CHINA - The launch of Tarsus’ South China Label Show has brought the Chinese label industry into the spotlight as a niche market unto itself, organisers claim.
“The label wasn’t defined as a niche within the print industry, and we have managed to create that niche,” says Roger Pellow, MD of Tarsus Labels Group and director of the company’s board.
“People in the West consume 16sqm to 17sqm of labels every year,” continues Pellow. “China has a population of 1.3 billion and they only consume 0.9sqm per head per year. Take that and bring it up to the levels we have, and you see the kind of market potential.
“When we launched there was no industry and we had no competitors,” Pellow continued. “This year we had a copy launched against us, which I guess we should take as a compliment.”
Tarsus also runs Label Expo in Shanghai, Chicago, Brussels and Delhi. South China Label Show is specifically aimed at the South Chinese market.
Pellow added that successfully launching an exhibition in China requires innovative marketing. “Launching a show in an emerging market, you have to throw the rulebook away. The key to a successful show in a market like this is to really think out how to get visitors there. You have to be marketing to the very end to get people to turn up.
The key to getting association members, said Pellow, is to get to have a relationship with the president of an association. “If you can get to them and they like you, they will make sure their members turn up because it becomes a matter of face.
Tarsus this year said more than a quarter of its revenue came from events in emerging markets.
