From Germany to Global City, luxury furniture worth passing on

The typical Pinoy home is furnished with inherited pieces, lovingly preserved so they can be passed on to the next generation. "Sayang," we say, whenever it's time to throw out old things. There is a tendency to exhaust all efforts to repair furniture before finally giving up.

Some pieces are sturdier than others, and those who are interested in adding new furniture to their family collection may want to invest in something more special. Of course, not everyone is willing to spend a lot on furniture, but the people behind German luxury furniture brands Rolf Benz and Hulsta believe this is the perfect time to enter the Philippine market.

“The market is growing here for international furniture and people want that more now. If you look around here, all the high-end condominiums... people don't want the cheap stuff, they're looking for something a bit more special,” explained Hulsta Area Sales Manager Stefan Fisse during the launch of their flagship store on June 11.

“There are condominiums growing. People have more money to spend, more disposable income,” he added.

There are no prices on the furniture at the showroom, but expect to shell out at least a few hundred thousand pesos. No wonder then, that celebrities like the Chelsea football players are the type of customers who have bought their furniture.

“Hopefully we can get some Filipino celebrities to add to the list,” said Fisse, who describes their target market as “people who appreciate quality and are looking for something more special.”

Upon hearing that furniture gets passed down in the Philippines, the new store's managers are excited, saying this is all the more reason to invest in something that can become a family treasure.

“In Germany, we have a lot of customers who use their furniture for 20, 25 years,” says Markus Acker, area sales manager of Rolf Benz.

Rolf Benz and Hulsta are sister companies, with the former specializing in sofas and the latter in wall units.

The reason for the longevity, they say, is that apart from being sturdy, their furniture designs are classic. Sometimes customers will send their sofas back and ask for a more modern cover, but they don't want to exchange their sofas for something new, shared Acker.

Not surprisingly, the company philosophy revolves around quality, comfort, design and functionality.

A little extra

They are also able to adjust to a variety of needs. "If the customer wants it, he can have it," Acker said, adding that although they have 300 different colors to choose from, buyers sometimes want something else. They can even choose their own fabric and send the material for the sofa.

Because everything is custom made, however, it takes longer before a customer is able to receive the furniture. But Fisse notes, “People are willing to wait because they want that little bit of extra service, extra quality and all that,” using the car industry for comparison.

"If you buy a BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche from Germany or a Ferrari from Italy and you want to change a few things, you have to wait for them. It's not something from stock. They'll make it for you and that's the same with furniture,” he said.

“Because this is our first store in the Philippines, hopefully people in the Philippines also appreciate that and understand that," Fisse added.

Environment-friendly wood

While Pinoy customers can order any of their pieces, Fisse explained that some of their ranges are more suitable for certain markets. For instance, solid wood is not recommended for southeast Asia because of the humidity, which causes the wood to expand.

“If you have solid wood, and there's humidity going in or it's drying out with the aircon, something will happen. This is the beauty of a natural piece of wood,” he explained.

Still, Pinoy customers can order any of the designs, even the solid wood. “If you really want it, we can do that. We just won't guarantee that nothing will happen,” said Fisse.

Although the company has been around for years, they try to keep up with the times. “We're advancing all the time, and we give that little bit extra when it comes to the environment," he said.

All their products carry the Blue Angel environmental seal. “This guarantees the customer that all the furniture are made environment-friendly, with all the materials we used. All the veneers, all the trees are coming from forests which meet the requirements for that,” said Fisse.

Beauty and functionality

When it comes to getting inspiration, Hulsta's design team travels constantly. “They go to all the fairs, looking at new trends, just to catch up with the times as well and innovate,” Fisse shared.

He noted that German design is straightforward: “It's very simple, and still kind of modern today. Rather than something very fancy, we are a bit more down-to-earth.”

The most important thing is beauty. “That's the first thing which a customer recognizes. If he likes the design then he goes deeper into the product,” Acker said.

On the other hand, functionality is what sets their furniture apart. “Especially in big cities where the space is a little bit limited so you need to have something more functional that fulfills two or three functions, instead of having three pieces of furniture you have one piece of furniture which is suitable for all these situations,” he added.

The Plura, which can be converted from a sofa into a lounge chair, was designed with this set-up in mind. “Once the guests have left and you want to be a little bit more comfortable, the sofa can be adapted,” Acker said.

Looking at the furniture, the importance of design is obvious. Although mostly classic, there are little design details, such as a different base color or decorative stitching.

Acker explained that they use different types of foam for their furniture's interior, in order to achieve the ideal softness or firmness. A sofa that looks soft as a marshmallow is surprisingly firm. "You feel very safe, and very comfortable," he said.

The most famous design, the 28-year-old Rolf Benz 6500, is the epitome of Rolf Benz and its products.

“It's a completely timeless design, with very beautiful comfort, high-end quality and very good functionality,” said Acker, as he demonstrated how to adjust the backrest for more comfortable support. The seats are covered with plush leather, which Acker noted is still preferred in Asia.

Asians also tend to choose bigger sofas than Europeans, whose tastes are going back to smaller living room furniture with fabric covers, Acker shared.

But functionality is important everywhere. “The product must be there for the people to use it. To offer also something more, some added value which they can appreciate in their daily life. The products, they are beautiful but in the end they are just there for use by the customer,” Acker said.

Their company philosophy is all about functionality and beauty, they explained.

“The furniture can make your life easier," said Fisse. — YA, GMA News


The Hulsta and Rolf Benz showroom is at the 3rd Floor of Fully Booked, Building 6, 11th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For more information, call (02) 7382430.