TeamFurn (Thailand) Co, manufacturer and exporter of furniture products under the Zedere brand, yesterday revealed a strategic joint venture with Aris (China), a top-five furniture retailer in China, for the opening of its first 90-square-metre Zedere furniture store in Beijing at the cost of Bt12 million.

Under the partnership, the company expects to open three more branches in Beijing and two in Shanghai by the end of this year, with total revenue from Zedere malls in China targeted at Bt288 million.

About 20 Zedere furniture stores are expected to be operating in China by next year.

Naithada Nunwitoon, a member of TeamFurn (Thailand)'s board, said the company had exported Zedere furniture to 23 countries. Australia is now the company's biggest market at Bt50 million in annual export value, followed by Japan at Bt37 million.

Despite the sluggish global economy, Zedere has enjoyed export growth of 90 per cent so far this year. This is because consumers have recognised Zedere as a high-quality Thai brand, providing the best service quality, the company says.

"China is generating high demand, because [many] Chinese people are getting wealthy. They choose furniture according to what they like and not by brand. This means a good business opportunity for Zedere to expand its business in China. So we decided to cooperate with Aris (China), a top-five furniture retailer, to open a Zedere furniture store in Beijing at the cost of Bt12 million.

"Under the partnership, TeamFurn (Thailand) has invested Bt4 million in the store, with another Bt8 million from our Chinese partner Aris (China)," Naithada said.

"Aris (China) is an expert in setting up business strategy. It has also cooperated with the top world designers."

(Source: nationmultimedia.com)