Please tell us everything we need to know about Neo Alchemy. How does it feel and how has your journey been so far with India?
- Neo Alchemy was established in the year 2017. With over 25 years of experience in the furniture industry, we have experienced a full circle of business-maybe a couple of times!!
- The Indian market is today better organised than a couple of decades back. Yet, over 80% of the industry is unorganised, and therein lies a vast opportunity.
Why is wood such a popular choice for a home interior and exterior? Despite the influx of new façade materials, how does wood continue to attract a large number of buyers in the high-end market?
- Solid Wood, from time immemorial is one natural element connected with Indian psyche. Hence, it comes as a natural first choice. Will generally start with the Teaks but later trickles to honne | bilave | Acacia | Rubberwood etc.
- Wood has grown amongst the premium market for two reasons :
- Deforestation has brought in an element of scarcity and hence
- Lack of availability has created a demand, and hence raised to the premium segment.
For the reasons cited above, wood, which was ancestrally an abundantly deployed | used material, due to its innate qualities of finish | ease-of- workability | life etc., has a very premium “fan-following”.
Do you see a change in the demands that consumers place on the kitchen, office, and educational sectors? How is the Indian consumer modifying their usage to fit the latest trends?
- Price and cost, rather than any other factor, drive changes in demand for material type in the Indian furniture industry. Today, kitchens, offices, and educational sectors are using plywood, laminate, and processed wood products like particle boards, MDF, etc. for their furniture.
What are the most recent kitchen and wardrobe industry trends and developments?
- Materials have been largely fixated on timber and processed wood for kitchens and wardrobes. However, today’s products are mostly sold around hardware and accessories. There is significant value-add due to the accessories.
- On the external surfaces, however, solid wood ( timber ) finishes attract a premium and customers are willing to spend for good finishes.
How has ergonomics become important for office, school and home furniture designs? How do you see the future of the Furniture industry?
- Products selling on “The Ergonomics Factor” are still in their infancy. Products are still driven by costs.
- However, thanks to the likes of Ikea, people are getting exposed to design and ergonomics to a large extent. And since it is almost a generation since the IT sector has been relevant, people are realising the importance of ergonomics apart from aesthetics and cost. Hence, going forward, the buying priority pattern will change from Price | Aesthetics | Ergonomics to Ergonomics | Aesthetics | Price.
In terms of Design and Manufacturing, how technologically advanced are you?
There is a big gap between the designer and the manufacturer. By virtue of our exposure to both design and manufacturing, we are trying to bridge that important gap.
A wide range of innovative materials are available. How do you see competition in the field of innovation? How much room is there for advancement in woodworking machines?
- First Come, First Serve-those who are agile in innovation make hay. There is a huge scope for constant innovation. Backed by good marketing, innovation can play a key role in the business development of an organisation. It is critical that companies do not become complacent and, hence, constantly innovate.
- There are woodworking machines at the low end of the spectrum or at the high end. Considering the huge middle class demographics, machineries in the mid segment with quality outputs and productivity are a necessity.
Segments that you’d like to penetrate and explore further in the future? Which areas do you believe have future growth potential?
- While all of the current segments of consumers will continue to drive, there may be more additional segments.
- The residential segment will continue to provide growth for the furniture industry.
Tell us about your most recent projects, as well as any project that you’d want to highlight for our readers.
- 10,500 sft Design and Build for a MNC in Blore has been a different project with several features – Acoustic Partitions | Compactors | Convertible Conference Rooms | Storage systems | Industrial Shelving | High-end Material Handling equipment | VRF AC | PIR Controlled lighting system | Strip Ceiling | DG Automation etc
A 4000 sft Building with a combination of Residence and Office.
Interview Attributes:
Guruprasad R
Neo Alchemy Build India LLP