Furniture maker to beat slowdown

By The Nation
Published on August 20, 2008

Although the domestic and overseas furniture markets showed a drop of about 15 per cent in the first half, Podium Holding Group, which pro¬duces and exports furniture under the Podium brand, still expects sales of Bt450 million this year.

Adile Devanis Sofa

Up to 85 per cent of Podium's sales come from exports.

Company chairman Charit Mauleekulphairoj said the global furniture market recorded a near 15percent drop in the first half following a slowdown in the world economy.

The Thai market has also shown a similar drop, forcing buyers to reduce their budgets and import cheaper products from China, Vietnam and Malaysia.

As a result, Podium has shifted focus to the middle and highend markets, such as Japan, where con¬sumers give preference to quality over price, Charit said.

At present, the company builds furniture for two companies in Japan, which have a combined retail space of up to 3 million square metres.

Owing to business from these two companies, Podium will be able to meet its sales target this year, he said.

Meanwhile, the company has successfully sold its products online and plans to expand its business to take on residential and hospitality projects in the domestic and over¬seas markets.

"We believe that we will meet our sales target of Bt450 million by the end of this year if we follow our mar¬keting plan.

"Our new branch in Pattaya, which we expect to open in the last quarter, will also help contribute to the revenue target," he said.

The company will invest between Bt2 million and Bt3 million to set up its new Pattaya branch.

The company plans to import the latest Adile Devani sofa sets from Italy.

These will be displayed at Podium in Thong Lor tomorrow as part of an effort to boost sales in the second half of the year.

At present, the company has three branches.

Two of them are located in Bangkok at Seacon Square and Soi Thong Lor, and the third is in Chon Buri province.

Podium Holding Group is owned by the Mauleekulphairoj family. The company's registered capital is Bt70 million.

The company has its manufac¬turing unit in Chon Buri province.

The factory can generate prod¬ucts worth Bt700 million a year if it runs on full capacity.

At present, however, Podium Holding Group operates at just 64 per cent of its overall production capacity.

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Furniture maker to beat slowdown

Although the domestic and overseas furniture markets showed a drop of about 15 per cent in the first half, Podium Holding Group, which pro¬duces and exports furniture under the Podium brand, still expects sales of Bt450 million this year.

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