Already in the first two days of the trade mission to London, Ukrainian furniture makers managed to pleasantly impress representatives of the British business with their professionalism in conducting negotiations and profitable offers.

April 25 and 26, 2023 were spent in active business communication with British customers and companies. In total, more than 1,000 B2B meetings were held.

From 10:00 a.m. on April 25, the doors of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland were opened for business representatives from London, who came to meet with the owners of 20 Ukrainian furniture factories.

The total number of guests on the first day of negotiations was 37 people, who are architects, interior designers, restaurateurs and hoteliers.

Among the visitors, about a third are representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in the UK, who work in the furniture sector. They were sincerely surprised by the level of the portfolio of Ukrainian furniture makers, discovering Ukraine from a new side. During the day, more than 500 rounds of negotiations on potential cooperation were held.

Day 2 of the trade mission brought another 500+ meetings with 34 London architects and designers, furniture boutique owners and developers.

In the person of Ukrainian furniture makers, the guests were able to see both a supplier capable of completing a full range of works from the floor to windows and doors to furniture, a source of fresh creativity, and a manufacturer with a unique product that they had been longing for a long time, but could not find on the market.

The behaviour of some guests was radically different: some, having held negotiations with 3-4 manufacturers, scheduled a meeting in their office or at the facility and left the event. Others, not having time to communicate with all the furniture makers during the first day, came for the second, which was completely devoted to communicating with furniture makers from Ukraine one by one.

“I saw Ukrainian furniture at the Meble Polska exhibition and in Milan. There is a good product in Ukraine that is suitable for my business. I buy in Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Turkey, and I have never bought in Ukraine. I understand that today is not the safest time to open a new market, but give me a remote quality control and contract guarantee service, and I am ready to cooperate”, – suggests the wholesale furniture buyer of the medium + and premium segment Philip Paton-Freeman.

Late in the evening, the furniture makers reluctantly left the Embassy, because there was still much to discuss among themselves and with the guests, who stayed for more time to communicate with the manufacturers of #FurnitureofUkraine.

How the participants of the mission themselves responded to the first two days in London, read on.

“We are very grateful to the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers and the USAID Program “Competitive Economy of Ukraine” for the opportunity to find partners in Great Britain! The event went well and in the near future I hope to deepen relations with the partners we met and start implementing projects here”, – Volodymyr Mysyk, BRAND ROOMIO

 

“I already have 8 orders for miscalculation,” says Lyudmila, the owner of Metalland, wearily, “and potential customers keep coming and going.”

 

“A huge thank you for the organization, a very powerful event! Thanks to all designers and architects for their time and patience! I wish all of us success and new achievements in the new market”, – Yulia Korelska, YOURFOREST

 

“It was an incredibly effective event. Two days of continuous communication with the local consumer. Many thanks to those involved”, – Valentina Vasylieva, ATELIER LILU

 

“The trade mission to London is a window of opportunity that every company should take advantage of, because it is a unique opportunity to acquire international customers in a strong and stable market at unprecedentedly low costs for their search, it is an example for many Ukrainian companies to embark on the path of export and understand more about export requests”, – Roman Sydorenko, INSTYLE

 

“In general, the impressions are positive, they gained some experience, and we arranged a meeting with the designer in his office. In the future, we will maintain contacts with clients who have shown interest in our work, and develop further cooperation, thank you”, – Serhiy Samolyuk, MONREDO.

 

“I was very pleased to take part in these days of business meetings, with a high level of organization and preparation. Special thanks to the Embassy of Ukraine for the warm welcome and the opportunity to conduct these negotiations on a piece of Ukrainian land. More than thirty personal professional contacts, which we have already begun to develop in order to develop partnership relations. High evaluation of the participants regarding the companies that are represented in the mission and impressed with the level of their own products. It is an honour to be in such a company and to expand the horizon of one’s own development”, – Roman Mykhaylov, KASSONE workshop

 

“We have about 30 contacts, there is an agreement to meet tomorrow. All contacts have not been arranged yet. We will work on it further. Thank you for the networking opportunity”, – Oleksandr Myslivskyi, SEKRETNICA

 

“This is an interesting opportunity to meet with the professional environment of English and Ukrainian specialists in the field of architecture, construction and design. Then, of course, the next big stage of working out contacts and establishing connections” – Elvira Myslivska, SEKRETNICA

 

“We were very pleasantly surprised by the reception and organization of the trade mission in London. Many meetings and negotiations were held, and we hope for fruitful cooperation in the future. We are grateful to everyone who makes efforts to develop the economy of our country and establish partnerships with our companies”, – Anatoly Alekseev, JOSEPH Furniture Manufacturer

 

“A wonderful event that allowed us to communicate with London designers, builders, and local furniture makers. It gave me the opportunity to hear first-hand the much-needed information about the English furniture market, the peculiarities of the local mentality and the formation of business relations. Thank you to the organizers for the opportunity to take part in it”, – Volodymyr Tikhonchuk, BASSA

 

“The mission gave me many new acquaintances who will become customers in the future. I also found work partners in Britain. I received many new impressions, experience in negotiations with the English and new friends among Ukrainian furniture makers”, – Andriy Savchenko, SAVSHENKO INTERIOR

 

“Good work, thank you. We look forward to the next trade missions. Great opportunities for business and personal development. Interesting, exciting and hopefully productive meeting”, – Vasyl Fetsenets, FROP Wooden corporation

 

“The impression from the mission is positive. We were able to get valuable contacts, meet interesting people and agree on the further development of negotiations”, – Iryna Novikova, TENTONI

 

With gratitude for the development of exports #FURNITUREOFUKRAINE USAID program “Competitive Economy of Ukraine”, we summarize the first two days of the mission with the feedback of another participant – Andrii Varenytsia, founder of Varenycia Group:

“The British trade mission for Ukrainian furniture makers was a good idea. Why? First. Right now it is very necessary for all of us to show that we are alive and working. Second. In order to move quickly, you need to study the mentality of other countries. The third. Communicating with English designers, getting to know each other, studying needs is quite an eye-opener. The fourth. I am convinced that each participant of the mission took away something important for himself…”.

Visits to Offices and Showrooms

On April 27th, Ukrainian furniture manufacturers visited offices and showrooms in London, met with architects, designers, and managers, and received recommendations for entering the UK market and advice on Londoners’ tastes.

First on the list was the FCI London showroom.

Founded in 1985, FCI has grown from a 5000 sq ft exhibition hall to one of the largest designer furniture and lifestyle buildings in the UK. It is one of the largest modern furniture showrooms in the UK, showcasing the most exclusive quality products from world-renowned designers.

London Design Fair exhibition.

Next, Oksana Donska, a member of the UAFM Board and the head of the FUBE exhibition, together with the interested participants of the mission, met with Annie Lindsell, a representative of the London Design Fair exhibition, and discussed possible options for participating in the exhibition in September of this year to further promote Ukrainian furniture on the UK market.

Bloqs Collective Manufacturing (coworking).

A collective manufacturing space of 32,000 square feet of open-access workshops, the best equipment in the industry, a large production space, individual training, group courses, a bar and kitchen, and a great community.

In addition to the joint visits, each mission participant had the opportunity to meet their own contacts and visit interesting showrooms. Professional communication with potential clients in London, visits to showrooms, and personal meetings continue today. So stay tuned for news of our manufacturers’ entry into the British market.

We are grateful for the hospitable reception and strong support of the Embassy of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The trade mission is organized with the support of the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine.