KL firm eyes Dhaka school furniture market

A Malaysian furniture maker plans to enter Bangladesh market to make a footprint in the untapped school furniture business of the country.
"We want to enter Bangladesh's school furniture business, as no company here has so far signed in for the segment," says Hamdan B Selaman, sales and marketing manager of Furniture Industry Technology Centre (Fitec), a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based furniture maker Majlis Amanah Rakyat.
Selaman is now in Dhaka to participate in the third Asian International Trade Fair that ends today.
"We'll provide a complete solution, including layout design, for the school furniture segment," he said.
The furniture maker said it set a target for $1 billion sales of its products for Bangladesh schools, but did not mention the time period.
Fitec's Chief Operating Officer Sarimah Mohamad Sabudin said: “We're now working with partners here.”
Inspired by the Bangladesh market potential, the company has opened a display centre in Chittagong.
According to Selaman, Malaysia will provide school furniture for Bangladesh's 1,000 educational institutions in line with a memorandum of understanding signed with the Bangladesh government.
Kid-friendly layout, matching colour and attractive design are the salient features of the school furniture.
Fitec posted an 18 percent rise in exports in June compared to the same month a year ago, as there are signs of economic recovery.
Malaysian Rural and Regional Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal says his country is among the nine largest furniture exporters in the world, the market size of which is more than $100 billion.