THE bullish property market last year has - not surprisingly - brought about a boom in the furniture market. What we're seeing is stalwarts in the furniture retail business such as Xtra expanding into new spaces and extending furniture lines, and also new furniture retailers coming onstream.
Branded furniture purveyor Xtra has opened a new outlet at Winsland House, for example, focusing on outdoor furniture. "We saw this gap in the market for high-end outdoor furniture," explains managing director Lim Choon Hong simply, when asked about Xtra's additional outlet.
"Our outdoor collection had been growing, so when the available retail space came up, we thought we should give the collection a proper showcase," he adds.
But then, of course, there are all those homes with big yards and gardens being built at Sentosa Cove, which will be needing the top-quality, outdoor furniture that Xtra brings in.
The brands Xtra carries are mostly from Belgium, including Dedon - one of the top brands of outdoor furniture - Royal Botania and Tribu, at the new 6,000 sq ft Winsland House outlet.
Mr Lim sees consumers looking at furniture now with a lifestyle perspective, and there?s a growing demand for outdoor furniture not just in Singapore, but globally. "Outdoor furniture was big in the Paris furniture show last year," he points out.
He also sees the furniture market picking up in the third quarter, when new properties get their occupational licences. And in his experience, consumers now are quite knowledgeable about furniture brands, so that's what they come to his shop to look for - established brands.
Another highly visible expansion is Air Division's new flagship store, Air, at Mount Sophia, as the company took up a prominent corner unit at Wilkie Road. Also some 6,000 sq ft of space, the flagship store houses all of the company's available brands under one roof.
"Previously, in Park Mall, we could only carry one or two collections," explains Christopher Soh, the marketing communications manager. So now, Air's four homegrown collections - Air, Funktion, Plank and Royce - are nicely laid out there, in the home-like setting. Royce is Air's luxurious furnishings brand, made with high-quality Spanish leather, while Plank sees furniture made from teak, acacia oak or walnut wood. The homegrown labels are designed in-house, but manufactured in Europe.
"Because of that, we don't carry a lot of stock. Pieces are ordered and then made," says Mr Soh.
Customised market
The flagship store at Mount Sophia was done as a "forward-looking" move because the area is teeming with new developments. "New homes will be springing up around us soon as they're being built now, and will be completed either this year or next. It's also a growth area, and a hub for creative industries," he says.
Just up the hill, in fact, newbie Cityspace offers large, resort-like furniture designed by a Filipino design collective. The new kid on the furniture block takes up two levels of showroom space at Old School at Mount Sophia, and caters mainly to the architecture and interior design market.
"What we're focusing on is the customised market, and we're looking to meet the needs of the hotels and resorts industry," says director Charles Jong. Nevertheless, the 3,700 sq ft showroom is open to retail customers, and a lovely place to browse in, as its showroom - with its colonial architecture and open green views - provides a great setting for the over-sized, natural-looking furniture.
Cityspace represents Movement 8, a design collective of eight designers in the Philippines, who design everything from home accessories to furniture. All furniture are hand-made, using natural materials like abaca and crushed bamboo, says Mr Jong. CitySpace markets Movement 8's concepts and services in Singapore and Malaysia.
Another new furniture and home accessories player in the market, Tao Design Concepts, banks on young Singaporeans' and expatriates' taste for contemporary Asian furniture. Most of the furniture comes from Indonesia and Vietnam, with unique antique pieces from China, India and Thailand.
Furniture, home accessories and art are laid out over four storeys in a corner building in the outskirts of Chinatown and within the central business district. "Tao was set up as a one-stop lifestyle store," says co-founder Craig Snyder, who moved from Tokyo to Singapore and had to shop at various stores to furnish his own shophouse home.
The wood furniture might be large-sized, but certain pieces can be ordered in scaled-down versions to fit one's apartment space.
Quality and fair price
The business rationale for the store is because Singapore is so "hot" now, as a regional hub for Asia-Pacific businesses. "In economic and political terms, all the signs are pointing to good things to come, so opening a business here is a safe bet," says Mr Snyder, whose day job is as a sales director for an IT company.
Since they opened at the end of 2007, response has been very good, with Mr Snyder positioning the store to cater to the "middle market" of consumers who want good-quality furniture at a fair price.
Catering to the "higher middle market" - people who want good modern design and high-quality finishes, but aren't prepared to pay over-the-top prices - is also the strategy behind the Lucano label, the designer Italian range, by Star Furniture.
The Italian-design inspired series sees clean lines and swanky finishings - such as high-glossed surfaces and soft furnishings in the shades of grey, black, brown and white.
Prices for Lucano start from $3,000 for dining table sets and sofas. "Imported Italian lines are priced very high and therefore caters to the very top end of the market. Lucano provides a more affordable alternative to those who like Italian design and craftsmanship," says Kenny Koh, the managing director. Lucano is Star's export range, recently made available to the local retail market, and housed at Star Furniture's latest and largest showroom.
"We do foresee the market continuing on its uptrend this new year. We anticipate a 10 to 15 per cent growth for demand in household furniture on the back of many new property developments sold in the last two years which will be getting their occupational licences from this year," he adds.
The consumer market is segmented, he feels. But the good news is that retailers are making sure that every segment finds something that they want in today's furniture market.
Xtra@Winsland, #01-01/02, Winsland House I, 3 Killiney Road, Tel: 6836 0288; Cityspace, 11-A Mount Sophia, #01-15, Tel: 6226 3533; Air, 28 Wilkie Road, Tel: 6336 0662; Tao Lifestyle Store, 88 Southbridge Road at North Canal, Tel: 6535 2388; The Furniture Warehouse@Labrador, Pasir Panjang Road (near the turn-off to Labrador Park), Tel: 6273 2522
