From left to right: Linda Ong; Chairman Ong; Edwin Tero of MCI Cabinetry and Furniture Inc.; Manny Osmena; Josephine Booth of Mehitabel; Grant Raymond Jeffries, Waterfront general manager; Go Ching Hai; Angelina Ong; and Roberto Booth of Mehitabel pose before they cut the ribbon during the launching of Furniture City in Hernan Cortes. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)
INTERNATIONAL and local players in Cebu’s furniture manufacturing industry now have a permanent place to feature and sell their wares as well as build a client base.
Rain or Shine Furniture City, an old warehouse transformed into a furniture showroom, initially features the products of 13 furniture makers. Four other companies are also interested in leasing space.
“Cebu is so rich with creative, gifted and talented people. But they don’t have the venue to be discovered,” said Edward Hayco, president of Lenbert Manufacturing, Inc. which established Furniture City.
About half of the brands are exporters who have already built themselves a name as furniture designers in the international market while the others are “rising stars” in the local furniture industry scene. Among the exporters are Mehitabel, Stonesets, Murillo and Obra Cebuana.
Lenbert marketing director Jim Cassels said they will have the freedom to design their allocated spaces however they wish.
“It’s their showroom. Their designs, spaces, placement, even the flooring, are decided by them,” he said.
Osbert Ong, general manager of Lenbert Manufacturing, said they want to pull in as many potential clients as possible into the showroom.
Cassels said Furniture City caters to all market segments, with products ranging from the low to high-end. Furniture City is also eyeing the condominium market, with several furniture offerings from different brands designed for condominium-style living.
Ong said they plan to expand the showroom area to 4,000 square meters by early 2016 from the current 1,800 sqm.
He added that they were considering putting up showrooms in other locations in Cebu, such as in Pardo and Consolacion.