Jan-Feb 2020
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Editorial: Decision, Dilemma or Delusion: which stage are you in?
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Editorial
Decisions, Dilemma or Delusions!
Which stage are you in?
With the current period vastly driven by three factors in the Furniture industry of India, the cover story of Furniture Design & Technology (FDT) is “3Cs: Customs Duty, Chinese Import, Coronavirus.” The team interacted with a lot of people recently, the status of companies could be categorized into three major types: the Decisive, the ones absorbed in Dilemma and others in Delusion. Leaders who are clear with the strategies are forging ahead steadfastly with goal oriented plans. They are mostly the settled business houses of India who believe the market has seen the worst and it is time to rise. Companies who are majorly import dependent are in a state of dilemma about the next moves – how to re-negotiate prices, rework on the product, get associated with local players or put forward certain cost to the consumer and absorb some. While speaking to media, Peter Betzel, CEO of IKEA India expressed disappointment with the customs duty hike. FDT came to know some of the players have planned to neutralize the situation, while the team also met few who seem to be living under deep delusion. With many of their orders in queue with the Chinese factories while China is facing a crisis due to Coronavirus outbreak, it is probably not wise to expect the deliveries soon. An analyst suggested, it will be wise to invest and look for other alternatives so that if the deliveries from China are affected, work will not get impacted. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggested the government to take steps to ensure Indian businesses are not hit hard by the Coronavirus outburst. India is highly dependent on imported Chinese goods for many of its production as well as finished products. Traders are also of the opinion that if investment is routed elsewhere what will happen when China opens up and dumps a large volume of material. Some are worried about price rise and requesting for easy paper work
as their material is stuck at the port while Chinese factories could not furnish requisite documents. CII suggested, “The government may offer credit with a backstop facility of guarantee for companies which have the capability to start immediate production of items that can feed into domestic consumption.” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed that disruptions are visible due to delay in shipments, however, there are no concerns about price rise so far due to Coronavirus scare. Keeping the current factors aside, it is good to see how the economy is showing green shoots of revival. Despite the weak 2018 & 2019 in a row, India’s business leaders and analysts are not giving up the hope for a positive turnaround in FY 202021. There is a unanimous feeling that India has tremendous potential and it is time for the country to emerge strongly from the shackles of the past and impact of major reforms for a gigantic revival and growth. This issue has inputs from various leaders and insiders of the furniture industry along with reports on Vasai industrial hub, NCR furniture markets, innovations, interviews, news, trends and a lot more. Keep reading Furniture Design & Technology!
Pragat Dvivedi Founder Editor
Reach us at: ‘dpragat@gmail.com’, M: 9810612991
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MORE INDUSTRY REACTIONS FDT: How will the hike impact the buying pattern of Indian consumer? It will generally not affect the buying pattern of consumers as they will have lot of ‘Made in India’ products at competitive prices. FDT: How do you foresee the future of Indian furniture industry in 2020-21 for Spacewood? Also, list any top three trends for the next year. Spacewood is very optimistic about FY 20-21 as there is a shift towards branded furniture. Design trend in home furniture is more towards mix of material, glossy panels, soft cushions etc. For modular kitchens more neoclassical designs will be popular.
Kirit Joshi
FDT: What is the impact of Coronavirus outbreak in China on the furniture import?
Director, SpaceWooD
Companies who are importing finished furniture products from China will face a lot of uncertainty. Even when the factories open, it is not necessary that we will get a priority. This will lead to a shortage of material and eventually a lot of Indian sourcing will happen.
FDT: What are your views on the customs duty hike on imported furniture and parts? How do you think it will impact the furniture industry of India? The hike in import duty of furniture is going to positively impact the Indian furniture manufacturer. 25% + 10% cess + 18% GST comes to almost 50% besides freight clearing and forwarding which is almost 10% . So total cash flow will be 60% of ex works price. With such high duty ‘Made in India’ will get major boost. The impact of increase in Import duty will be on both offline and online equally. But largely to offline industry. I guess the entry and middle end furniture will get mostly affected.
