‘Don’t shun local furniture buyers’

Sunday, July 24, 2011

WHILE most in Cebu’s furniture industry are exporters, a trade show organizer hopes they will not shut out domestic buyers.

Eduardo Zuluaga, who chairs the Manila Now show of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, urged Cebuano furniture companies to sign up for the country’s first co-located furniture show, called the Manila Fame International.

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The show hopes to bring together the quality of the exhibitions of Manila Now, Cebu Next and Pampanga One in a single venue.

The local furniture industry was one of the hardest hit sectors of the global financial crisis, with their target markets most affected by it.

While the groups from the three provinces have been in discussions for some time, unifying their shows never materialized until now.

The Manila Fame International will be held in October and in March, hoping to draw both international and domestic markets to the SMX Convention Center.

First step

Zuluaga admitted that joining the show alone will not help their sector, but said it was the first step.

“It’s not going to be a perfect plan, but it’s a start. Maybe we can make a difference,” he told members of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. last Friday, as they launched the Manila Fame International.

He pointed out that aside from the big American and European firms that the local furniture manufacturers have grown used to, there are many interior designers and architects based in Manila who can drop by the show and rake in small profits for them.

“We don’t have to go halfway around the world to sell. Just because we’re exporters doesn’t mean we can’t sell to the local market,” he noted.

He explained that during last year’s Manila Now show, they saw 5,400 local buyers.

Zuluaga pointed out that the private property sector is growing quickly at 11.6 percent year-on-year at P52.5 billion last year, and that half of this total value is concentrated in Metro Manila.

He guaranteed the presence of the Philippine Institute of Interior Design, the United Architects of the Philippines and the PhilConstruct group, which also features interiors in its shows.

Zuluaga said that homeowners who hire the services of interior designers are willing to pay any price for pieces of furniture they would like in their own homes and that tying up with these organizations can connect them to such clients.

The show aims to get at least 20 companies from Manila, Cebu and Pampanga to sign up.

Cooperation

As of Friday, 13 Cebuano companies have signed up for the October show and 15 for the March show.

Zuluaga said that the cooperation of furniture companies that have remained despite the crisis is vital for the industry, which he said employs some 10 million workers, directly and indirectly.

Ina Gaston, who chairs the Cebu Next show, admitted that it has been harder to do
business, as banks decline to provide loans to exporters.

“We have to give up an arm and a leg just to deliver,” she lamented.

She added that the US, which is their biggest market, does not seem to be recovering well and that their shipments are decreasing.

She sees hope, though, in the Internet as a cheaper marketing and promotions alternative, with studies showing most homeowners are now buying furniture online.

She said that the supershow in Manila is one strategy to propel their industry forward.

CFIF president Angela Paulin believes they can “come out of the slump and be glorious again” by the marriage of the country’s furniture brands.