Live it up, American style

If you aspire to luxury furniture brands endorsed by Hollywood stars or mattresses that former American presidents slept on, you need not go to the US.

Mon Chateau, a new furniture and home accessories retail chain, has set up shop in Bangalore and introduced classic American furniture and furnishings brands in the Indian market.

Monticello Retail, the company behind Mon Chateau, has exclusive rights to retail Stickley and Hickory brands of furniture in India. The store also stocks Glant furnishings and Royal Pedic mattresses that John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan used.

The price range of the mattresses starts at Rs 50,000. J Sasidhar, founder-CEO of Monticello Retail, says the reason why Royal Pedic is such a hit with people who can afford them is because these mattresses are not made of foam which is often considered harmful.

The American mattresses are made from cotton fibres that are blended together and natural latex harvested from rubber tree plantations.

Hickory's single seaters start at Rs 1 lakh and a dinner table minus the chairs could leave you poorer by Rs 1.75 lakh. In the US, apparently, customers walk into Glant stores accompanied by designers. The furnishings range starts at Rs 3,000 a metre. Simon Pearce hand-blown glass products are also available at Mon Chateau.

Sasidhar is hoping that the introduction of such furniture and decor concepts in India will inspire furniture manufacturers to improve their products.

"When Indians start using these brands, I hope our local manufacturers will begin to understand that they need to improve their quality," says Sasidhar.

An IIT alumnus and a software engineer in the US who is on a one year sabbatical, Sasidhar believes that his products will be lapped up by households with an annual income of Rs 1 crore and above. He says while Indians spend big amounts on cars, in the US people like to have at least one great piece of furniture in every room.

Sasidhar's eyes are now set upon expanding his retail chain. With an investment of Rs 10 crore each, Mon Chateau stores are expected to come up in four other metros.