The customers in India are still the most ill-informed about right furniture purchases. Few people rightly point out that Indian customers have slightest hint about furniture suitability and right quality as of now. The first home buyer spends on the cheapest and small sized furniture available, the middleclass customers go for high looks but less functional thus spend on mid-priced or cheap imported ones. The upper class choose to go with functionality, customisation, and aesthetics, hence spend significantly on such furniture according to brand or country of manufacturing on the pretext of any architects planning.
In this scenario, the opportunity for big furniture plants which can produce furniture for masses and offer a quality to rely upon in selected finishes is very bright. But India does not have any such plant/company who is having an audited balance sheet with decent profits. Majority of furniture manufacturers/brands become stagnant or diverted, once they reach to around 200 crore marks. The basic quest of FDT (Furniture Design & Technology) is to find and present “Why India has not seen any single 1000 crore company or group or big players in furniture sector?”
Why there are not even a dozen brands who are present across the country despite of an annual furniture market size around 90,000 crores (estimated figure that include all kinds of furniture made from panel, wood etc, be it factory made or customised)? The size could be much bigger if we calculate numbers after deeper study.
With an estimated annual growth of 27-30 percent, the Indian Furniture Industry is set to witness new trends once IKEA opens its first store. The option to buy compact, functional and well-designed furniture will alter the mindset Indian buyers/customers in future course. We at FDT believe that existing furniture units must learn to adopt new technologies, spend more to build marketing framework and expand with distribution chain with focus on design factor by inviting learned designers to their ‘R&D team’.
The ‘Furniture Design & Technology’ magazine is here to serve with its informative platform that has ‘research based articles and news that you do not get elsewhere’ latest from the ground. This issue contains news on scenario surrounding 5M i.e. Market, Material, Machine, Man and Management. This issue also has ground story from Delhi markets on ‘GST impact on furniture sector’ apart from an Exclusive with ‘Featherlite Director, Mr Dhiren Gopal’ who has expressed his views on the company, design developments, IKEA and changing trends in Furniture segment. We believe, you all will have something useful to build stronger insight from this FDT issue.
Our request to you is to extend your support in the form of giving your valuable times and suggestions frequently. We are beginners in this segment but we are very fast learners, it is our promise.
Pragat Dvivedi
Founder Editor
Furniture Design & Technology (FDT Magazine)
www.furnituredesignindia.com
This editorial was originally published in Furniture Design Technology (FDT Magazine) October – November 2017 print issue. If you want to read the full magazine, please subscribe Furniture Design Technology Magazine here:
Furniture Design India and the magazine FURNITURE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY (FDT magazine) are from the trusted 22-year-old media house of SURFACES REPORTER and PLY REPORTER.
FDT is a B2B monthly bilingual magazine from India that shares the pulse of the furniture business in India and connects the manufacturers, OEMS, product designers, architects, showrooms, designers and dealers.
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