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`Foreign' in the wood work

Namita Anand

Italian drawing rooms, French bedrooms, Scandinavian kitchens, American bathrooms, Indonesian balconies, German gardens... the metros are being seduced by a brand new concept -- multinational homes. Burn those old Ikea catalogues, show that no-show carpe nter the door and set out, with a fat wallet, of course, to shop at the imported-only furniture showrooms springing up in your city.

The outlets not only offer the real McCoy, they also stock them in many shapes, sizes and makes. Sofas, entertainment units, dining tables, chest-of-drawers, chairs, ottomans, kitchen units, wardrobes, beds... they have everything (if not in the showroom, then definitely in the catalogue).

But even as the salesgirl attempts to sell you the romance of sleek lines, flawless finish, exotic veneers and just-not-available-in-India craftsmanship, the villain of the piece -- the exorbitant price tag -- peeps out from the corner. The prices, especially for the much-coveted Italian wares, run into five, often six-digit figures.

While movables such as chairs and coffee tables come for a few thousands, larger pieces such as beds and sofas retail for nothing less than Rs. 1 lakh. And those charming-looking kitchens, like something straight out of the Home Im provement show which tempt you to experiment with the idea of merging cooking spaces with living areas, are in the range of Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 3 lakhs. In fact, stores such as Laurentine Kitchens (New Delhi) flatly tell customers that they have no thing for less than Rs. 1.5 lakhs.

At the upper end of the spectrum are items such as Danish

beds (Rs. 5 lakhs) that boast of latex mattresses mounted on a mesh fashioned out of 10 km of stainless steel, recliner-cum-massagers (Rs. 95,000) and cracked glass dining tables (Rs. 2.5 lakhs). Whopping prices, but retailers insist that they are delive ring value for money.

Take the latex bed, for instance. Sachin Tendulkar is said to have picked up one in London. It comes equipped with temperature control, has a variety of gizmos built in the headboard, can be set in four positions and is medically certified as the perfect nestling place for back patients.

Quite a package of virtues but, still, Rs. 5 lakhs? Will anyone buy it? Yes, insist the retailers who say that there is a segment of domestic buyers -- well-travelled and well-heeled -- which is willing to pay a premium for intangibles such as luxury, quality, design and finish.

But what about lesser mortals? The furniture majors are confident of wooing them too. The target clientele is mainly the Class A socio-economic category, but sellers are hopeful of expanding their customer base further.

Daljit Singh, proprietor of New Age which stocks top-of-the-line imported items, admits that the prices are unprecedented for the Indian market but points out that such furniture was unavailable in the country earlier. He waves towards the impossibly perfect-looking pieces in his shop and, the point is taken.

Take, for instance, glass-top dining tables which are a-dime-a-dozen in local furniture marts. But how many of them have a top that looks more like crystal than glass and is mounted on hand-blown, coloured, Murano glass horns?

The New Age store is full of exquisite creations -- glass-top coffee tables mounted on a sheet of glass that swerves and dips like a wave, dainty chairs with woven wooden backs, magnificent sofas upholstered in butter-soft leather that are a perfect amalgamation of utility and visual appeal.

Says Singh, ``People who walk into the showroom are immediately arrested by the design and quality of our products. And while only one of the 10 who come in makes an actual purchase, at least 6-7 walk out with the aspiration to buy this furniture s ooner or later.''

He says the customer profile is fast changing. ``While earlier it was only businessmen and corporate houses doing the shopping, now several young executive-types too are trooping into the showroom. They cannot afford to co-ordinate an entire project, but most of them do pick up a few items from us that not only add a point of interest to an entire room but also serve the purpose of conversation pieces. The trick is to buy gradually and build up a collection over the years.''

Singh is sure that once the customer is educated about the advantages of quality imported furniture -- design, sturdiness, finish and exclusivity -- business will start booming. (It is not doing too badly, in any case. New Age has been growi ng at a healthy 20-25 per cent annually.)

Agrees Sandeep Sabharwal of Overseas Collection Ltd., which has five showrooms in four cities and is probably the largest dealer of imported furniture in India, who says that imported furniture will soon become an integral part of metropolitan lifest yle.

