And now, furnishings on call

INNOVATION: Home decor companies now offer you shopping at your doorstep, with no extra charge.

The next change to your home decor "" say for the autumn-winter ahead "" need not be a time and effort guzzler. You can put your feet up in the comfort of your home and select or order home furnishings from your very own sofa.

Stores are now giving their customers the option of home presentations alongwith sample fabrics, designers and even fabricators for customised furnishings.

Take Season's. It packs fabric samples, sample books, a designer, fabricator and a marketing executive into a van for anybody who uses its dial-in service dubbed Seasons-on-call.

They will land at your house, make presentations, suggest fabrics on the look you want, make cost estimates and take measurements. Place the order and in a few days you have a newly dressed house without even stepping out of it.

"The conversion rate for a presentation to turn into a business order has been 100 per cent till now as its not impulse buying but a planned initiative on the customer's part," says Inderjit Wadhwa, chairman, Seasons, which, incidentally, claims to be the first to start this facility in India three months ago.

All Zeba furnishing stores across the country too have started similar on-call home furnishings. "In Mumbai, this facility is already very popular, and in Delhi too people are slowly becoming aware about it," says Manika Mahajan, store manager at Zeba Delhi.

Seasons claims that it's Seasons-on-call team is not restricted to just cities where a store is available but anywhere in India "" its solo van made recent trips to Shimla and Jaipur. It is now planning to get more vans into service.

Maspar, an export oriented readymades furnishing firm, has also realised the importance of on-call services. It is getting into the customised market, keeping in mind the preference of most Indians.

"Home presentations for a customised finish is an essential service that will definitely grow," says Neelima Rao, brand manager, Maspar.

The concept may be very appealing to home owners but large orders will come from the corporate sector "" Seasons expects corporates to contribute a huge 80 per cent chunk to the business.

Here is the icing on the cake if you are planning to use this service "" there are no extra charges for the service at your doorstep. Now, that is what can be called a real win-win situation.