The classic joie de vivre (joy of life) philosophy is capital for French furniture brand Gautier as it turns its eyes on the Philippines.
“Here in the Philippines, we know there is a market for this kind of product,” said Gautier France export manager Herve Soulard, referring to their product line of high-end furniture. “We are now opening in the Philippines because we feel the country will be a big market for us in the future.”
Add better buying power to the perception that French is cosmopolitan living at its finest, and a winning formula emerges for Gautier, which officially broke into the local market with the opening of its maiden shop at Shangri-La at the Fort on March 17.
Pieces from the 55-year-old brand may require buyers to fork out hundreds of thousands of pesos, but they guarantee bang for the buck, said Katrina Lim, general manager for Gautier Philippines. “One of the things that really impressed me with the products is their multi-functionality… you don’t expect [the furniture] to do all these things.”
Dimix, for example, is a bed for kids and teens that transforms into their workplace. Majestic has two pull-out beds adding to the top bunk, and a desk. Cabinets may contain Wi-Fi speakers. These features would appeal to urban dwellers who want space-saving items.
All the products are produced with quality in mind, noted Lim. Soulard explained that new products were developed to meet high benchmarks.
Ideas and prototypes go through layers of tests from the “ideation to manufacturing.”
Items distributed in Gautier’s 100-plus stores in France and overseas–and shipped to 65 countries–all come from its three manufacturing sites to avoid issues on quality and fake replicas. If anything goes wrong, Gautier boasts efficient after-sales service and a 10-year warranty for some items.
Another selling point would be the allowance for individualism, Lim said. “Everybody wants their own thing nowadays.”
The Artigo and Adulis column units have two and three finishes, respectively. They can be arranged as the customer pleases. The Preface collection has five finishes, featuring bookshelves with transferable cubes.
Adult beds have some 500 combinations for designs, frames, dimensions, materials and colors. Upholstery for sofas is diverse–23 material types and 273 colors.
Customers can visit the Gautier website for a 3D design feature. They can print their design and show it to an employee at a Gautier shop for advice and orders.
Manning the Philippine shop is a licensed interior designer. Displays show furniture pieces in theme rooms of different shapes and sizes.
Gautier, noted Soulard, sets trends. They use focus group discussions and surveys to gauge the demands of the market before they come out with a new lineup, usually in April during the Milan Fair.
One item from that effort is the best-seller, Urban, which combines natural oak and black wood. It’s an edgy combo to some, but it interprets a trend.
“We’ve been to customers, gave cameras and asked children to take pictures of their room, on Instagram and others, and we used social networks,” said Soulard. “Based on their feedback, our typical customers have posters. In Europe, the trend in music was alt-rock music and a lot of black. We realized we needed to have a product matching this trend.”
The joy of life culture manifesting in the outcomes became a come-on for Katrina Lim, her father, Samie, and the whole Blims group. They began pushing for Gautier presence in the Philippines since 2014, when they saw the offerings at a Paris fair.
It was a long courtship, said Lim, but not so much because of conflicts. In fact, said Soulard, “It was a great start. We have the same family values, which is very important.”
For Soulard, the delays were brought on by their search for the right location and the training of the managers for the Philippine operations in France, a must for the company.
“I think it was more of the distance that made it a very long courtship because we had to fly to Europe, and they also had to fly to Manila,” said Lim. It is Soulard’s third visit to the Philippines, all for business. He is excited to explore the country for leisure soon, he said.
With the opening of the Gautier store, he may now have the time and reason to roam the country. Soulard revealed that they’ve been eyeing the Philippines for quite some time now, with several failed attempts at partnerships.
This and an upcoming store in Singapore are part of their expansion to emerging markets, such as Asia and Latin America. The Philippines follows only South Korea in Asia.
With 8,000 Gautier furniture items leaving France every day, how long before orders reach far away Philippines?
“Right now, we’re saying between three and six months which is pretty standard here,” said Lim. “The good thing with Gautier is, when I talk to them, I’m talking to the manufacturer, not a middleman, so the turnaround is faster.”
“Also, all the products you see are in stock in France for quick delivery,” said Soulard. Shipments headed for the Philippines will leave France weekly, make a transit in Singapore and be here in a month, so three to six months is full proof, he explained.
It took P30 million to put a Gautier shop here. Blims plans to build a second shop in Cebu or Davao, with an investment of up to P20 million.
That is possible considering their track record, said president Sam Frederick Lim. “We take pride in building brands in the stores we carry… La-Z-Boy, our problem right now, is that it’s too well known that it’s become synonymous with recliners.”
“We have a very high confidence level that the market will appreciate our products,” said Lim. Joy of living is an attractive proposition.