By global standards, the furniture design industry in Southeast Asia is still considered to be in its infancy. Everyone in the industry is struggling to find a foothold. For decades, the region has long been a production base for the world’s furniture, relying mostly on ample raw material availability as well as relatively cheap labour costs.
One of the many examples of furniture showcased at the Malaysian International Furniture Fair 2013 (MIFF), in Kuala Lumpur.
However, the economic weakness that has persisted in Europe and North America ever since the 2008 financial meltdown has eaten into export volumes from Asian markets dramatically, forcing furniture makers to shift their focus and start building up new strengths.
“Modern style with authentic design, I think, will be the keywords for the Asian furniture market in this era. We need to create more value to our products and stop depending on our rich resources. More communication and cooperation among Asean countries is vital, so that we can avoid unnecessary competition,” says Dato’ Dr Tan Chin Huat, chairman of the Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF).
Given the prevailing global economic conditions, he says, it is important for furniture makers to find niche markets since price competition cannot go on forever. There always will be somebody else offering cheaper products; China and Vietnam in recent years have undercut Thailand and Malaysia, for example. Factories will then shift to the lower-cost economy to remain competitive.
An international fair, he says, “is a very good place for furniture entrepreneurs to learn about the development of the industry. It is a place where innovation of ideas and creativity happen”.
Attending exhibitions also allows designers and furniture business owners to find good partners and work on their marketing and publicity.
On the design side, careful observation of the way Asian people live today will be the key, says Ian Howard Davies of ArcRadius, an interior decoration and design company in Malaysia.
“Hybrid, a mixture of authentic tradition and modern design, is the answer,” he said on the sidelines of MIFF in Kuala Lumpur recently. “We need to open up a whole set of questions: how do Asian people live, work and do things differently from the West? This will present a very big market because it in fact will represent a celebration of Asian values.”
Mr Davies suggested that one way for Asian designers to start from would be to search for a few companies — big ones would be better because their impact would be easily noticed — that are willing to embrace change.
It is essential that business owners realise the necessity of development during this transition period. Once newly designed products are in the market and receive good feedback, many other companies will follow. New-generation designers need to step up and start moving things in a different direction.
Design competitions that allow young talents to express themselves and experience a real working environment are a significant factor in pushing creativity in the industry forward. The results were clear at MIFF 2013, which featured a design competition with the theme “A Tribute to the Shapes and Colours of Malaysia”. The prototypes of the shortlisted finalists were very impressive. Many of them demonstrated how traditional values can be blended with modern design.
MIFF 2013, the largest event of its kind in Asean, was organised by United Business Media and attracted more than 20,000 visitors. After record sales of $830 million last year, the show this year improved its performance by an estimated 25%.
Klaus Kummer, president of KDT International, an upmarket design company based in Thailand and Germany, said one of the weaknesses he found in working in Asia is that Asians have a tendency to believe that whatever comes from the West is good.
“There are many elements in furniture design. With the rich cultures that the region has, I am sure it is not so difficult for Asia to achieve a high level of furniture design. Asia must use what it has and throw away the magazines from Italy and France or wherever they come from,” said Mr Kummer.
The furniture magazines that come from Europe are for the past, not the future, he said. And if Asian designers continue to work from these, they will never be the leaders in the industry. Asia must create its own identity, something that only Asian designers can do.
Korean furniture offers a good example of how designers can add some Asian touches to their products, even though it still has a largely Western-oriented influence, he said. Once some young designers create something that attracts great attention from the mass market, others will tend to follow.
At this point, Mr Kummer sees that many people in the field are still struggling to define what Asian style really is, given that it is an ongoing process that has to evolve and emerge slowly. “Creating a trend or style is a process; it is something that you cannot force or speed up,” He stressed.
Discussing furniture trends, Dato’ Dr Tan observed that one of the great emerging styles we can see in today’s furniture is “simplicity, minimalist and economical”. The implications of rapid urbanisation together with the evolution of high-rise buildings throughout Asian cities have forced people to stay in smaller living areas. Consequently, furniture makers need to reduce the size and weight of the products in order to make them easier to move around.
Moreover, many people who move into an apartment or a condominium in a city have another house in the outskirts; they would not consider buying costly products, therefore the price of the furniture should be at an affordable level.
Likewise, Mr Davies suggested that one area Asia could exploit is the opportunity to generate better publicity for newly designed products through tourism promotion. For Thailand in particular, he said, tourism offers immense value for the country. Foreigners who visit Thailand are here not only for the weather and the beaches, but also to admire Thai culture. Many buy pottery, fabrics or small decorative items to take home. If Thailand can create a certain type of modern furniture with an authentic Thai touch and make these pieces ubiquitous, they could become popular products throughout the world.
To stay competitive in trade shows and beyond, Dato’ Dr Tan added that producers from now on must emphasise design, create an Asian identity and strengthen the use of local materials. At the same time, Asian furniture makers must ensure consistent quality and workmanship, by keeping abreast of the latest designs and market trends.