He cites the example of imported kitchens which were the focus of retailers initially when the Government brought the furniture segment under an OGL (open general licence) scheme in 1997. ``When we first entered the market with this product category, everyone thought we had gone mad. Who would pay a lakh-plus for kitchens? But we invested heavily in customer education. We spent a crore-plus on media campaigns in 1997-98. And once people started realising what these units were all a bout, they came in to buy.''

The demand for imported kitchens has gradually percolated to the upper-middle class sections. ``Today, builders are approaching us to take on turnkey jobs to install these units in their flats,'' he says.

Sabharwal acknowledges that word-of-mouth publicity played a big role in popularising the concept and overcoming the price barrier.

First of all, the units look nothing like kitchens. The pull-out columns and minutely detailed drawers and swivel baskets afford ample storage space. Gas stoves are sunk in and on level with the granite counter. Electric chimneys whisk away all cookin g smells. There is even a place for a garbage bin and mops and brooms. And once you close all the doors, hey presto! the kitchen clutter is whisked out of sight.

The finish is very chic -- so like the sets of Star World soaps. Vivid yellows, pretty pinks, pristine white, dramatic oranges... the imported units come in a whole range of colour schemes. The cabinets are a mix of glass, wood and laminates and all parts are water-proof, termite-proof and scratch-proof.

A convenient feature of these units is their modular design which allows you to build up the unit, piece by piece, over the years. Tanuja Mishra, a home-maker who is interested in buying a modular kitchen but cannot afford a big outlay, says, ``I have stashed away Rs. 75,000. This will be the opening kitty for my kitchen. It won't get me everything I want but later I can buy more pieces.''

Others attempt to copy the foreign modules using a local carpenter. However, Rahul Singh, who normally gets his furniture built at home, advises against the idea. ``I bought a kitchen, instead of getting it built, because I realised it would be impossible to achieve the right finish at home.'' Rahul quotes examples of friends who tried to replicate the unit using carpenters but failed.

Mahender Banka, owner of Life 'n' Style, one of the largest hardware stores in the country selling sanitaryware and kitchens, says that several customers do toy with the idea of buying imported furniture parts and assembling them at home using a carpenter. However, he claims, most of them drop the idea when they realise that the cost difference is not much.

Banka, who also deals with bathroom fittings, jacuzzis, gold-plated sanitaryware, multi-shower systems and sauna-steam -- both Indian and foreign brands -- feels that the market for imported brands is growing at a healthy rate. ``In terms of volume , about 25 per cent of my sales come from the imported segment, but in terms of value the distribution is 50:50.''

Customers are generally in the 30-40 age group -- young enough to appreciate the foreign designs and old enough to fund their choice. While Banka refers to clients who travel abroad frequently and seek foreign brands, Daljit Singh of New Age says that television (or, more precisely, foreign channels) is changing people's tastes in favour of a more global outlook. The fact that many of these designs are modular, space-saving and fine-tuned to Indian preferences adds to their appeal.

Even though about 90 per cent of the country's furniture industry is in the unorganised sector, an increasing number of metro-dwellers are strapped for the time and ability required to procure work from local carpenters.

Singh narrates the instance of a young MBA who lived in a joint family and wanted to do up his living room. His grandfather vetoed the imported stuff saying the family carpenter could do the same at a cheaper cost. The young man asked an uncle to intervene. Singh then convinced the family about the finish, durability and superior buffing of his product and clinched the deal for Rs. 2.5 lakhs.

While imported kitchens and bathroom fittings have gained in acceptance, living rooms and bedrooms are now being subjected to international make-overs. Furniture is fast displacing pizza as the Italian favourite in wannabe-socialite houses.

The downside to the whole trend is that a lot of loud, garish, low-grade woods are flooding the market under the guise of top-drawer Italian designer furniture. Bargaining, too, is prevalent. But retailers aver that this problem is endemic to any f ledgling market and will resolve itself as the market matures.

In the meantime, local furniture marts have woken up to the tremendous interest generated by the imported products and are paying the ultimate compliment to international designs by imitating them. Indian versions of foreign kitchens are already available.

As for furniture, remarks Anita Chaudhary, an interior designer, ``We are seeing a lot more of straight lines, fusion pieces and lighter woods. Boutiques are being forced to upgrade their designs. And even if you cannot afford the imported item s, their entry into the domestic scene has ensured that you at least have access to good lookalikes.'' A welcome development indeed.

Pic.: Readymade bathrooms by Life 'n' Style.