China still dominates home decor business

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 26

The Modi government may be making best efforts to promote “Make in India” products, but China still dominates in every segment of the market. Be it flooring, ceiling, accessories or furniture, China is way ahead in targeting Indian customers. 

Even architects, who are executing construction and interior decoration projects, ask their clients to accompany them to China to get durable and cheap products. 

Sanjay Goel, an architect and one of the Directors of Smart City project, told The Tribune that 80 per cent architects asked their clients to get material from China.

“But most of these architects are not qualified from reputed institutes. The qualified architects know the durability of Chinese products. These may be cheap but hardly are durable. It is also a fact that the product which costs here Rs 2 lakh will be available in China for merely Rs 50,000-70,000 and the packaging will be tremendous. But these products are not durable. 

“Many architects get commission from sellers in China. This is the issue of concern for the whole architect fraternity. But since people, too, want cheap products, China remains the best option for them,” said Goel.

Sunita Arora, a home maker, said they had to get bath accessories and furniture for their newly constructed house. “The architect asked my husband to accompany him to China and they booked a container worth Rs 10 lakh. We got bath accessories, decoration items, sofa, console and table, etc, in this price which was not possible here in India. The Chinese companies cater to every segment and we chose what best suited us,” she added.

The architects said leading shopping stores get products from China and put their own labels on them. “If we stop recommending for Chinese products, people will still buy Chinese products. Why do we lose our clients?” asked an architect.