FGOI: Second Exploratory Visit in Third Countries - USA

Submitted by Ciprian Morcan on 04 October 2022

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Between June 13 and 16, the FGOI delegation, in coordination with the Wood Industry Cluster of Slovenia, travelled to Chicago, USA, to visit the NeoCon trade fair (www.neocon.com) and to gathered insights on USA furniture market as preparation for next year FGOI business delegation in the USA.

The objectives of the Exploratory visit were in line with the objectives agreed on by the consortium in the official Joint Internationalization Strategy:
• Identify specific market opportunities
• Establish formal relationship with the key players in the USA
• Create new services to support SMEs internationalisation

During the Exploratory Visit, the project and the intentions of the European companies was presented: bilateral import/export relations and companies interested in partners for international projects.

At NeoCon we gathered a lot of information about trends and design of workspace and office furniture, and we also learned about some potential business contacts and key people who could act as ambassadors for FGOI. NeoCon is one of the largest furniture-related trade shows in the United States, with professional participation from manufacturers, architects, interior designers, representatives and associations from all over the United States. It offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the US furniture market, as well as to find new potential interesting business connections.

On June 15th, 2022, the special online Networking event with FGOI Project partners & US key players discussion took place. On this occasion, the project and the interest of the FGOI partners was presented. Invited guests from all over the USA presented us with a lot of information about the state and trends in the furniture sector in the USA. Also information on how and where to exhibit and how to start exporting furniture to the USA.

The research visit gave us a lot of information about the market situation, trends and opportunities in the USA, and we also established a connection with potential FGOI ambassadors in the USA who could support us in our further activities in this very interesting market. We also identified which services could support FGOI partner members in the first attempt and also in the further development of business in the USA.

Visit the official website of the project for more information about the project's activities: https://fgoi.eu/

The content of this news represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

Prepared by; Bernard Likar, advisor at the Wood Industry Cluster Slovenia

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