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The 17th National Furniture Fair-2022 at the International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital witnessed a large number of visitors on Friday.
Majority of the visitors crowded at different stalls and looked for modern and traditional home decor furniture items while traders were happy over the rising number of visitors coming from different parts of the capital and its adjacent areas.
Talking to New Age, furniture and home decor businesses expressed satisfaction over Friday’s crowd as their sale was not as good as they had expected.
They said that the demand for furniture items among the upper middle income community had been rising gradually and they hoped that the fair would play a significant role in making their customers interested in their products.
The fair features a total of 182 stalls of 34 companies like Hatil, Akhtar, Navana, Pertex, Regal, Nadia, Brothers, Hi-Tech, Bohu, Expose Furniture and others.
Most of the companies are offering 10 to 25 per cent discounts on several products.
Hi-Tech Lifestyle and Furniture head of sales Shamiul Bashir said that they displayed a number of modern bedroom, drawing room and dining room furniture sets targeting the elite class and higher middle class customers.
‘Our modern products attract the customer’s interest which are mostly made by using imported or processed wood,’ he said.
‘Price of a set of furniture is minimum Tk 40,000 to Tk 8 lakh,’ he added.
Partex Furniture showroom executive Biplab Debnath said, ‘Sale was not as good as we expected but we’re happy with customers’ response to our products.’
‘We are offering a 15 per cent discount on our products including one year service warranty without any charge,’ he said.
Akhtar Furniture sales representative said that the demand for our products with fine finishing had risen among the elite community.
‘We increased the prices of our products up to 15 per cent in September this year due to rising production cost,’ he said.
Bohu Bangladesh sales and marketing executive Md Mahedi Hasan said that they were looking to export their products to India, United Arab Emirates and other Asian countries.
‘We produce our products using shagun, mahogany and other expensive woods with a fine polish and varnish that give the products longevity,’ he said.
Royal Furniture proprietor Md Abdur Rashid said, ‘We displayed furniture with unique and latest designs and new color combination that enhances personality as well as beauty of a room.’
‘We have been participating in the fair since 2012 regularly and hope to get satisfactory responses from the customers,’ he said.
Bangladesh Furniture Industry Owners Association commenced the fair on Thursday.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Md Jashim Uddin inaugurated the fair as chief guest where Bangladesh Furniture Exporters Association president and FBCCI director KM Aktaruzzaman was present as a special guest.
BFIOA president Selim H Rahman presided over the event.
According to a press release, Selim H Rahman said ‘The 17th edition of the fair was held after a two-year hiatus due to Covid. The purpose of the fair is to develop the domestic furniture industry as well as increase exports outside the country.’
Meanwhile, the export of furniture abroad has increased significantly, he said.
Furniture worth $190.36 million has been exported in the financial year 2021-22, which is 38.87 per cent higher than the previous financial year, he said.
Currently, furniture is exported from Bangladesh to various countries such as India, Nepal, USA, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and European Union countries, he added.
The fair will run daily from 10am to 8pm till October 10.
(NA)
