Invest In R&D For Global Marketability, Furniture Makers Urged

By Nor Baizura Basri KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysian furniture manufacturers need to step up their research and development (R&D) activities in order to raise the quality of their products, said MIFF Sdn Bhd managing director Dr Tan Chin Huat. He said through R&D, local manufacturers can compete against global companies in terms of design and global marketability. This was proven through the recently concluded Malaysian International Furniture Fair 2012 (MIFF), which was held for five days starting March 6, Tan said. "I think it is very obvious that companies who did R&D and came up with new products have done better. Our manufacturers must continue to do more R&D to enable them to upgrade and enhance their products. "This includes upgrading quality and design by bringing in more technology so that they can save energy and materials. This will eventually increase their profits," he told Bernama in an interview recently. The fair drew 19,118 visitors and hit record sales of US$830 million, an increase of 6.68 per cent over last year's US$778 million. Of this, 80 per cent came from home furniture products and the remainder from other products like office and outdoor furniture, Tan added. He said office furniture manufacturers are gradually capturing global buyers with their new products while furniture and furnishing products continue to be in high demand by foreign buyers especially the Japanese. "We see a very good and continued improvement particularly in office furniture, which I must say is world-class, we see that the office furniture booths were well presented and attracted many buyers from various countries," he said. As at October 2011, Malaysia's furniture exports to Japan stood at RM748 million (US$244 million), contributed mainly by home and living furniture products. He said MIFF has been able to convince the Japanese importers to accept modern furniture with its recent focus on the Japan market. MIFF sponsored 50 buyers from Japan to the fair. Close to 500 local and foreign furniture manufacturers and exporters participated in the fair organised by MIFF Sdn Bhd. "Malaysian people are spending more on furniture, reflecting good living standards and better incomes of the people," he said adding that Malaysians spend an average RM150 (US$48.93) per person a year compared to RM40 (US$13.04)-RM50 (US$16.31) twenty years ago. By comparison, Americans spend US$350 per person a year, Germans (350 Euros), Singaporeans (over S$200) and Scandinivians (400 Euros). -- BERNAMA