The second ZOW in Moscow has been declared a success, with visitor and exhibitor numbers both up.

Organiser Survey Marketing & Consulting reported 4,500 visitors at the April 18-21 event, up from 3,750 in 2004, while exhibitor numbers increased by 10 to 160.

Almost 90% of visitors were from Russia itself, with the remainder mainly from former Soviet states, particularly White Russia and the Ukraine. Most foreign visitors came from Germany.

Italian companies were the biggest contingent of exhibitors at the All Russian Exhibition Centre, making up 40% of the total, followed by Russia with 30%.

A conference on Developing Competition in the Russian Furniture Industry, supported by the Russian government and national trade associations, was attended by about 250 delegates from major furniture companies in the Moscow region.

Both retro styling and futuristic themes proved popular in the surfaces and fronts sector.