Russia offers good opportunities for RP furniture

Furniture and accessories manufacturers from Cebu are optimistic of penetrating the Russian market.

A 10-member delegation from Cebu went to Moscow recently on a study mission to penetrate the Russian market through the biggest furniture exhibition in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Eric Vincent Casas, president of the Cebu Furniture Industries Association Inc., said their visit, which was joined by six-member companies, was aimed at helping hone a specific strategy that would expand sales of Philippine furniture in the multimillion dollar Russian market through the Mebel Furniture 2007 furniture exhibition.

During the said trip, Arthur Akopyan, an associate of the Moscow branch of Expormim, a Spanish furniture firm that also sells pieces to China, Vietnam and Malaysia, said Russia’s hosting of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 will fuel a large expansion in furniture sales, a boom that the Philippines can definitely exploit.

“Filipino furniture is of the same quality if not better than Italian furniture,” Akopyan said during a meeting with Casas’ group.

Akopyan said that with the current construction boom, more Russians are acquiring “kottezhi” or full-fledged second homes that put the traditional Soviet-style dachas or country houses in suburban areas.

Akopyan said the need to decorate all the new space is expected to spur demand.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs,  Philippine furniture is known in Russia and has been repeatedly featured in trade and industry magazines in Russia such as Tabouret, Mebel Tseny, Elle Decor and Salon.

But at the moment, only two companies are importing Philippine furniture. The top supplier of Philippine-made ethnic furniture in Russia, the British-owned firm Dreamlake, founded by Michael Robsky, sells Kenneth Cobonpue and Antonio Layug designs exclusively to wealthy oligarchs.