Manila furniture firm opens new Cebu showroom

TO serve a growing clientele in Cebu, a high end furniture brand distributor opened a  showroom in the new Design Center along A.S Fortuna Street in Mandaue City, Cebu.

Focus Global Inc. president Stephen Sy said they saw a lot of potential in  Cebu  for growth and their showroom would bring their products closer to  Cebu customers.

“In the past (the transactions)  was usually done in Manila. They would call us and wait for days before we could attend to them here for our after-sales services,” said Sy in an interview last week. Focus Global opened in Manila two decades ago.

It is the exclusive distributor of top home furnishing brands like SieMatic for kitchen cabinets; InSinkErator for food disposers; Miele for home appliances and Wolf and Sub-Zero offering built-in refrigeration and cooking equipment. They also distribute Tempur mattresses and pillows.

The expansion of Ayala and other real estate developers  creates a demand for their high end products, said Sy.

SieMatic managing director Volker Betsch said te  rising number of condominium projects in the country has turned the Philippines into a major market for their brand in Asia.

Betsch said China remains one of the fastest growing markets for their brand in Asia because of its huge population.

But the development of the local market has fueled the demand for their merchandise.

“The market is changing now, even in Asia. In the past, people are used to dining outside of their homes but now, they want to stay at home and eat together so spending on high-end kitchen equipments has increased,” Betsch said./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap