21 November 2005 – The Philippine Embassy in Moscow reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Russian furniture wholesalers and importers, long partial to European products, are sitting up and starting to take notice of Philippine designs, even characterizing the Philippines as the "Italy of Asia.”

A newcomer to the market, the Philippine furniture industry set up an initial presence in the form of an information booth for the Cebu X furniture show at the Mebel (Furniture) 2005, the biggest and most prestigious furniture show in Russia and Eastern Europe, held mainly at the Expocenter in Moscow from 15 to 19 November.

The participation of Cebu X, to be held in the central Philippine city from 26 February to 1 March 2006, is all the more notable because the Philippines is the only Asian country with a booth at the Elite Mebel (Furniture) 2005, an international salon of high-end and exclusive furniture at the Manezh Exhibition Hall next to the Kremlin, according to Ambassador Ernesto V. Llamas.

In an exchange deal, the Philippine and Russian furniture exhibitors will place full-page ads in each other's catalogues and provide information booths. Cebu X organizers say the booth serves effectively as a beachhead prior to the full-scale participation of Philippine furniture producers in Mebel 2006.

"Philippine furniture is one of a kind," said Vladimir A. Gubernatorov, director of Exporeklama, the advertising and promotion division of Expocenter. "I am sure that the Philippine pavilion will attract a lot of attention next year because the pieces are distinct from other furniture showrooms."

Indeed, Philippine furniture is getting the kind of raves that have become a mainstay in other Western design exhibitions, such as Valencia, Milan, Paris, Cologne and New York, since the mid-1990s. Cebu X itself is known for showcasing world-class cutting-edge design. This year, photo essays about Philippine furniture design and even the Embassy Residence layout have appeared in the Russian version of The Architectural Digest, Tabouret and more recently, in the October 2005 issue of the industry journal Mebel Tseny (Furniture Prices), which introduced the Movement 8 collective to a highly design-fickle sector.

Movement 8, led by artist Budji Layug, is a group of young designers gathered by the Center for International Trade and Export Missions (CITEM) to present an aesthetically united front at the furniture show in Valencia some 10 years ago. In Russia, their use of bamboo, rattan, hardwood mixed with steel, chrome and glass is considered fresh and innovative.
Ambassador Llamas said Filipino-designed and made items have also appeared in high-end glossies such as Elle Decor and Salon, as well as Domus Design in Ukraine. And the Philippine Embassy has been at the forefront in pushing the country's furniture designs to have an even greater exposure in a fast-growing consumer market.

"If Italy tops the international furniture market for its designs, then the Philippines comes in as second," said Vladimir Volkov, the general director of Olimar, Ltd., at the recent Furniture Club 2005 international fair at the Crocus Expo. "It is the undisputed leader in Southeast Asia and, by sheer number of designers, could be said to be number one worldwide."

Volkov, who employs Filipino designers in his Russian-owned company, is interested in introducing a Philippine line to his current collection of wicker, rattan, tropical and pine wood furniture from Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. He said he would be most interested in Movement 8's designs, especially.

Sale and production of furniture is one of the most vibrant consumer goods sectors in Russia. The market offers many locally manufactured products as well as a large international selection. Official data records a 30 percent increase in sales in 2000 at 1.5 billion USD, growing to 2 billion USD in 2001 to finally reach 2.6-2.9 billion USD in 2003.

Private and more reliable figures push this figure further. According to Ambassador Llamas, a study conducted by marketing agency Interactive Research Group (IRG) in September 2002 revealed that the Russian consumer market is 100 billion USD bigger than estimated by Goskomstat (State Committee on Statistics), with the actual size of the furniture market in 2002 seen at 4-5 billion USD. The Russian market represents a large clientele base of 145 million people, with 3 percent considered as very rich and 20 percent, the fast growing middle class with a large potential for consumption.

Among the upper class, 1 percent of the population (1.45 million people) has an average annual income of 90,000 USD. With half of the extremely rich living in Moscow, the city has earned the reputation of being one of the most expensive in the world.

With incomes and the cost of living on the rise, households are spending more than ever. Expenditure on furniture, furnishings and household durables is rising, as families are upgrading to better housing. They thus spend more in order to create more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing homes - something unthinkable in the period of Soviet mass housing.

The furniture industry is among the main beneficiaries of this increased spending power. Imported furniture occupies about 60 percent of the furniture market. Domestic manufacturers, whose quality control standards are not as high as imported furniture, produce the remaining 40 percent of the furniture sold in Russia. END