The Furnishing Industry Association of Australia (FIAA) has launched a national consumer campaign to counteract the flood of Asian imports into Australia.
The cornerstone of the FIAA project is its swing tag for furniture which carries a ‘peace of mind’ assurance for the consumer and advises the consumer that the maker of the product is Association endorsed.
"After years of unsuccessfully lobbying successive governments to assist the Furniture Industry in the face of policy changes with regards to imports, we realized that we needed to run our own positive campaign to encourage consumers to buy the local product." said Kevin Feldman of Dyman Foams in Brisbane.
This Campaign is a pro Australian campaign that focuses on the real plusses of buying local for the consumer. The campaign was designed by drawing on industry research, input from members and studying similar campaigns in the UK and Europe who are facing similar problems.
Imported furniture has forced the closure of many businesses across all sectors of the furniture Industry.
FIAA (Qld) President Chris Lyon of Lyon Furniture at the Gold Coast is Australia’s only remaining manufacturer of Roll Top Desks as well as cutting edge designer tables. He recently won 2 Australian Furniture of the Year Awards (AFOTYA) for his beautifully crafted desks.
“When I started out, there were 5 manufacturers of roll top desks in Australia,’ said Chris. “Now its just me.”
Ironically, 80% of their desks, are destined for computers, so the demand is there, but many local craftsman have lost heart due to the flood of cheap imports.
“The worst effect of the imports is that they have changed the consumers perception of value,” said Chris.
“When a customer walks into a retailer and sees ten different bedside tables for $60 and two for $400, the sheer numbers are against us.”
Lyon Furniture has succeeded by offering a product that the imports cannot compete with - high quality workmanship, flexibility in size, configuration and timber and a warrantee.
“Our Australian Made furniture can only succeed by educating the consumer on real, rather than perceived value,” said Chris.
“Our products are built with high quality sustainable timber, designed to get better with age.”
Robyn Ferrero’s company Ultrashade manufactures shade and market umbrellas, furniture accessories integral to the outdoors Australian way of life, her company has been making the umbrellas for 22 years at Boondall,
She has found that despite the pressure from the cheap imports from China, the quality and options of her product wins out.
“People are prepared to pay more for our quality,” said Robyn.
“Fortunately they realise our product will last for 10-15 years and they have many more options with size and colour.”
The Ultrashade range offers about 20 sizes and up to 100 colours. Conversely the imported products have about 3 sizes and 3 colours.
“The safety issue is also playing a role, with our products manufactured to suit our climate conditions,” she said.
The umbrella structure is designed to withstand strong winds and has a heavy weight stand.
“All our umbrellas are made from an acrylic outdoor fabric which has 99% blockout and is UVA and UVB reflective,” said Robyn. “So people can safely sit in the shade without fear of sun damage.”
The FIAA public awareness strategy has linked up with the very successful Australian Made Campaign.
‘The industry will gain great strength from this partnership.
The industry will be promoting the security, quality, design, style, environmental and sustainability benefits of its Australian products.
The campaign will identify and raise the awareness of the business, economic and employment issues related to an industry that currently employs 80,000 Australians and turns over 8 billion dollars annually. The FIAA campaign targets key stakeholders of the industry.
It is also aimed at the increasing ‘green’ side of consumers with information on environmental practice and social and workplace issues.
Consumers, the business community, architects and designers, educators and trainers and retailers are all catered for in the plan.
This plan includes TV and press promotions, exciting stands at all major home shows, careers expos, Industry shows such as Furnitex and Designex, and will include industry retrospectives, design competitions and a new national website.
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