Hyderabad, September 2, 2003
It is all set to give Hyderabadis the biggest thrill of their lives with a little more than 12,000 sq feet of prime space showcasing a curious blend of oriental, occidental and other categories of living room aesthetics. If you're thinking of doing up your place, and you happen to drop in for some neat stuff at Furniturewalla's latest greatest at Laxmi Cyber Centre, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills, you really won't know where to start.
A hallmark of class and variety, Furniturewalla offers anything that you can think of under the sun in wood, wrought iron, glass, acrylic or anything else, to match your taste, size of living room, etc. Furniture from every habitable continent has been hand picked (Farhan Furniturewala, the force behind the brand with the same surname, does the shopping himself) to offer visitors a wide range of choices from 18 countries - cane, colonial classics, modern art, Spanish & Italian designs, symmetrical & asymmetrical furniture, minimalist styles and more. I want to follow the 'Ikea model', he says
"A showroom with such a diverse range befits the fastest growing city in the country" beams the suave Farhan. So now the aesthetically inclined Hyderabadi has a choice of a mind-boggling 43 different styles of sofa sets (each in a plethora of shades), 60 kinds of dining sets and 100 centre tables, each distinct from the other accessories.
On an average a customer buys furniture about five to six time in his lifetime; at Furniturewalla he is likely to spot something that he may not have seen previously. For here is a "place where he gets the very best to suit his taste and style", says Farhan. The furniture in a home must look collected, not bought. It must also be comfortable, as it has to be practical.
The upwardly mobile premium furniture store houses a mixed range of furniture dining sets in glass, elegant sofas in leather and fabric, wood and natural fibres, centre tables of various sizes and designs, and a sprinkling of accessories like side tables, CD racks, table lamps etc. Then there is the impressive range of imported furniture and the stunning collection of ultra modern, sleek furniture.
"I travel extensively and personally source the best of furniture from 18 countries" says he. Four other designers help me check the ergonomics of each piece. We lay great stress on design. Every piece made at our factory in Mumbai goes through a series of rigorous tests so as to conform to predetermined, stringent quality benchmarks. Farhan also provides customised furniture from his own manufacturing unit. A stickler for quality, he is also very particular about his choice of wood. For him only Burma teak, Mahogany and walnut wood will do.
Hailing from a family that has been in the business of furniture for a whole century, Farhan has inherited his family's affinity for aesthetics. He has been travelling for the past 12 years to various parts of the world - Taiwan, North and South America, China, Europe, and the Far East - to attend furniture fairs and exhibitions. And he's been associated with big names like Aaron Mitchell & co., a premium LA based design organisation that has catered to the likes of Steven Spielberg. His institutional clientele in India boasts of a number of blue chips and business conglomerates like the JW Marriott group of Hotels, Hindustan Lever, Blue Dart, Zandu Pharma, Cadbury, Hiranandani builders and cinestars like Shilpa Shetty, Anu Malik amongst others.
Farhan started his first store in Mumbai four years ago, and gave it the family name - Furniturewalla. And after the encouraging response to his second showroom in Bangalore and the third in Pune, Farhan has now come to Hyderabad with the fourth mega outlet in the chain.
Farhan's outfit is a furniture 'super bazaar' that offers a greater choice to people with different tastes.
"The next stop is Delhi and then Chennai" he grins. Eventually, Farhan is looking at 13 stores of his own in key cities he has identified in terms of viability. Each store will be of 1000 sq. m. to 2000 sq. m, or even larger I want to built the brand, then franchise it. I hope to see 100 branches of Furniturewalla across the globe", he says.
India has no corporate furniture company, says Farhan, so obviously he all set to be the first. "Nevertheless his involvement with the business goes miles beyond commercial consideration. He claims: "Furniture is my passion!"
Press Release by: SolusMedia