Over 70% furniture market still unorganised in India

Hyderabad: Indian furniture market was valued at around $20 billion this year and luxury furniture market occupies 15-20 per cent, says Sunil Suresh, Founder and CEO of Stanley lifestyles Ltd, which enjoys 10 per cent market share. He said, "About 60-70 per cent of furniture market still falls under the unorganised segment and it is getting migrated to organised sector very fast."

In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, he said, "The Union government wants to protect domestic players under 'Make in India' initiative. This will boost up the organised furniture market in the country. As a luxury furniture retail brand, we are witnessing 20 per cent growth rate year-on-year."

After achieving Rs 500-crore worth sales last year, the Bengaluru-based company has set an ambitious target to double its revenue to Rs 1,000 crore by 2025. It currently operates over 41 stores across 17 cities in the country. It has aggressive expansion plans to have 100 stores all over India in coming three years.

Stanley Group CEO further said, "From 2025 onwards, we want to go global by opening stores in London, New York and Dubai. Stanley is a cash-rich company, it has been debt-free for the last four years, and profitable for more than a decade. All our expansion plans are sourced from internal accruals."

"The company already has a dedicated factory at Bengaluru to supply white label furniture products to global organisations like Toyota, Ford and IKEA. With an objective to exponentially expand our own business operations, we have vertically integrated with two state-of-the-art facilities in the same city. We currently employ more than 1,400 people," he added.

When asked about the competition from global furniture giant IKEA in Hyderabad and its upcoming store in Bengaluru, Sunil says: "IKEA is not a competitor to our brand as it is into mass production. We are catering to the luxury furniture segment, which is not machine-driven. It took 25 years for us to pioneer in this space, and it will take more time for a foreign player."

Stanley has earned the remarkable position of being the first home-grown luxury furniture brand that sources the globe for design, material, techniques, and competes strongly with the international brands. Today, the brand enjoys in-depth domain expertise and capabilities to design and manufacture the latest trends in high-end furniture and lifestyle accessories.

Being a trusted vendor to American furniture retail companies like Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, Stanley integrates world-class quality and reliability into all facets of its operations. It started its operations in 1996, and it operates its business through varied formats – Stanley Personal, Stanley Boutique, Sofas & More and Stanley Level Next.

Stanley Personal showcases budget-friendly furniture, while Stanley Boutique has medium range furniture boutiques. Sofas & More and D8 stores are focused on selling imported furniture. Apart from these three segments, it has come up with luxury home solution marque Stanley Level Next during pre-Covid times.

The company had three Stanley Level Next outlets – two in Bengaluru and one in Cochin till recently. Last month, it opened fourth outlet in Hyderabad with an investment of Rs 8.5 crore. The 12,000-sft store is designed to offer a highly immersive design experience. It houses a highly curated range of furniture, cabinetry, accessories and home solutions under one roof. Along with this store, Stanley also launched the finest kitchen and cabinets under the brand Cabinetry Cult. Combining German precision manufacturing, French carpentry techniques and Italian design sensibilities, it offers an elite range of kitchen and cabinetry in a variety of styles, colours, sizes and floor plans offering customers a range of styles and layouts.