— Furniture Today,
Officials consider creating World Furniture Organization
PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain — About 280 representatives from 60

manufacturers, retailers, financial groups and trade publications and associations met here for the first World Furniture Congress last month.

The event brought industry officials from 40 countries together to discuss ways to better cooperate and share information in an increasingly global industry.

It also resulted in a proposal from Jack Chen, president of the Council of Asia Pacific Furniture Assns., to create a World Furniture Organization by Aug. 1. The group would be made up of industry associations dedicated to fostering international communication and cooperation.

Chen also talked about the importance of integrating global resources, preserving raw materials and the need to exchange the latest technological information.

The event kicked off with a panel discussion on the global nature of the business, with presentations by officials from Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe.

One speaker was American Home Furnishings Alliance CEO Andy Counts, who told how his organization changed its name from the American Furniture Manufacturers Assn. to include more importers and reflect the industry’s global nature. He also talked about the changing nature of U.S. furniture retailing and issues faced by AHFA members, such as raw materials shortages and higher costs because of environmental regulations.

Counts and others also addressed challenges brought on by globalization, such as job losses and global trade imbalances.

The event also featured panel discussions on production and marketing.

Among the presenters was Lars Hoving, international marketing director for Italian leather manufacturer Natuzzi. He described the company’s challenges with “economic stagnation” and price wars from low-cost producers. The solution, he said, was to build a global identity that, along with a focus on innovation and quality, repositioned the company’s brand in the global marketplace.

Dixon Bartlett, vice president of Atlanta-based retailer Storehouse, talked about his company’s focus on service and style as opposed to just price. But he said that to provide the best values, Storehouse still has to work with lower margins.

“The consumer is the winner,” he said. “You get more for your money than ever before.”

Other sessions focused on business cooperation and logistics. Furniture/Today Publisher Joe Carroll, the U.S. representative on the logistics panel, said the industry must work to improve transportation and delivery to reduce consumer complaints.

“The key to capitalizing on new efficiencies is to take a broad view of the logistics process to determine exactly how to best manage inventory, improve logistics functions and maintain tight controls over the entire supply chain pro-cess,” he said.

Officials hope the conference is the start of an ongoing dialog between various industry segments. Chen and others said the proposed World Furniture Organization should help achieve that goal.

“An institutional framework is needed to help the companies and the organizations” in the increasingly global business environment, said Bart de Turck, a representative of the European Furniture Union. “A world organization of the furniture industry can be this institutional frame, giving the trade organizations the opportunity to meet on an even basis.”

More World Furniture Congress events are anticipated, with dates and locations to be announced later.