Indiantelevision.com Team

(26 September 2007 8:00 pm)

BANGALORE:The furniture industry (including furniture hardware and furniture fittings) in India is estimated to be around US$8 billion and is expected to grow at a rate that is much faster than its current rate of about 25-30 per cent annually. The organized segment which comprises of mainly imports and a few Indian manufacturers who are mostly into the office furniture segment accounts for about 15-20 per cent of the total pie.

A major chunk of the organized imported segment (80 per cent ) comprises of home furniture. The organized sector has shown a healthy growth of about 13-15 per cent last year and is expected to grow even more rapidly. The drivers are the fast paced growth in the construction and hospitality industries and organized retail and businesses and industries in India.

Another growth driver is the demanding and discerning young Indian who is no longer satisfied with the old hand me down furniture used by his forefathers. The growth in the organized segment is quite obvious from the fact that some major chains and hyper-malls have already starting stocking furniture and furniture accessories and have had a good response on that front.

This is some of the data revealed by Universal Expositions Group (UEL) president Liyakat Khan during a press conference in Bangalore today. UEB claims to be the only focused trade fair for the furniture industry. It has been holding two furniture B2B ‘Index International Trade Fair’ (IITF) exhibitions – one each in Mumbai and Delhi.

Mumbai IITF 2007 is being held in association with KoelnMesse GmbH, the organizers of IMM Cologne and INTERZUM. Held concurrently will be the Mostra Design Exhibition, an expression pure design by the government of Italy. The Delhi exhibition will run through its fourth edition and Khan expects around 100 exhibitors this year.

Khan has also added Bangalore to the circuit – June 2008 will see the first Bangalore edition of IITF and Khan expects around 100-150 participants. Khan is also contemplating on adding Chennai to the circuit, so that the Chennai and Bangalore editions will be held on alternate years.

Some of the major players in the organized segment of the furniture industry include manufacturers Godrej, Featherlite, Style Spa, Nilkamal Plastcis and importers such as Durian and Stanley Seating. Stanley seating also manufactures automobile furniture. These players along with some regional players have been advertising through billboards, cinema halls, print and even some television advertisements as in the case of Nilkamal and Godrej among others. Hyper-malls and chains too have been advertising some of the discounted and special offers on furniture by way of city specific print ads, handouts and billboards. However since data on spends has not been collated or analyzed by any agency in the country, Khan could not put a figure on the ad spends by the furniture industry so far. Quite obviously with the growth of the organized segment, ad spends by the furniture industry will only grow.