The impact of the closure of Chinese market will come in two ways, i.e., there are a lot of companies who are importing finished furniture products from China. For them, there is a lot of uncertainty in the market in terms of when and whether they would be able to receive their orders or not. In addition, they are also concerned that when the factories will open, whether they would prioritize India or the USA or other European countries. It is not necessary that we will get a priority. This will lead to a shortage of materials and eventually a lot of Indian sourcing will happen. Secondly, there will be an effect over the manufacturers as well, as they are sourcing large quantity of hardware and raw materials from China. In the end, there could be an impact on the prices of the furniture as they may go up marginally in the future.
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FDT: What ar e your views on the customs duty hike on impo rted furniture and parts? How do you think it will im pact the furnFDT Co iture industry of In dia? Obviously, ther e is going to be a major impact on th e furniture ind ustry after the rece nt e incu s duty hike. testrioom r of But there is th catch as mosany home an ma or e aesthetical t of the branded solid pleasin furniture ly forwo thod available g e pe throughout In ople usin g the spa dia is being pr oc ur ed and manufacture d in the coun try itself. In fact, the tradit FDT:ionWalhaIntdia is nyofuurrnvie ituw available on we reon the dutybshiite likeim Flipo kes on pkrtart, Urban Ladder ed furnitu ors?Pepperfry pa rt is How do procur from the cities it like Jodhpur,you thinked Jaipur etc. will Therefore, ththe furnitu re indu stry is particular segment of India? will face almTh oset go nove efrnmen of ve Indi the furniturecustom fect. Hot we r, a has h being m s ad duetyfro tomdiMD scou rage ch imported woim F, odpoparts nean ls, dPUtoPabo intlsteterc.th be highly imIn wiell ‘Maka padicta’edinan itiat d ive face . He mnc ajor e it’s hike. In otheth price good f r wo e gr rdow s, m thidd oflethfue rn initu dure segment which stry as we s as thmeain In ly di cons an ectitonutom es y.ofNow In Th solid wood wi di mllanfaufceaclittutlereeffe s arct e inwhailebetter a high end desig pos ner fu to co level will suffe mpernteituinrethanedmen artry ket and m thi willr th mice ost.parit bee pr y. For high-endpa man
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FDT: How is th e Coronaviru s outbreak in Ch ina going to impact local business es dependen t on Chinese fact ories? Currently, th e First of all, I ex press my since In dian furnitu re sympathy to re the Chinese pe ople and pray for the sp industry is eedy control g o in ov g er the epidemic. In In dia, mostly th through a ro e low-end segment of th bust e industry is largely dependent on phase of gro Chinese impo w th. rts hence they will be im pacted for su Growing at re. However, the emerging more situation will boost the than 20%, th high-quality m anufactures in e Indian India since the demand fo furniture in r superior prod uc d ts will ustry is rise consider ably and the consumers expected to will also be th e ultimate be d ouble neficiaries. Being a prem it ium global br s g ro w th an d REHAU is in the well-positione d to cater to the middle next five ye as well as the ars. upper segmen t and the current situa tion has emer ged as an opportunity, ra ther a respon sibility as well to fill the blend aesthe supply gap, pa tically with al rticularly in l kinds of edgebands se furniture and gment. We ar are a perfect e committed and fully prep solution for kitchen cabine ared to provid ts, cupboards, e seamless supply of edge table edges an d countertops bands to mee for offices. No t the upsurge in de n-Toxic, Anti-Bacteria man
ufacturers lik e us, the hike of 5-10% in cust oms duty hard ly mak any differenc e, because ou r custom segment is to tally different . It has o impacted the operators in the grey market enga ged in cheap imports f China. The fu rniture indust ry of India not be impact ed much, in fa ct, the h will help Indian manufacture rs to util their capacity in full to reac h a highgrowth traject ory with the go vernmen ‘Make In India’ initiative.
