BULGARIAN FURNITURE CLUSTER - A GOOD PRACTICE Ms Genoveva Christova President Venice,

Bulgarian Furniture Cluster is a national based business organization, established in Members of the cluster are 20 SMEs furniture manufacturers, 5 design studios and 2 educational institutions, that have decided to join their resources, capabilities and potential with the purpose to increase their competitiveness at foreign markets. Who are we?

Cluster management Chairperson SME Leader Coordinator (Ambitious + Energetic) 3 sub-groups (marketing, design, technology) Sharing information and resources Equal treatment of each member (neutrality) Mutual trust!

What we are doing? Business planning: set up objective targets Regular meetings: 4 to 5 per year (70% attendance) Member visits (round tour): get to know each other better Information about market trends, design trends, innovative products, specialized information, etc Networking and sector representation at national and international level

Cluster activities Joint Marketing Activities - Fair visits and fair participation, like: - World of Furniture Sofia 2009; - iSaloni Milano 2010; - The Sleep Event London imm Cologne 2011 Trade missions – Holzcluster Austria, 2010; The Chair Triangle in Italy, 2007

The Sleep Event - London 2010

imm Cologne 2011

Cluster activities Design workshop – Black Sea, 2010 Joint master degree in Design (ISIA Florence + New Bulgarian University Sofia); graduate placements in cluster members EU Projects

Design workshop – Black Sea 2010