Fabricating wardrobes, shelves or cabinets have shifted from using polished woods to dry-formed fiber panels like high-density fiberboard (HDF), medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and low-density fiberboard (LDF).
The patterns of choices have been such that reflect not wanting to be caught behind time, according to Hanson, a furniture maker with services across the country. This has given rise to the few playing in the furniture market, which is already overwhelmed with demand.
“Aesthetics is one of the factors driving demand right now. There is a change in the type of furniture we have right now. People were used to furniture made out of wood but right now we have other varieties of furniture materials that makes an average person want to change or acquire furniture,” Joshua Hanson, Hanson & Associates chief executive officer, explained.
“We recently had a client who spent N2 million to change from beautifully polished wooden furniture to the last fiber panels; because he sees something different when he visits friends and does not want to be left behind,” Hanson said.
On the heels of this and other factors, experts note that population, rural-urban migration and a growing consumption culture are rising, adding that Nigeria’s furniture market has been expanding. It has ridden on importation restriction to drive a market that thrives well above N50 billion. Consumers have increasingly had less need to cling to their penchant for foreign-made in their considerations for custom furniture.
Tapping into taste-driven trends, manufacturers are evolving their creative strategy to match the speed of change in trends. They are upping their game to create international appeal for their products, by using top quality materials.
Allan Pung Fu, sales director at expanding furniture firm, Lifemate Nigeria Limited, admits change is trend and taste has great influence on how the company responds to demands. She said the company has invested more in its capacity to change its products to align with client’s taste.
Taste and trend apart, the furniture has also been backed by a population variable, which is creating more jobs than the players available.
Estimates of Nigeria’s population are now nearing 200 million and is projected to hit 400 million by 2030, according to World Bank forecast. It is believed that as new families are created and empowered by income growth, spending on furniture pieces will grow bigger.
One in five of the world’s consumers will live in Africa by the end of the next decade, and more of these people will fall into the category of affluent or middle class, according to Brookings Institution.
In the next few years, more than half of all African households are expected to have flexible income – that is, approximately, 130 million families by 2020. In the five largest consumer markets alone led by Nigeria, the African Development Bank estimates that there will be 56 million middle-class households with disposable incomes of nearly $680 billion.
30 Consumers who are considered ‘better off than middle class’ according to OECD standards, are expected to spend an additional $174 billion per year over the same period, accounting for another 27 percent of the region’s total consumption growth.
Industry observers see this middle class contributing to the expansion of the furniture market.
Although, Nigerians are getting poorer with 87 million people below $1.90 baseline, experts remain optimistic taste will come to the rescue of demand.
Ayoola Ojo, chief executive officer at Pencot Limited, started his furniture business in April, 2018 with most of his activities domesticated online. So far, his venture’s transactions has hit a tune of N40 million in less than a year and he says while substantial income is key to purchasing ability, there were buyers who simply prioritised their taste for certain trends.
“Most people prefer the fabric covered sofas. Rich people demand the good leather work which could be very expensive. But average people still demand, even though it might be fabric; something that children cannot tear and can be easily cleaned. There are several sales online from different platforms,” Ojo explained.
Experts also see market sustainability prospects in growing housing projects around the country. Nigeria still has a long way to go to fix the housing needs for its population. A number of projects, especially in luxury and regular locations, are springing up.
4 Bourdillon, for instance, is a luxury building which is a joint venture project between Kaizen Properties and the Elalan Group. Located on Bourdillon, it is a twin tower consisting 25 floors and 41 units of three, four and five bedroom duplex flats. It is billed to be ready for occupancy later this year.
Kingsway Tower, a high rise building which comprises offices measuring 13,317 square metres, a landmass of 4,994 square metres and 337 bays will be due for completion by the fourth quarter of the year.
Projects like these and many more are what experts believe to hold opportunities for furniture makers in the country.
Temitayo Ayetoto