FDT: How do you foresee the future of the Indian furniture indu stry in the next 5 ye ars?
Mostly Indian furniture indu stry is unorganized. With the entry of various online compa nies in India, more and more compa nies are mak ing efforts to get organi zed. The cons umers are also becomin g more awar e of the benefits of bu ying furniture from organized play ers. When we talk about Furniture fro m REHAU’s pe rspective, these are exce llent space so lutions like cupboard s, cabinets, or kitchen. Currently, the Indian furnitu re in
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The buying pattern of customers w ill not chan ge. Importers w ill try to ad dress this hike wit hout affectin g consumers a lot. FDT: How do you foresee the future of the Indian furnitu re industry in 20 20-21? As far as my opinion goes, there will be no change in the expected 20% growth pattern of the furnitu re industry in the coming 5-6 years. Peop le are making good houses and th ere is a major deman d of interior pr oducts from the cons umers. In addit ion, we are witnessing th at the Govern ment is also discouraging the savings by increasing the bank inter est rates mak ing more money availab le for the dispo sal. Such money will be used in the ho me décor, so the growth Cayo is going to st . ver STory
FDT: How will the hike impa ct the buying patter n of Indian co nsumers? ovePorstSdiT sco ussio n with more ry stakeholders , I have unde rstood that the buying pa ttern of cust omers will not change ve ry much. The hike from 20% to 25% is basically a 5% hike. nd crIm eapo tesrters will surely try to address this without affect g envir onment ing the cons umers a lot ace.by further negotiation with the sour by doing som ces, FDT: What will e value engine be the impact ering in of product or by Coronavirus absorbing so outbreak in China on m e of th th pa e e e cuim ct fu rniture impo stoms for a short term rt ? and then plan ureaanbedtter way. So ye The impact of s, the closure of thpa ere may be so import from l im China post th ct me movemen e outbreak of t but Coronavirus ? not very significant. Rece is going to ad ntly, in India versely affect we are witnes the industry at least for th sing an influx hifu kern e next six mon d itu of new there m ths. Traders anufacturers wh o have mainta . Ea he rlier, there ined a good inv weap reerfactories entory might not get for modular affected but th kitchen ke andinfurniture ose who have planned , now solid wo their container od furniture foctr ories are fa s in the buying and se being set up lling pattern wi which sig ellnifies the gr ll get affected the m owth in the se ost. Already, we ctor. hen move is su ia have started getting rely going to news from th provide boio osnt to this se sit e vendors ab ou t how their m gment and pe at ople erials have go ht start movin heigre stuck. Assess t g towards wo ing the real im od anel based fu pact is going to take time as rniture. the Chinese go vernment f is also not giv ing the real pic ture. kes
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FDT: What are your views on the customs dut FDT: What are y hike on imp your latest offe orted furniture and rings? parts? How do Maison Du Lux you think it will imp e strongly beli eves in act the indust evolving and ry? trav ersing the diff The hike will erent dimensions of definitely hav furniture des e far reaching effe ign with the intent cts on the furn of keeping up iture industry as loca with challenges and l manufacture always coming rs will get a boost. The out victorious. Exp imported sup loring contras erior quality produc ting dimensions and ts are as it is getting out of very expensive, an our comfort zone, additional 25% our range of luxu is a massive hike ry furniture is imp that will impact eccably resona most of the industry nt with the intricacies . Even the ent of ethereal furn ry level people (beginn iture. ers) come with We are moving toward a certain fixed s the use budget, hence of metal and it will have its implica a minimalisti c yet tions over the modern approa entire cycle. ch catering to the contempor ary demands we encounter. Also , we are providi ng environmenta FDT: How will l paints which the hike are water based that help impact the buy us aid the sus ing pattern tainable aspect of furn of Indian con iture design. sumers? The Indian ma nufacturers are already in the FDT: How do soup whilst fac you foresee ing many advers FY 20202021 for Maison