With continuous uprising in the world’s living standard, consumers are placing more emphasis on home decorations and spending more on purchasing unique household ornaments. Asian exporters are reaping huge benefit s from this trend . H ome decor b uyers are relying heavily on Asian manufacturers for stable and high-quality products to satisfy the ever- growing demands in their home market. Though the houseware production in Thailand is still small-in-scale, it is going to become a unique hub among o the r Asian countries. To examine the Thai houseware industry, <<MegAsia>> spoke to Miss Pathtreeya Parshujarratpong, the president of the Home Decorative Design Association (HDDA) . We are impressed by the thriving production scene on site, with distinctive craftsmanship and creative designs that keep international buyers com ing back.

Miss Pathtreeya Parshujarratpong, President of the Home Decorative Design Accociation (HDDA)

Q: Could you give us a brief background on the Home Decorative Design Association (HDDA) ?

A: The HDDA was founded in 2003 with over 50 members . Among them, nearly 90% are manufacturers and exporters of home decorations. The HDDA members produce a diverse range of houseware s for the international and domestic markets, such as artificial flowers, photo frames, Christmas decorations, lightings together with some decorative gifts.

Q: What is the current status of the Thai home decor industry?

A: The industry has been performing strongly for the last few years . According to the figures released by the Thai government, the houseware export value reached US $346.46 million in 2004 and improved to US $347.4 million in 2005. W e are expecting another 10% growth in 2006.

Official figures show that there are about 1,950 Thai factories specialising in home decorative items. A mong them, 1,200 are small companies with less than 50 workers. Another 650 belong to medium-sized manufacturers, with workforce ranging from 51 to 200, which also comprises the majority of the HDDA members. Finally, there are 100 large factories employing over 200 people each .

Q: Which major markets are the Thai home decor exporters target ing at ?

A: Most of t he Thai home decoration suppliers focus on the United States, the world’s largest consumer market. In fact, some HDDA members are cooperating with one another to set up a joint-distribution centre in the U.S. to tap th e massive market in a more cost-effective manner.

Noticing the keen interest of the Europe ans , the Thai exporters regard Europe as a nother major market . Apart from the well-established markets , such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany, Russia is now showing promising potential too.

Q: What is the biggest challenge confronting the Thai home decor industry? How does the industry deal with it ?

A: The home decoration market is in very tough compet ition nowadays. With its relatively small size, the Thai industry is disadvantaged in terms of the economy of scale. Despite the great effort taken by the HDDA to help its members import raw material s collectively , th at savings alone is not enough to make the Thai products as cheap as its Asian rivals like the Chin ese ones .

To stay competitive, the Thai suppliers offer distinctively designed high-end products while building long-term relationships with the buyers. At the end of the day, I think the unmatchable uniqueness of Thai products is the key selling point.

Q: How crucial is the element of design for the Thai houseware industry?

A: Product design is of utmost importance to Thai home decorative items because it is the very edge that we hold against the other Asian manufacturers. T he Thai producers not only lay stress on style and practicality, but also the raw materials as well .

Th ai unique design ha s won over many European hearts . The buyers from Europe put design as their top product selection criteri on . Also, although different countries have their distinctive cultures, the versatile Thai design c an always strike a chord with the broad-taste market.

Q: Where do the Thai manufacturers draw their design inspiration?

A: Firstly, creativity runs in our blood. Thai people have a mind of art, especially when it comes to designing handicrafts. This is the natural gift of the Thai houseware manufacturers, enabling them to keep churning out unique ideas for the niche markets.

The design process is always a co llaborative effort. The HDDA hosts meetings periodically to give members an opportunity to share and discuss various design ideas, so that the Thai manufacturers will benefit from the feedback to fine-tune the design before producing the items. Furthermore, we also maintain close relationship with a number of European buyers who provide us with constructive advice on the latest design trends, for example, the use of colors.

Q: How about the use of materials?

A: Thailand is fortunate to have a wide variety of natural wealth available for the houseware produc tion while some wood is imported from its neighboring countries. Thai manufacturers make full use of these abundant resources. This is one reason wh y Thai products can stand out from the crowd .

For example, a HDDA member who speciali s e s in making household decorative items with mango wood told us that she lost a very big contract to a Chinese manufacturer who offered a similar prod u ct at a lower price. However, these years the customer returned to her because of her unique design and the use of high-quality raw materials.

Q: The violation of intellectual property rights (IPR) is quite a problem nowadays. What is the stance taken by the Thai manufacturers on this issue?

A: Yes, IPR violation is a big problem. As we come up with new design, the competitors would copy it . But this phenomenon has become a source of motivation for the Thai manufacturers to keep rolling out new and unique products .

While some manufacturers visit international trade fairs, like those in Frankfurt, Paris, Birmingham and Hong Kong, to find design inspirations, the Thai suppliers go there to see the products displayed and avoid making similar products. The y therefore avoid direct competition while gaining a valuable edge against the competitors.

Q: What does the future hold for the Thai home decorative products?

A: I think as long as Thai h ouseware products stand out from others through their unique design, and that the manufacturers continue to work together to protect Thai products’ good reputation, I have every confiden ce that we will continue to thrive and grow in the years to come.