Singapore to build complex with year-round showrooms
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, March 13, 2005
Singapore — The Singapore Furniture Industries Council, seeking to turn this city-state into a year-round furniture hub, will help build a 260,000-square-foot showroom, warehouse and office complex called the International Furniture Center.
About 70% of the complex will house permanent furniture showrooms, while 20%, or 52,000 square feet, will be warehouse space designed for exporting. The remaining 28,000 square feet will be for offices and a Design Village to train and showcase local and regional design talent.
The effort, in the works for about 18 months, is a public-private partnership that ties in with a master plan to develop the Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate in northwest Singapore. SFIC officials modeled the center after the High Point market in hopes of solidifying Singapore's furniture role in Southeast Asia.
The International Furniture Center is expected to begin operations in October and could be fully occupied by early 2006. There is room for about 80 tenants. Some 20 companies had expressed interest in leasing space as of early March.
SFIC officials said 60% of the companies will be local and 40% will be international. Initially, the mix will include mostly Asian manufacturers. But the site has room for expansion and the IFC could accommodate more manufacturers, including U.S. companies looking to export to Asia and elsewhere.
"Any U.S. company that expresses an interest will help push forward the second phase," said Andrew Ng, SFIC vice president. "We want this to be a platform for a company that wants to build its brand name."
The IFC project, announced earlier this month at the International Furniture Fair Singapore/ASEAN Furniture Show, is about 25 minutes from the Singapore Changi International Airport.
Singapore Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang called the IFC part of a three-step approach to grow the furniture industry here. The other two steps involve raising design standards and upgrading worker skills through a separate Furniture Learning Institute at the IFC.
"The International Furniture Center will integrate year-round export showroom facilities with design infrastructure and supporting services such as logistics," Kiang said.
The IFC is expected to be open to the public on weekends and holidays. Officials don't expect it to interfere with the IFFS/AFS event, which will remain the main venue for exhibitors and buyers from around the world. The SFIC, which organizes the trade shows, will promote the IFC.
"We need to link our industry to the global market," Ng said. "Having permanent showrooms will allow year-round business (and raise) the industry to a different level."
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