ities. This hike Du Luxe ? will give them an opp ortunity to gain We work tire a little margin and ope lessly toward s embracing n their marke change, pursuin t to the consumers g growth and . building a positive tea m by develop ing our work ethos. Our company has had substantial gro FDT: How do wth in the pas you foresee the future t few years and our of the Indian aim is to carry furniture ind ustry in the legacy forward 2020-21? with zest and fervor. Our aim is to The hike wi contribute in We are striding reinstating ll towards a 5 trill India’s glory by definitely ha ion dollar econom being instrum y which will com ve far ental in engineering and e with its own set furnishing the reaching eff of aspirations future marvels of the ects in the form of infrast architectural ructure and late and on the furnit designer wor st ld. For Maison technology. The ure Du Luxe, infrastructure the year 2020-2 industry as is ma on 1 ssiv pro local mises growth e developme a whole lot of nt and hence and manufactur furniture indu exciting new the ers will avenues. stry is also evo lving by leaps and bou get a boost. nds. The year 202021 will see opt imal growth and the future looks promising as long as the economy is on our side. Hop efully, it should end on a positive not e. | fdtmag. com
FDT: What is your view on the customs duty hike on imported furn iture and parts? How do you think it w ill impact the furniture indu stry in genera l? The new deve lopment anno uncement do by the finance ne minister of In dia will be ve positive for th ry e furniture in dustry so Indi manufacture an rs and allied industries are beneficial an d will also resu lt in generatin large scale jo g b opportuniti es as furniture industry is a labor intensive segment.
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FDT: How will the hike impa ct the buying pattern of In dian consum ers? India has been growing rapidl y and we have all the techno logies availabl e in India which is currently im ported from other countrie This move wi s. ll give a grea t push to star local manufac t turing in India and will be more benefic ial to India an d give a big pu to our Honour sh bale Prime M inister’s visio for 5 trillion ec n onomy.
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FDT: How do you foresee the status of Indian furnitu re industry in 2020-21? India has good resources av ailable and a tremendous energetic youn g force with good design a thinking which will revolutioni the Indian furn ze iture industry . The inflow of international designers co m in g to India will also create a great combina tion of designs and such prod , ucts will be av ailable in Indian marke ts at Indian ra tes. FDT:
BEYOND DESIGNS A WORLD FULL OF CREATIVE PURSUITS
Beyond designs is one of the premier luxury furniture design brands proudly taking the Made in India tag to the world. The brand specializes in Luxury Furniture, Home Accessories and Interior Solutions. While exploring its exquisite furniture showroom at MG Road, Sultanpur, Delhi, Furniture Design & Technology (FDT) had an interesting chat with the Founders.
F
ounded by Sachin Gupta and joined in by wife Neha Gupta, Beyond Designs is a work of passion with a keen eye for detail and design understanding. What started as a hobby for Sachin opened up a world full of possibilities and creative pursuits for him with so much to explore, experiment and create continously. A follower of maximalism, Sachin believes today’s well travelled customers want influences from around the globe to enliven their homes, “With such a rich art and heritage, it would be foolish to go for a minimal look,” he says. The boutique retails high-end furniture pieces with the use of exquisite materials like stone, mirror, metal,
crystals, semi precious inlay, gold and silver leaf etc. At a time when India is looking at the West for latest designs in furniture, Sachin has created a mark in designing and manufacturing furniture in India to feed the growing luxury market. Sachin loves to travel around the world and likes to bring back the ethnic and original patterns and forms to amalgamate it into the new design ideas. He likes to create homes with designs revolving around the lifestyle and the culture of the clients. He successfully got Beyond Designs into prominence by consciously providing quality in all products and keeping the integrity of design paramount. “Beyond Designs gives me the freedom to express the confidence,