Cozy Concept deepens competition in furniture market, poises to manufacture locally

Cozy concept, a lifestyle Store is set to deepen competition in Nigeria’s huge furniture market with the launch of its first store in Nigeria, where furniture will be produced locally and made available at an affordable rate.

This development is coming at a time when the foreign exchange scarcity has made it difficult for importers to bring in as much furniture as they used to and buyers to buy at the current exchange rate in Nigeria.

According to Furniture and Furnishing, an industry publication, in West Africa the first furniture consumer is Nigeria (a large fast growing market), followed by Ghana and Ivory Coast. In the sub-region more than 70 percent of furniture consumption is satisfied by local manufacturers.

Speaking during a press briefing to announce the launch of this first showroom, Samir Bader, director, Cozy Choice Concept Limited said that the store will make it easy for people who need quality furniture to get easy access to them at an affordable rate.

“This store will be accessible for the middle class and even the low class. We have dealers we are working with to distribute these furniture to states around the country and very soon we will be having our online shop for those who will like to buy the product online,” Bader said.

Apparent furniture consumption (at production or import prices, excluding retail mark-up) amounts to US$ 9.6 billion. Africa accounted for 2 percent of world furniture consumption in 2013 with a per capita furniture consumption of 8 US$, compared to a per capita average of 12 US$ recorded by Asian countries.

The Centre for Industrial Studies (CSIL), Milan, Italy, stated that total furniture imports into Africa amounted to US$ 3.6 billion in 2013. Ten main furniture importing countries (each of them importing over US$ 100 million of furniture in 2013) were: South Africa, Angola, Morocco, Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Sudan

At launch of the Showroom, Baber, disclosed that the company is partnering with suppliers to import the raw materials used for production, adding that in ten year time, the company hopes to have covered the entire West Africa.

“Imagine walking into a Lifestyle store that has all your needs. You walk in, see what you like, the price likes you back and it is a match made in heaven! Moreover, you can have the pleasure of doing it yourself. People need to step out of their imagination into our brand new lifestyle store – Cozy Concept! We have everything you need to make your space beautiful and cozy.

“Cozy Choice Concept Limited was incorporated in Nigeria in 2017 by seasoned industry professionals. The idea evolved from the absence of affordable and international standard quality designed furniture in Nigeria.

“Moreover, for the ease of purchase, assembly and transportation, the furniture are packaged as flat-packed (DIY) making it more cost effective for users. The concept will further reduce the need for imported furniture by solely producing in Nigeria,” Bader assured.

According to Furniture and Furnishing, an industry publication, over 60 percent of the total furniture market in Africa is satisfied by local manufacturers. Total Africa furniture production amounts to US$ 7 billion. Fourteen percent of local manufactured furniture is exported, with main exporting countries: South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria.

Apparent furniture consumption (at production or import prices, excluding retail mark-up) amounts to US$ 9.6 billion. Main markets with over 500 million of furniture consumption are: South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco.

Urbanisation process is expected to be very rapid, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa and large urban areas will be the engine of economic growth with important implications for the increase of furniture consumption.

Despite political instability and relative poor infrastructure level, there is evidence of a number of urban centres, which offer potential for growth for the furniture market. These cities are increasingly diversifying their economy. In recent years, huge investments have been made in real estate, tourism and hospitality industry, culture and entertainment, which have boosted demand for the furniture sector.

Cozy Concept evolved from the absence of affordable and international standard quality and designs furniture in Nigeria.

“We decided to be the solution by making everything easy; from purchase, to assembly and then transportation, the furniture are packaged as flat-packed (DIY) making it more cost effective for users. From the moment you purchase one of our affordable pieces, you know that you are buying authentic items as each one, from start to finish,” he said.

The Cozy Concept furniture showroom which will be launched on the 25th of March 2017 at its office in Lekki Epe, Lagos and will afford invited customers the opportunity to have 10percent on all furniture purchased that day.

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU