SB Furniture lowers 2011 sales revenue target

The company’s marketing director, Tanyaruck Chawaldit, said yesterday that local furniture demand in the fourth quarter of this year dropped steeply by 30-40 per cent when compared with the same quarter last year. This forced the company to revise down its sales target.
However, its revised target still represents 5-per-cent growth year on year. It posted sales of about Bt5 billion last year.
The company believes that the overall furniture market will show aggressive growth next quarter as flood victims start to restore their homes. The overall furniture market is estimating growth of 15-20 per cent in the first quarter of next year compared with the same quarter this year.
“We estimate average furniture purchases for home restoration of between Bt40,000 and Bt100,000 per unit, depending on designs and the extent of damage. Some flood victims may spend even more than that,” she said.
However, there is uncertainty about the demand for furniture next year, depending on the behaviour of home-buyers, who might switch their preference to condominiums instead of detached houses, or even delay their decision to buy a residence. This will have a direct impact on furniture demand.
“We cannot estimate the demand for furniture next year, and as a result the business risk is greater,” Tanyaruck said.
She added that the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facility were hit by the floods, with damage estimated at Bt200 million, but the company has flood insurance.
The company is starting to operate at full capacity to support the demand in the market, which is expected to increase in the first quarter of next year.
Given the increased demand to renovate flood-hit residences, the company is launching a special promotion campaign to customers who were affected by the inundation and plan to renovate their residences by offering gift vouchers worth Bt10,000 to existing customers and Bt5,000 to the others. The company is also joining with Citibank to offer instalment plans with 10 payments at zero interest for customers who buy its furniture. Customers who want to benefit from this campaign must register before December 31 at www.facebook.com/sb.
Meanwhile, the company is offering help in removing SB furniture of customers who were hit by the floods. The offer is open until December 3. The company has a contract with cleaning firm PCS and Home Renovation Centre to provide services for its customers at special prices. This will enable its customers to recover from the floods as soon as possible, Tanyaruck said.