House of Furniture (HOF)
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Maker of premium chairs for high profile people House of Furniture builds big dreams
By Shramana Ganguly, ET Bureau | 10 Jan, 2015 Economic Times /The Times of India
HOF — House of Furniture. This is a smallish brand — Rs 30 crore — owned by an Ahmedabad-based company.
Ask the prime minister. Ask RIL, Tata, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Jet Airways and Adani. Ask big European furniture brands. In some cases, they are literally sitting on HOF furniture.
HOF's ultra-specialised chairs were used by Narendra Modi and his cabinet members when Modi was Gujarat's chief minister. Some of India's biggest companies, mentioned above, have bought HOF's chairs for their brass. And a globally feted European furniture-maker had wanted to shift its production unit out of China and contract HOF to manufacture its products in India.
Most Indian small companies would have jumped at this offer. But Pravin Patel, HOF's chairman, said no. "I would rather grow my brand under my own efforts...there's no sense working for someone else," Patel says. This confidence, say analysts tracking the furniture industry, comes from an entrepreneur who has broken through the clutter defined by Chinese imports and unbranded, unorganised sector manufacturers.
Patel said due to a non-disclosure agreement that's still valid he can't share the name of the premium European furniture company he was negotiating with. HOF's specialised, ultra-premium chairs favoured by top politicians and executives cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000.
Built at its Ahmedabad factory, which sports a giant 10.5-feet chair outside its gate, these chairs are often bespoke — designed to suit the body type of the buyer. "No two persons' ergonomy is similar and, hence, I always insist that customers sit on several chairs before picking one that suits them best in terms of comfort," Patel says.
HOF has an ergonomist among its senior executives, demonstrating its seriousness about making chairs that maximise client comfort. Patel says HOF has about 50 designs and is always looking to refresh its portfolio. There's a new launch every second month, he says.
But no HOF chair is patented, "since designs are fluid", Patel says."Customers get tired of same designs and seek novelty every six months."Patel is clear how he wants to position HOF: "We do not want to be a mass brand — we are a premium brand."
But he also says he's looking out for new markets. And chairs specifically designed for women are a niche category he can explore, he reckons. So, that's why HOF will be gifting special edition chairs "designed for students" to 140 young women in Ahmedabad.
"Women comprise a significant percentage of the workforce now, yet there is nothing (in the office infrastructure) to make them feel at ease at workplace," says Patel.HOF has begun to design a chair for working Indian women. "The average weight of the Indian woman who balances both home and office is about 50 kg and her height is 5-5.3 ft. The current range of chairs is oversized for this frame. Women need to put a lot of pressure to tilt back the chair and at times there are issues with the trest too.
Things are more stressful for pregnant women who go to work," says Kunal Patel, director, HOF.Chairs specifically designed for women will be a key part of HOF's hoped-for journey to being a Rs 100-crore brand in seven years. Other portfolio expansions include the launch of HOF Living, a line of premium living room furniture.
Pan-India retail outlets as well forays in Africa and Asia are other parts of HOF's grow-big plans.There's of course an ecommerce plan — online sale will start soon via sittingculture. com. An IPO? May be by 2020, says Pravin Patel.
