Twin fairs, the Hong Kong Houseware Fair and Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair were held from April 20 to 23, 2018. The two fairs welcomed close to 49,000 buyers from 112 countries and regions, up 1.5 per cent on last year. Almost 30,000 buyers visited the Houseware Fair while more than 19,000 buyers attended the Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair. Attendance from mature markets such as Singapore, Canada, the UK and the US, as well as emerging markets including the Chinese mainland, Vietnam, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, all saw growth.

This year's Houseware Fair had a startup zone, featuring more than 20 start-ups from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Bangladesh. The zone allowed start-ups to exhibit at a lower cost, making the show a springboard for them to connect with overseas buyers and manufacturers and a testing ground to gauge market responses to their products.

Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair adopted the interior theme and showcased a variety of home textiles, upholstery and furnishings products, providing a one-stop sourcing platform for buyers. The highlight zone, the Hall of Glamour, spotlighted quality brands and designer collections. India and the Chinese mainland set up a number of dedicated pavilions to showcase their products.