FURNISH THE FRANCHISE WAY

The home market is worth about US $20 billion, with furniture contributing to 75 per cent and decor and the rest contributing 25 per cent.The growth is particularly fueled by changing lifestyle of Indians that have shifted from minimalistic and utility based to diverse and progressive, boom in the residential real estate industry.

Piggybacking the growth of the Home décor industry has been the growth of the home décor franchising industry. The home furnishing market in India is touted to grow exponentially in the years to come and offers several opportunities existing for entrepreneurs or start-ups who wish to enter into this market. The most glaring example is the Godrej Interio, which carries 116 years of legacy of Godrej brand into furniture and home décor segment. The company has moved from dealer model to franchise model for retail expansion and has more than 130 franchise outlets in addition to 50 company owned outlets. Another brand which has gone franchising route is Mumbai-based Durian which has more than 50+ stores across 30 cities. In the next three to five years, leading home players are set to reach global standards. Another case in point, Pepperfry, one of the leading player in e-retailing, is geared towards scaling the Studio presence from present 21 and has recently rolled out a franchise model with an aim to build the largest omnichannel network in the country and plan to open 46 studios by March 2018. Omnichannel is going to be a key growth driver for improving the customer experience.Also, there is bound to be a spurt in the growth of ancillary services like designing and consulting. With new international brands entering, the organised market is expected to become stronger and there is enough potential for domestic and international players to cater to this demand.

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