Local demand to keep furniture industry “alive”

CEBU, Philippines - The robust demand for furniture in the domestic market is no longer considered as a “temporary  savior”  to aid the ailing export industry.

Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF) vice president for marketing Christina Maria Gaston made this statement downplaying impressions that the furniture making industry will ultimately see its death after the local market will lose its interest.

According to Gaston, seasoned players in the furniture industry have realized that the "world has changed, and need shifted." The need and the market is getting nearer, it’s in fact, in their home-ground.

The strong prospects of real estate and the market preference that it is "fashionable" to buy local boosted the manufacturer's will to stay in the game, amid the continuous softening of export demand.

In the last couple of years, Gaston admitted that a lot of furniture companies have closed down because they were not able to react immediately to the market shift.

Cebu and the Visayas' strength for mature design capability, craftsmanship and production capacity, are few of the edges why the industry will continue to thrive in the longer term, Gaston said.

While the domestic market will be the main bread and butter for the furniture industry, Gaston said export trade for furniture will always be there, especially for those companies that have established long time relationship with their buyers abroad.

The shift that players are adapting is to say goodbye to high volume or mass production and cater to the custom-made demand, smaller-batches, limited designs, and designer pieces.

Gaston, whose family owns the Hacienda Crafts Company in Manapla, Negros Occidental, said that local market now across segments are starting to appreciate locally made products, unlike in the past. Thus, the up and down of the export market, can no longer affect the health of the furniture and furnishing industry, as surviving players are adapting well to the new market paradigm.

Over the weekend, 21 home furnishing companies and accessory brands joined the two-day exhibit called "HIMO: A Space + Making Fair," organized by 32 Sanson by Rockwell and HoliCow to showcase the best of designer products in Cebu and the Visayas.

The two-day event held on November 19 to 20 is part of the industry's bid to promote local artistry.

HoliCow or Holistic Coalition of the Willing, is a group of Visayan Designers, manufacturers and artisans who pledged to commit to sustainability, traceability, fair trade and crafting Filipino identity through design. (FREEMAN)