and harmony I think.

 
Here I am with a couple of one of our finest partners that we have been doing business with. They are a great group to work with.

 
Another shot from this same partner. We had a nice lunch while I was there. It really hit the spot after the roughly 2 hour drive from Shanghai. (it was from Kentucky Fried Chicken, by the way.) KFC is really big in China. It was actually very good.