Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Mar 14, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Mar 14, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marketing
-
Strategy US office furniture major Steelcase makes India foray
“Our product offering is targeted at MNCs, the ITeS sector and newer Indian companies looking at enhancing their office environment.” Bindu D. Menon New Delhi, March 13 Steelcase, the US-based $3.4-billion office furniture major, which has set up its retail venture in India, is exploring the possibility of setting up a greenfield venture as also acquisitions to strengthen its presence here. The global major in performance-oriented office solutions said it will invest suitably to expand its footprints. “We have set up two retail outlets, Steelcase Worklife, in Gurgaon and Bangalore to display our product line. Our research has shown that there is a strong co-relation between office performance and design. Therefore, all our products are designed to enhance office performances,” Mr Uli Gwinner, President (Asia Pacific), Steelcase, told Business Line. The company, which earlier had a distribution arrangement with Godrej, said it will use its own distribution network to expand in India. “Our typical client will be anyone who will need a 100-200 workstations. A slew of MNCs are already part of our client base,” he said. Steelcase is also looking to set up outlets in Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. “Our product offering is targeted at multinational companies, the ITES sector and newer Indian companies looking at enhancing their office environment,” he added Steelcase will introduce a range of office furniture which varies from seating, desks, storage, conferencing, worktools, technology, reception and lounge areas which are easy to assemble and sourced from global centres. According to a research report by Nasscom, the IT and the ITES segment has the maximum demand for office furniture, and there is a change in the way the offices are being designed. The domestic market for furniture is about Rs 5,000 crore, of which the office furniture accounts for about Rs 2,500 crore. Of this, organised players constitute Rs 500 crore of the market, which is growing at the rate of 30-40 per cent a year. Mr Gwinner said currently the company is looking to consolidate its distribution and supply chain mechanism. “During our second phase of operations, we will look into setting up of a facility or acquiring an existing one.” He said all Steelcase products are 100 per cent recyclable and reusable. More Stories on : Strategy | Interiors & Homes
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
 |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | The Hindu ePaper | Business Line | Business Line ePaper | Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2008, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|