Foreign brands are targeting the high-end market segment

In October 2018, Philippe Starck, the legendary French designer, the owner of the works being exhibited at prestigious arts museums around the world, visited Vietnam to survey the market.

His three collections of furniture, MyWorld, Prive and Volage, were displayed at Cassina by Starck in the Saigon Times Square building in HCMC. The price of one sofa in Starck’s collection was VND400 million or higher. With original design, the products sold very well.

“The wealthy class and upstarts have been developing vigorously in Vietnam, creating a high-end market segment which was unclear in the past,” said Ly Quy Trung, CEO of AKA Furniture Group. “So, it is not a surprise that a lot of international luxury furniture brands have jumped into the Vietnamese market.”

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry (VCCI) estimates that the domestic high-end wooden furniture market is valued at $2.5 billion with 80 percent of products from Europe. 

Meanwhile, a market report by Concetti showed that the market has been growing rapidly in the last three years. Paolo Lemma, Italian Trade Counsellor in Vietnam, predicted that with the vigorous development of the real estate market, the demand for furniture will continue to increase.

Sharing the same view, Huynh Van Hanh, deputy chair of Hawa (Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCMC), said the domestic market grew by 8 percent in the last seven years. 

With a population of 90 million, woodwork consumption in 2017 was estimated at $3.2 billion, while the figure is expected to reach $4 billion this year. Of this, demand from new construction works, thanks to the domestic property market, is about 40 percent.

Many high-end international brands, including Cassina, Badari Lighting, Cantori, Diemme Cucine, Formitalia, Officina Luce, Sicis and Versace Home, arrived in Vietnam this year.

Trung commented that it is the foreign luxury brands which have helped the domestic luxury market take shape and develop rapidly. They also have helped domestic brands become more familiar to Vietnamese consumers.

Hanh also said Vietnamese wooden furniture manufacturers now are exploiting the domestic market with a wide range of products, from low-cost to high-end.

Nha Xinh, a Vietnamese brand, is now targeting the high-end market segment where there are many famous international brands. 

Two Nha Xinh showrooms will open in Hanoi with the floor area of thousands of square meters.

Hawa said it plans to organize Vifa Home Style, an important event for furniture manufacturers, in May 2019.

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