Dubai: GCC residents intent on an "out with the old" plan for their furniture might be better off delaying it a bit. Home Centre, the furniture retail arm of the Landmark Group, is lining up a "room makeover" campaign that will break early in the new year across all Gulf markets.
Those coming up with the winning makeovers — and there will be 20 of them — stand to gain Dh10,000 apiece. Enough, it could be said, to make a fresh start.
For the upcoming campaign, Home Centre takes its cue from the one conducted earlier this year in the UAE to mark its 15th year of operations. The retailer believes it is on to a good thing to get shoppers into its stores during the crucial initial weeks of a new season.
"It is a very engaging format, which actually allows us to reach out to our customers and become a part of their home living," said Aarti Jagtiani, general manager.
Proactive approach
While small and mid-value furniture and accessories remain the volume-sellers, "we have taken a proactive approach towards promoting our big-ticket items — such as the bedroom and living room sets — through initiatives such as the Home Centre catalogue", said Jagtiani.
"Over the past few months we have noticed a trend towards more purchases being made for big-ticket items, which also contribute favourably to our margins," she added.
According to industry sources, there has been a partial revival in the local furniture and furnishings retail space since summer. Furniture retailers, on their part, have also come up with more focused and short sales promotions rather than allow them to be long-drawn affairs. This way they have had a better grip on their inventory management.
"There still seems to be a trend in favour of relocation and refurbishment of homes across the UAE," said Jagtiani. "Consumers have cultivated a cautious approach towards spending and developed a sharper focus on value.
"Home furnishing is a category that is often perceived as a luxury, but being positioned in the mid-market, we were still able to maintain growth.
"By operating with the advantage of economies of scale, we are ideally placed to transfer price benefits to customers."
The retailer has recorded a near 20 per cent increase in footfall in recent months compared with the last year. This is why the "room makeover" campaign assumes such significance as a way of improving upon the numbers.
The UAE network features 13 stores and 773,888 square feet of space, while the overall GCC tally is 48, with another 30 in India. By 2013, the Gulf network will have 55 outlets while there are plans to enter new markets as well.