Taiwan gifts sector banks on design, creativity

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s gift and souvenir items are banking on design and creativity, not price, to beat competition, said Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra) senior project manager of exhibition department David Chan.
He said about 20-30 years ago, Taiwan’s gift industry was at its peak and even the local exhibition hall could not accommodate all the gift exhibitors due to the high demand and lack of space. However following a change over the years, the novelty of gifts has died down and has become somewhat quiet now.
“So gift is no more highly popular now but we still have Taiwan’s own design and creativity, which is what we take pride in. Although we don’t have booming sales but we still have creativity and many good ideas,” Chan told SunBiz at the Giftionery Taipei 2018 recently.
Giftionery Taipei is Taiwan’s largest gift fair, and this year marked its 72nd edition, with the theme “Creativity inspires all”.
He said in recent years, gifts have become more cultural and creative-centric, which is also linked to Taiwan’s culture, where Taiwanese are fond of new things.
“Gift has evolved until now, means it still has its meaning and value. It’s an old industry and Taiwan has its own creativity. We have to preserve Taiwan’s gift industry, we cannot let it fade away just like that,” said Chan.
He explained that as China has replaced Taiwan’s gift industry due to cheaper costs, Taiwan has to rely on design and creativity to flourish.
“We cannot compete with China. It’s not possible because they always have low price,” said Chan, adding that most of the gift production facilities in Taiwan have also moved to China (mostly centred in Guangdong) or Southeast Asia.
Each year, Taitra holds more than 30 international trade shows. These events attract 10,000 exhibitors, both domestic and foreign, and 80,000 foreign buyers. These shows have assisted Taiwan business to enhance global trading ties and promoted the development of the trade show industry.
Among Taitra’s largest exhibition in Taiwan is the Taipei International Machine Tool Show, followed by Computex Taipei, Taipei Cycle and Taipei AMPA (automobile parts & accessories) and Food Taipei. These top five trade shows have at least 1,000 exhibitors and above. – by Ee Ann Nee