Over the past six months, global trade has faced sustained pressure amid multiple uncertainties, prompting a new wave of reflection across industries. Against the evolving landscape of global trade, Chinese home furnishings enterprises urgently need to explore a sustainable path for long-term growth.

In this context, the 55th China International Furniture Fair (Guangzhou) (CIFF Guangzhou) showcased the resilience of “Made in China” on an unprecedented scale—850,000 square meters of exhibition space and over 4,900 domestic and international exhibitors. The event attracted 363,825 professional visitors, including 56,794 overseas attendees, marking a 10.91% year-on-year increase from the 2024 peak and setting a new record. Both participation and attendance received high praise from the global industry.

On the third floor of Area B at the Canton Fair Complex, the newly launched SOFA PLUS ​pavilion made its dazzling debut—a winding S-shaped “Starlight Avenue”​weaves through over 50 creative showcases, serving as a vivid testament to the transformation and upgrading of China’s sofa industry.

Here, global creativity converges, and emerging markets are incubated. Guided by the core principles of “High Quality, High Value, and High Productivity,” Chinese sofa brands are leveraging this platform to evolve from “Made in China” to “Created in China,” writing a new chapter on the global stage.

Representatives from leading exhibitors gathered to witness this strategic hub, which is driving the industry’s leap from manufacturing to innovation and from OEM to branding.

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China’s sofa manufacturing industry has traversed nearly 30 years of development—an industrial evolution that began with OEM production and gradually advanced toward brand-building. In the 1990s, Chinese sofas rapidly integrated into the global supply chain by leveraging low production costs and fast delivery capabilities. At one point, one in every three sofas worldwide was manufactured in China. However, during this period, Chinese enterprises remained positioned at the bottom of the industrial value chain, facing challenges of limited brand recognition and slim profit margins.

Today, what the SOFA PLUS presents is an entirely new landscape driven by awakened brand consciousness and technology innovation. Numerous participating companies, through years of market accumulation globally, have progressively transformed from OEM to ODM and OBM models, with technology and branding serving as their dual growth engines. The core impetus for this transformation comes from breakthroughs in both technological innovation and brand development. Many enterprises have adopted intelligent manufacturing technologies to elevate sofas into integral components of smart home ecosystems, catering to the demands of personalized lifestyles. Simultaneously, original design has emerged as a crucial passport for Chinese brands to penetrate global markets.

As an innovative initiative of CIFF, SOFA PLUS aims to elevate Chinese enterprises’ manufacturing capabilities and brand ambitions onto the global stage. It serves as both a magnifying glass, highlighting their strength and aspirations, and a catalyst, accelerating the shift from OEM-driven to brand-driven growth.

Strolling along the S-shaped Starlight Avenue of SOFA PLUS, visitors are greeted by over 50 creatively designed showcases arranged in a sequence that resembles a flowing art gallery. These showcases display signature works from both Chinese and international sofa brands, condensing their design philosophies and cultural identities into highly refined presentations that collectively project the confidence and strength of China’s original design.

Design is not merely the external expression of a product but the tangible manifestation of a brand’s core values. The creative showcases at SOFA PLUS elevate design from static displays to dynamic storytelling—each window serving as a miniature brand epic that interprets companies’ insights into lifestyle and their pursuit of aesthetics.

From artisanal craftsmanship to aesthetic transcendence, Chinese sofa design is entering a new era of globalization. This evolution is not driven by sentimental nostalgia for traditional culture nor blind pursuit of smart technology. Instead, the true competitive edge lies in striking a balance—identifying the intersection between heritage craftsmanship and modern innovation while carving out a distinctive identity between local character and global trends.

At the fair, we witnessed smart sofas embedded with sensors and IoT technology, enabling personalized adjustments, while traditional embroidery techniques were deconstructed and reinterpreted into modern minimalist designs, creating unique brand signatures. This “technology + culture” dual innovation stands as a vivid testament to China’s growing cultural confidence.

The SOFA PLUS is not only a hub for design excellence but also a global nexus for trade and cultural exchange. The S-shaped Starlight Avenue weaves together international dialogue, business matchmaking, and intellectual collisions. Here, Chinese brands engage in direct conversations with global buyers, creating a resonant space where commercial logic aligns with cultural values.

Beyond facilitating product circulation, SOFA PLUS builds a bidirectional platform for cultural integration. Chinese brands showcase their design and quality here while absorbing international expertise, forging a complete ecosystem that spans B2B connections, consumer engagement, and the fusion of trade practices with design philosophies. This platform is reshaping how Chinese brands compete globally, empowering them to break free from domestic conventions and demonstrate enhanced innovation and influence in the international market.

Standing at the commanding height of SOFA PLUS, we envision the future trajectory of Chinese sofa brands—a shift from followers to pioneers accelerating at full speed.  Amidst the profound restructuring of the global home furnishings industry, the 2025 China International Furniture Fair (Guangzhou) has anchored its Sofa Export Hall around the “SOFA PLUS” strategic framework, executing a systematic upgrade spanning visual identity, foreign buyer services, and content dissemination. This establishes an internationally recognized value platform that combines cognitive impact, experiential depth, and communication reach.

Looking ahead to 2026, SOFA PLUS will evolve toward deeper content co-creation and value network integration. 

By upgrading IP co-creation mechanisms, the exhibition zone will drive deeper brand participation in thematic content design, crafting more engaging public spaces that significantly enhance overall visibility and international appeal. This upgrade will strengthen audience perception while expanding global reach. Through scene-based experience design and precision service touchpoints, the optimization of online and offline navigation services will facilitate active visitor engagement and higher conversion rates, effectively connecting exhibitors with overseas buyers. Simultaneously, comprehensive promotional planning across the entire exhibition cycle and multi-channel dissemination will showcase SOFA PLUS's brand portfolio and trade value across multiple dimensions, continuously unlocking the platform’s potential for “content globalization + brand co-development.”

SOFA PLUS is becoming the critical junction where product excellence, brand power, and global resources converge.​​

The highland knows no bounds—only boundless possibilities; it is more than a vista but the overture to the future. Here, Chinese sofa brands march onto the world stage with unwavering confidence, pioneering trends through innovation and carving out their own distinctive marks in the world of design. In 2026, we look forward to joining hands with like-minded brands, ascending this highland together, and gazing upon the world from new heights.​

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