The 18th China (Linyi) Diverse Department Store Expo and the 2nd Shandong Exhibition International Trade Sourcing Fair recently opened at the Linyi International Expo Center.
This year’s expo features seven major exhibition areas with a display area of approximately 60,000 square meters and more than 2,000 booths. Leveraging the strength of local industry clusters, the event creates a one-stop procurement platform. Exhibits span over 300,000 SKUs of all-category small commodities—such as plastic products, cleaning supplies, and kitchenware—meeting the needs of buyers across different industries.
Building on Linyi’s commercial and logistics advantages, the expo actively supports the “dual circulation” strategy. The organizers invited 1,000 international buyers from 15 countries and regions, including Tajikistan, Mongolia and Nepal. “Last year I came to Linyi for the Diverse Department Store Expo. I found a wide variety of goods at very affordable prices and placed multiple orders on the spot; they sold out quickly after I returned home,” said Haixin, a buyer from Tajikistan who attended last year. He returned this year with many orders and met factory representatives in the expo’s “International Trade Sourcing Zone” to discuss cooperation and find more partners.
“I negotiated prices, inspected samples and discussed delivery times with Linyi companies face-to-face. These direct meetings are very efficient for closing deals and building long-term relationships,” Haixin said. He noted that the platform the expo provides serves as an efficient bridge for cooperation, saving companies considerable time and cost—exactly what buyers want—and facilitating the entry of Linyi products into more countries.
During the expo, three matchmaking sessions for international buyers were held, allowing exhibitors ample time to address foreign buyers’ procurement needs, expand overseas channels, and help Linyi department store products enter international markets. The expo also added a new section—the inaugural China Northern Outdoor Equipment Expo—featuring tents, sleeping bags, outdoor tables and chairs, mountaineering gear, camping equipment and other outdoor products, which attracted many buyers.
In recent years, Lanshan District has integrated resources from both international and domestic markets to help efficiently link supply and demand at home and abroad. Last year, it organized 63 activities bringing foreign buyers into the mall and invited 4,784 international buyers to source in Linyi; it also launched an innovative “paired going-global” initiative, conducting 131 overseas exhibition and negotiation activities and leading 2,900 companies to explore overseas markets and secure orders.
Meanwhile, the Linyi Mall International Trade Approval Hall has opened as the province’s first “one-stop” foreign-related service hall, consolidating 15 departments and 114 foreign-related services. The “six-one” supporting foreign-related construction is progressing steadily, enriching the mall’s library of quality foreign-trade goods. Ten new sourcing centers, including JunCai, have been added, along with 17 new overseas malls, overseas warehouses and border warehouses in markets such as the United States. Notably, Lanhua (Korea) Overseas Mall was recognized by the Provincial Department of Commerce as one of the “2024 Shandong Province Key Cultivated Brand Commodity Display Center Enterprises.”