Singapore-based furniture and home furnishings manufacturer HTL Group of Companies plans to open 10 exclusive stores for its brands — Domicil, Corium, and Fabbrica — in 2024, as part of its retail footprint expansion plans in India.
HTL is one of the leading players in the upholstered furniture industry. According to Manoj Nair, country head, India Operations (Brands): “These stores will be in both COCO and FOFO formats, and we plan to set them up in the major metro cities, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and Bangalore.”
Moreover, emphasising the personalised essence of furniture purchasing, the move aligns with the company’s substantial 95-98 per cent business conducted through physical stores.
The company first made inroads into the Indian market in 2021, and operates two distinct entities — New Century Sofa (focusses on manufacturing) and New Century Trading (which handles our business operations). Both are 100 per cent subsidiaries of HTL Singapore.
Further, the company having set up facilities in Pune and Chennai, says its decision to establish a manufacturing presence in India was an outcome of factors such as market demand, the availability of a skilled workforce, and the government’s proactive support for Make in India.
Additionally, “global anti-dumping duties, rising post-Covid freight costs, and India’s favourable geographic proximity to key export markets like the US and UK, made manufacturing in India economically attractive and environmentally responsible,” he explained.
Investment
To date, the company has invested ₹170 crore toward production set up, and “we anticipate that this investment will adequately support our operations for the next three years”.
With a global presence spanning 53 countries, the company aims to generate ₹150 crore from its Indian operations by December. Further, HTL is actively pursuing expansion into the Middle East and Africa, with plans to establish a pivotal office in Dubai by November.