Despite Slowdown Furniture Market in NCR is Expanding

FDT Bureau

Agreed the real-estate industry is witnessing a slowdown in the Delhi NCR region, however, contrary to the slowdown, the furniture market of the region is witnessing a growth. The FDT team recently took stock of selected small and big furniture markets in the Delhi-NCR region and based on the findings believe that the furniture market and related business expansion is going on in a manner which shows a pleasant picture of the future of the furniture industry.

Kirti Nagar, located in the heart of Delhi, is known as the biggest furniture market of India. In this area, while many showrooms are under renovation, the number of new showrooms is also increasing. Those associated with the industry shared with Furniture Design & Technology (FDT) that the age-old Kirti Nagar furniture market is still growing and many new entrepreneurs are investing in the furniture business.

Mr. Gurmeet, owner of the Wood Mart furniture showroom at Kirti Nagar, says, “There is a slight drop in furniture sales at the moment. It is a part of the business but all those present in the market are doing well. In spite of slow down, many new showrooms have been set up. It is expected that there will be a boom in the business in the coming time.” Khem Chandra of F Studio says, “There is a high demand for living room furniture in the market, although there is a decline in sales but new players are showing their interest in furniture and opening new stores in Kirti Nagar. There will be a boom in the market once the season starts.”

Noida-Greater Noida is a favorite destination for furniture makers. With numerous business activities going around the area, the region is growing with positive sentiments. A large number of micro, small and medium enterprises including wood panel, furniture factories and associated manufacturing units are located in the region. As per estimation, there are approximately 200 units which are directly or indirectly associated with the furniture industry and the number of such units are increasing. Recently, a few new showrooms including small ones have opened up in these areas and the number of factories adjoining the showrooms are also increasing.

If we consider in particular the Greater Noida region, in the last few months, many new furniture showrooms have opened up at Site-IV, UPSIDC located on Kasana Road in Greater Noida and the number of such showrooms is growing. Factors like the trend of apartment living, new residential and institutional projects in the surrounding area and increasing infrastructure and business activities are attracting furniture fraternity to open up new showrooms or establishing new furniture units to cater the growing demand in the area. Apart from this, there is also a large number of Timber merchants available in the surrounding area. This makes it easier for the furniture makers to get the wood for furniture.

Mr. Anoop Bhati of Valencia Furniture House and Mr. Tarun Gupta, a young businessman and owner of Mosaic Furniture agree to the fact that due to the mentioned reasons, the furniture market at Site-IV, Kasana Road is expanding. This is the newest market in the region. A year ago there were only a few furniture shops, the number of which has increased to 40-50 presently.

Despite having lower than normal sales, companies are expanding their manufacturing capacity. The NoidaGreater Noida furniture market is accompanied by the expansion of the furniture manufacturing units. This is an indication of a better future of the furniture industry in the region. The company named Manu Lal and Sons has recently started its furniture manufacturing unit in Greater Noida Site-5, especially for making wooden almirahs. Mr. Sohan Gupta, factory supervisor of the company, shares, “Since more space is needed for wood working work, we shifted here a few months ago. After coming here, the work has increased and production is going better than before.” Apart from this, modular furniture manufacturer Aaina Interiors is also going to start manufacturing of furniture at Site-5 soon. All wood working machines have been installed by the company. Factory manager, Mr. Irfan Khan told FDT that his company is already operating in Laxminagar, Delhi but has set up the factory here to meet the growing demand of other furniture segments. Mr. Khan hopes that through this new unit, the company will soon be successful in achieving its business goals and increase the turnover.

Furniture manufacturers, Numobel and AVEC BOIS, who have been working in Noida Sector 63 for the last few years, have also taken important steps to increase their production capacity. The company is now shifting from Noida to Greater Noida and shifting work was in full swing during the FDT visit. Mr. Mitesh Kumar, associated with the management of the company, said that the company is also involved in the export of furniture and they have a higher share of exports in the business. In order to increase the manufacturing capacity as per the demand, the company is being shifted to Greater Noida from Noida. Modular furniture is also manufactured by the company. Similarly, Eikot Furnishing Company located in Sector 63 Noida is also expanding its furniture manufacturing capacity. Activities like establishing new furniture units and expansion of production capacity indicate that the demand of furniture in the market has increased and it will be higher in near future.

New showrooms catering to luxury clientele have been added in MG Road. Kirti Nagar is seeing fresh investments in renovating old showrooms and addition of new players. Many small factories which were operational in Delhi NCR have bought larger spaces to cater to greater demand. Overall, amid some falls, FDT could see many rising, citing positive sentiments for the furniture players in Delhi NCR.

The Sultanpur and Ghitorni market located at Mehrauli-Gurgaon road (MG Road) in Delhi is also continuously expanding its limits and attracting the furniture fraternity and customers. In recent days, 5 to 8 new furniture outlets have been set up in this area including those where the work is going on for new showrooms. These new showrooms caters to the furniture demand of all kinds of customers specially luxury. Most of the new showrooms are based on imported furniture from multinational and reputed brands.

Faridabad and Gurgaon based Furniture industry of NCR is also expanding its limits. Due to new housing projects, road, rail and metro connectivity, new investments, booming infrastructure, enhancing public utilities and industrial activities the number of industries including the small scale furniture units are growing. The city of Haryana is considered a popular choice for setting up showrooms due to its proximity to the national capital of Delhi. Like other cities of NCR, Faridabad is also growing rapidly and population is increasing continuously. The demand for furniture and related products is also increasing in the same proportion. The old furniture markets are also expanding here. Panchkuian Road, located at a little distance from NIT Faridabad, is considered to be the oldest furniture market of Faridabad. This market has been catering the furniture demand of local people for the last 40-45 years. In recent days, many new furniture showroom have came into existence in this market also.

Mr. Jeetu Dua, who has vast experience in the furniture industry, recently opened his showroom by the name, Jiya Foam & Furniture. He said that this market is growing rapidly and many new players have entered in the market. About 20-25 furniture showrooms are present on NIT Road adjacent to Hardware Chowk in Faridabad and few of them are new in the market which includes traders of modular kitchens, wardrobes, office furniture, outdoor furniture, school furniture, kids furniture etc. Overall, it is good for FDT to note that despite of the slowdown in real estate, consumption of furniture is rising.