When one thinks about plastic furniture, the first and probably the only brand that comes to his/her mind is Nilkamal. This is the kind of brand image that the company has created in the country. When I asked about this to Hiten V Parekh, Joint Managing Director, Nilkamal Ltd., he says, "Moulded furniture is one of the pillar businesses of the company." And he is very proud of it. Again, why shouldn't he be, the company sells a million chairs per month. Yes, you read it right. This is apart from the other moulded furniture such as tables. The company introduced moulded chairs in 1990s. That was an era, when wooden furniture was prevailing. In this condition, how was it for the company to venture into the unknown? "Initially the business was slow. The chairs weren't easily accepted in homes. However, marriage decorators were the ones who made it popular. Those traditional wooden chairs were uncomfortable and its nails, which popped out frequently posed danger to the expensive clothes as well to the health. As a result, our aesthetically appealing, water resistant, comfortable and stackable chairs got absorbed by marriage decorators and other community halls easily," he says. Further he adds that once people saw its benefits at such ceremonies, it also became popular in Indian houses. "Slowly we became pioneers in the market. However, we just did not only take the lead but maintained it by far margin against competitors
till today."

Expanding its portfolio, the company has recently launched range of
office furniture and is in process of launching home furniture. "We understand ergonomics very well from our experience of making chairs for more than 20 years. This has helped us to come up with office furniture and we have introduced chairs for all the levels of staff. Similarly, we are coming up with furniture that is exclusively designed for homes. And we expect to create an impact in the market with these two ranges," he hopes.

(Continued on next page)