Godrej Interio, the furniture arm of Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, is planning to foray into the ready-to-assemble segment, where furniture is purchased in multiple pieces and require assembly.
Anil Mathur, chief operating officer of Godrej Interio, said the category was nascent. “We are seeing how best we can approach it.” He added a blueprint for the same would be ready in the next month-and-a-half. Godrej Interio is the largest company in the Rs 3,000-crore organised furniture market, with a market share of about 20 per cent. The company, according to Mathur, hopes to grow its turnover to Rs 1,000 crore in this financial year. It offers home and office furniture, along with solutions for laboratories, hospitals and health care establishments, and education and training institutes.
In view of the growing competition, Godrej & Boyce has been upgrading its products more often to keep up with consumer tastes and preferences. The company recently launched a furniture range with designer Krshna Mehta, and is looking at two more launches with international designers in a few months. “One is with a French designer for a new sofa and chair range. There is another one with an English designer soon after,” said Mathur.
The corporate or institutional segment is the company’s money-spinner, with 70 per cent of its business coming from there. According to Mathur, this skew is likely to change, as the company eyes a greater penetration in the retail segment. “What is 70:30 now should be 50:50 in about three years,” he said. “New launches and an aggressive retail push should help us achieve that.”
The company also plans to increase exclusive stores to 176 in the next two years from 51, as it eyes a franchisee model to increase its store footprint to directly reach consumers. Its dealer network, in contrast, is over 500-member strong, with 125 dealers selling home furniture and another 400-odd selling cupboards, according to Mathur.