Furniture makers have discovered that the domestic market has become as lucrative as the foreign markets so they will now rely on local sales to achieve a 15-percent growth for 2012, the Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) said.
Myrna Bituin, Philexport trustee, told the BusinessMirror there is now a growing awareness among exporters on the strong demand for furniture in the country, particularly with hotels and condominiums continuing to sprout in every major city here.
“Before, exporters were not really into the local market. Now, we have discovered that both the institutional and retail markets in the country could provide us billions of pesos in sales. In fact, we learned that one furniture retailer alone is selling over P1 billion annually,” Bituin said.
Exporters have been spending a lot in establishing a presence in export markets. They have also been devoting about 85 percent to 90 percent of their production abroad.
But this is bound to change, Bituin said.
To further develop the potential of the domestic market, she said, the industry has started connecting with developers contractors, and retailers to assure them that the local furniture makers can meet their requirements.
Bituin said they have already scheduled tours for developers to the different furniture production sites, particularly in Cebu and Pampanga.
What is also boosting their optimism, she said, is the growing preference for locally made products in the country.
“We can feel the growing sense of nationalism among hotel operators and condominium developers,” she said.
Bituin also said they have realized that they can compete with the imported furniture price-wise.
On the export front, Bituin said opportunities woulf be explored in new markets, including China, India and Russia.
“China is a market that we should not be afraid of. We should look at it as an opportunity. Just like us, they also want to buy imported [products]. But for me, I would always look into products that they do not touch. These are the high-end ones and carved items,” she said.
The industry will also start implementing branding programs, improve the value chain and undertake product development.
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