Merry times have arrived again for furniture dealers with sales increasing in the range of 25-30 percent. Major furniture traders across the city said that they had been witnessing a growth in sales of their products. They said that most buyers were going for items like bedroom sets, dining tables and sofa sets, among others.

“Furniture sales at our showroom have increased since the past two weeks. This is a normal trend as people tend to go for such items during the wedding season,” said Sanish Maharjan, sales in charge at Furniture Land, one of the prominent furniture sellers in the city based at Tripureshwor. The store, which stocks furniture items imported from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and China, has also witnessed a change in the buying pattern of customers.

Unlike three to five years back when people used to go for furniture with more utility and they were more price conscious, the store is witnessing a rise in the number of people wanting to go for trend products. “Purchasing trends of room furniture during the wedding season have changed,” said Maharjan. “People now care more about design and current trends than prices, utility or durability.”

According to Maharjan, people now ask for international and customized brands with eye-catching styles. He added that international furniture had a better quality compared to locally manufactured products. Although people these days do not wait for the marriage season to buy new furniture , sales soar 10-15 percent when the marriage season nears, he said.

“Nepali society still has the trend of offering bridal gifts, and furniture items are the most preferred items,” said Nikhil Tuladhar, marketing manager of Index Furniture, another prominent furniture dealer in the city. “This helps the furniture market to witness a big boom during the wedding season.” Tuladhar added that sales at Index Furniture had increased in the range of 30-40 percent. Index Furniture is a franchisee of Index Furniture, Thailand.

Currently, Index Furniture is also running a sale offer. “This too has helped us in increasing sales,” said Tuladhar.

Likewise, Lifestyle Design and Décor has reported a surge in sales. “Apart from sales, footfall has increased a lot. People are wandering from one store to another searching for their kind of furniture items at affordable prices,” said sales executive Poonam Maharjan. The store, which sells locally manufactured items as well as products from the international market, is witnessing higher sales in both the categories.

Furniture traders estimate that the country’s furniture market is worth around Rs 1 billion annually, and that the industry is growing annually by 25 percent. Over 80 percent of the imported furniture sold in the market comes from China.

source: the kathmandu post,17 april 2013