Furnishing industry in vogue

With a number of brands entering into the home furnishing segment, the unorganised home décor segment of India is rapidly getting branded. India has been witnessing the emergence of strong home décor industry. A large number of foreign brands have started investing in India to raise their market share in this burgeoning industry. It is estimated that Rs 9,300 crore organised home furnishing market will reach Rs 20,000 crore by 2012. It is one of the rapidly growing industries and entering in this sector with a well recognised brand name is worthwhile.

Well known names of this sector

The home décor segment is highly unorganised in India. But with the arrival and emergence of few big brands like Welspun India, Creative Portico, Rosebys, Maishaa, Bombay Dyeing, Kurlon Ltd, the home furnishing industry is booming. These well recognised brands are bringing in the international quality products to cater the needs and demands of the Indian customers. As Chandan Savera, Senior General Manager (Retail and Marketing), Creative Portico says, “We brought about clear differentiation in our offering in terms of designs and quality which was not available in the market at that point of time.” These brands are incorporating new designs, fashion trends and contemporary styles to offer their customers with a never ending variety and quality.

Franchise proposal and offerings

The opportunity for entrepreneurs is endless in the organised furnishing market. If you are interested in taking a franchise of a home furnishing brand, then you need to have the following requisites:

• The franchisee must have an approximate space of 400-600 sq. ft (that may vary from brand to brand) in an area with high footfalls. Mostly, franchisors prefer to expand their brand presence in metros where people have more awareness about the new brands. As Alok Banerjee, CEO, Rosebys Interiors India Ltd says, “The prime challenge faced by a franchisee is regarding the right location. Location is of utmost importance as it decides the footfall.”
• The prospective franchisee should have a good knowledge of the home furnishing market. As Savera says, “The home décor segment needs a lot of selling inputs from the sales staff. Therefore, we prefer franchisees who can assist and impart timely knowledge to his/her staff whenever required.”
• Majority of the franchisors prefer their franchise partners with home furnishing background as the home furnishing sector demands good product knowledge for the smooth operations of the business.  

Now, if you think that you have the desired requisites to enter the sector, the next step is to find the apt opportunity for yourself. As you have decided to take the franchise route to establish yourself in this booming industry, you will enjoy lots of leverages from the franchisor’s part. Most of the franchisors in the home furnishing industry offer their franchisees and staff with regular training module. The training includes business understanding, product know-how, customer servicing, visual merchandising and customer relationship management. As Savera says, “We invest a lot of time and effort in building one of the best teams of merchandisers and front end sales team. For this, we even have institutionalised staff training as a practice at the various levels of the franchise operations for imparting knowledge of the industry and the products.”

Moreover, most of the franchisors even help their franchisees in the marketing of the business at the local level because they know the importance of creating awareness for the brand, As Savera says, “During the initial period of our business, we faced a lot challenges as people were not interested in buying a bed sheet of Rs 800. So, we worked hard to create awareness among the consumers and we did it by offering them with latest designs and superior quality products.” So, they provide adequate handholding and support that is required at the initial stages of the business establishment.

The furnishing industry is emerging rapidly with the rising disposable incomes and improving lifestyles. Therefore, it will be an ideal opportunity for an aspirant to enter in this industry by taking the franchise of a well established player.