Abenson Group brings in iconic furniture brand

At Habitat, good design means beautiful, functional and affordable products.

WALTER Lim is in charge of business development for the Abenson Group, which recently brought in the well-known European furniture brand, Habitat.

The double-degree graduate of the National University of Singapore and the UCLA Anderson School of Management shares with us his excitement about introducing the iconic brand to the Philippines.

Question: Congratulations on the opening of Habitat in the Philippines. Can you tell us what is good design in the brand DNA of this European furniture brand?

Answer: We are very excited with the opening of Habitat Manila and are very thankful for the positive response of the market.

At Habitat, good design means beautiful, functional and affordable products. Habitat founder, Sir Terence Conran, revolutionized home furniture and decor 50 years ago with its first store.

Today, Habitat Design Studio continues to live by this design ethos.

Each Habitat product must not only be a beautiful addition to your home, it has to be functional and will improve your everyday living.

This design philosophy can be seen in our furniture, lighting products, tableware and even accessories. Even the simple things like the bar cart, coat rack or book shelf are given lots of design thought.

Q: There are so many furniture brands in the Philippines, what unmet interior needs are you satisfying with the entry of Habitat?

A: We are becoming more sophisticated and are looking for great designs to match our existing homes and lifestyle.

At Habitat, we’d like to give the market a unique European aesthetic that is affordable and beautiful.

Habitat also aspires to make “Made in Europe” products more accessible to the market, as consumers are looking for better quality and great value.

We offer unique solutions to compact living, which is a big trend in home ownership, and consumers have been very happy with the range of multifunction products we have at the showroom.

Our compact sofa beds are stylish sofas in the daytime and truly comfortable beds at night.

This is something Habitat is very proud of, with years of improvement in sofa bed design and functionality, consumers do not have to sacrifice comfort when living in a condo.

Many Parisian apartments are very compact, and this has allowed Habitat to design a complete range of products to fit our condo market, while still looking chic.

At Habitat, good design means beautiful, functional and affordable products.

Q: Habitat founder Sir Terence Conran was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his contribution to British style and retailing. He was also instrumental in setting up the Design Museum in UK through a 50 million pound grant by his Conran Foundation. What are some classic Conran designs that consumers can see in your Habitat stores?

A: Sir Terence Conran is a huge influence on modern home design and his legacy at Habitat continues to be felt.

He was the first to combine furniture and home accessories in one store, making the lifestyle store Habitat what it is today.

The home furniture catalogue was also his idea, to allow consumers to browse the entire Habitat range even when at home. We continue to carry iconic Habitat styles from the 70s such as the Trestle Table, the Ribbon Lamp, the Chicken Brick, and the Photographic Lamp.

Habitat also popularized the wok and the Japanese paper lamps in Europe during the ’80s, which continue to be available in our store today.

In celebration of Habitat’s 50th year, Sir Terence Conran designed a tableware collection called the “Parnasse,” which continues his legacy of making beautiful designer products accessible.

This tableware collection is available at our BGC showroom, and shows that casual luxury can make life enjoyable every day.

Habitat Design has also been influenced by top design minds such as Tom Dixon, Manolo Blahnik, Thierry Marx, and Mallet Stevens through design collaborations and special editions.

Q: You have a big store in BGC beside Ascott Hotel. Habitat is known for many 200-square-meter mini-stores across the UK. Will you have the same channel strategy in the Philippines?

A: Habitat continues to expand with flagship stores in Europe and Asia. The big store area gives us the opportunity to present a complete range of products as well as provide a complete lifestyle offering.

Even in Paris, where space is very limited, Habitat continues to operate flagship stores with more than 1,000 sqm, and we think that is the best way to introduce the brand to Manila.

The Habitat Paris design team and architects oversaw the development of the BGC store to make sure it has the same feel as abroad. Even the fixtures were all imported from France.

We’re very happy our consumers appreciate the store design and ambiance the Habitat team has created.

We wanted customers to take their time to look around in a very casual and chic environment—no pressure, but with helpful service when needed.

Like in Paris or London, we hope to expand the Habitat concept to more outlets in the future, and bring our unique designs to more customers.

However, our focus now is to continuously grow and improve our BGC store, and hopefully expand when the right opportunity comes.

Q: Your family has been in the furniture business for four generations, what made you decide to add Habitat into the group’s portfolio?

A: Each furniture brand has its own strength, and we felt the market continues to look for more options.

As the customer becomes more sophisticated, so should we evolve and partner with top brands to bring to the market.

We have carefully selected brands that do not overlap, and have unique products to offer.

With Habitat, we complete the offering with houseware, tableware, lighting, bedding and decor. These are new lines for our group, but it is essential to provide that lifestyle solution to the consumer.

While our family has been in the furniture business for many years, we try to push ourselves outside our comfort zones and find better ways to build customer relationships.

(Josiah Go is chair of marketing training and advocacy firm Mansmith and Fielders Inc. For trends in furniture as well as interviews with other thought leaders, please visit www.josiahgo.com)