Lockdown days and beyond: Godrej Interio mulls move into affordable range of furniture

With an increasingly large share of Indian workforce having to work from home (WFH) on the back of the Covid-19-led pandemic and with the trend expected to continue for the next couple of months, a traction in the demand for furniture such as chairs and desks, among others, is likely.

According to Subodh Mehta, Senior Vice President, Godrej Interio, the lockdown induced by the pandemic has also forced people to spend a lot of time at home making them realise and “discover” more about their homes than ever before. This discovery could trigger purchase of some specific pieces of furniture, which were earlier not considered essential.

“There is a clear trend of nesting at home which is emerging, and since people are spending a lot of time at home they are discovering things about their homes. Work from home items will be required by people as they are suddenly feeling the need for a good chair or a desk. So, furniture brands may need to repurpose their communication and brand, and understand and satisfy customer needs,” Mehta told BusinessLine .

‘Affordable range’ of furniture

Godrej Interio, the ₹2,300-crore furniture brand of Godrej & Boyce, which usually caters to the mass premium or premium segments, is also looking to launch an affordable range of furniture post lockdown.

The company had been working on rolling out products in the affordable category for the past four-to-five months, primarily because of competition from online players and IKEA.

The entry level prices of furniture under the new “Essential” range would be at least 10-15 per cent lower and will have four-to-five models under each category, including living room, dining and bedroom.

“We have been working on this for the past four to five months and we hope to start getting the benefit of this once we resume our manufacturing operations. This was done because home furniture was getting very competitive due to the entry of online players and IKEA, who are selling their products cheap. Thinking of these, we started working on this project, and it so happens that it it fits well in the post Covid-19 situation also,” he said.

The company, which has been growing at 15-16 per cent year-on-year, is expecting flat growth in turnover in FY21. B2B accounts for nearly 60 per cent of its business and B2C accounts for another 40 per cent. While growth is likely to be muted on the back of a likely economic slowdown and drop in discretionary spends by consumers, things could see some revival if a strong stimulus package is announced by the government.

“We have planned for various scenarios. We will carefully monitor the unfolding economic recovery, and depending on that we will activate our plans,” he said.

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