Buy furniture from Vietnam: potential and pitfalls when importing furniture from Asia
Furniture business opportunities in Vietnam are enormous and can lead to a definitive competitive edge and increased margins for those that manage to benefit from the huge potential of the furniture industry.
Many different kinds of businesses in Europe and around the world are seeking to buy furniture from Vietnam and other Asian countries (mostly China but also Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, etc.). These businesses can be very varied and include architects, hotel and restaurant owners, furniture wholesalers, small and medium furniture retailers, interior decorators and many more. Vietnam has emerged as a major furniture producer in Asia and exports of Vietnamese produced furniture increase every year. Purchasing furniture in Vietnam can be easy and the key to a successful business in your home country. 
The ever increasing flow of furniture exported from Vietnam and exported to countries around the world reflects the huge potential of the Vietnamese furniture industry.
Potential of importing furniture from Vietnam for all kinds of businesses
We focus on the luxury and high-end furniture segment. Many would think that purchasing this kind of furniture is near to impossible as the main thoughts that come to mind when referring to importing furniture from Asia is low-quality products and components, cheap-priced, often copied designs with total disregard to intellectual property and mass production without attention to details.
If you have time and resources to endure a very steep learning curve (see the pitfalls we describe below), there is a huge potential for improving your sourcing and margins by importing from Asia. You will find that the most famous luxury brands, from clothing and accessories (leather bags, suitcases) to electronic devices, all produce in Asia, mainly in China but also in neighboring countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Most consumers don’t even realize this which is already a testament to the success luxury brands have had with this cost-effective strategy. Most of these international brands don’t have their own production facilities but rather sub-contract the production to a panel of local suppliers that can deliver the quality standards that are required from them.
In the footwear or textile industry, it is not unusual to observe one subcontractor or factory with different production lines, each allocated for a specific international brand. As part of our own learning curve and while we seek the best quality, we have learned, in the furniture industry, that it is much better to work directly with a furniture producer that is already recognized internationally for the quality of the furniture produced. These often have their own brand which is sold at high-street retailers around the world. Knowing that you are purchasing a luxury sofa from a producer that is selling the same sofas to luxury furniture retailers in Europe is a guarantee that you will receive the same quality that is being acclaimed by western consumers.
Most of these exclusive producers do not have time or the will to deal with small buyers so this is where we can provide a very useful service since we have partnerships in place with Danish, Italian and English furniture producers who are located in Vietnam (many were producing before in Europe but have relocated to Asia). Being able to access high-end furniture factories, purchase at wholesale prices and mix different items made by different producers into one container opens a whole world of possibilities whatever your project may be (hotel, restaurants, interior decoration, retailing, etc.).
Pitfalls to avoid when importing furniture from Vietnam and across Asia
However there are many pitfalls and every day, many buyers are disappointed by what promised to be a great transaction and that turned out to be a nightmare with dire financial consequences. It is essential to have a network of trusted and dependable furniture producers whose factories and capabilities you have tried and proved through a solid and durable relationship. Trying to make a quick transaction by purchasing furniture from a furniture factory that you hardly know because you are tempted by the incredibly low prices is the first step to having an unsuccessful transaction.
Quality issues when purchasing furniture from Vietnam
Quality issues are a recurrent and daunting problem for most inexperienced furniture buyers in Vietnam. Being unable to have somebody you can trust to inspect your order before shipment will frequently lead to receiving a container at your home port or warehouse that will despair you when you see what furniture you have just imported from Vietnam.
To successfully import furniture from Vietnam (o elsewhere in Asia), it is mandatory to be able to perform quality controls, not only before shipment of the goods but during the production of these goods so you can detect defects and other production issues as they appear.
Many buyers have had a bad surprise, not on the first container received by a supplier but later on in the relationship, after having received several containers, suddenly one arrives and the quality is no longer there. Many reasons can take an Asian furniture producer to do this, almost all of them beyond your control, the only way to protect and ensure success for your operations is to monitor extensively each and every shipment, during production and before packaging.
Quality issues can be apparent and easily detected if you have the means to carry out an inspection (QC or quality control) before the packing of the furniture. Some other issues only appear later on, after the furniture has been delivered to your clients, sometimes a long time after. To avoid this, a thorough knowledge and control of the components and the processes used to produce the furniture you are importing are essential. Other quality issues need to be detected and prevented during the production of certain types of furniture (for example a faulty powder coating process) because they will not be apparent if you only carry out one QC, just before packaging.
Knowing your products and your supplier over a span of several years also enables you to find permanent solutions to problems that arise only after a furniture item has been used for several months or years (i.e., structural defects, etc.).
Here are just a few examples of different kinds of problems you may encounter when purchasing and importing furniture from Vietnam and Asia:
A screw that is too short to allow proper assembly. Apparently a small problem, it can lead to customer dissatisfaction and extra costs. |
Iron will rust very quickly if the powder coating and epoxy treatment is not well applied. Impossible to detect beforehand, the only solution is to supervise the anti-rust operations while in progress. |
This problem only became apparent many months after delivery. Production methods had to be changed to avoid this situation. |
Missing or bad dimensions of the screws, nuts or bolts…you will need to have a backup solution to solve this problem…extra hardware. |
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Packaging quality and packing furniture for import from Vietnam
Packaging and packing furniture for export is another essential dimension for the success of your purchase of furniture in Vietnam or in Asia. Depending on your logistics flow, packaging will have to be adapted to ensure that there is no damage to your furniture, either inside the container during sea transportation or later on, upon arrival at the port of destination or during the distribution process by truck to your warehouse or to your customer’s location.
This is definitely what you don’t wish to see when opening the package of furniture you have imported from Vietnam: bad packing (some parts inside the carton were assembled when they shouldn’t have been) and low quality carton leads to irreparable damages and your supplier won’t refund you in this situation.
Most furniture factories include in the furniture’s price what is called “export quality packaging”, do not take any risks with that because this packaging is insufficient and flimsy, if you want to guarantee that your furniture arrives in pristine condition, you will need specific and technical packaging (honeycomb cardboard and hard rulers for the edges). Loading the furniture into the container is another source of damages since consolidation platforms involve workers who do not belong to the furniture factories, their main target being to squeeze all the boxes into a container as quickly as possible, no need for them to worry about anything breaking… When importing luxury furniture from Vietnam, each item that might be damaged might represent several thousand dollars of loss. Here are some more photos illustrating different situations you might encounter and that are caused either by inadequate packaging or careless container loading (stuffing).
Low grade packaging will not resist any kind of friction during transport, this is a typical result that will lead to a string of claims to suppliers and insurers, generally to no avail. |
This is a typical loading problem. This item was stuffed into the container and the aluminum frame could not resist the pressure during transport leading to bent furniture. |
Stacking furniture within a container can cause these damages due to the weight and inadequate packaging for export. |
If you are transporting fragile furniture and also trucking it to your client’s doorstep, packaging that might be sufficient for container transport will not be suitable for handling at your warehouse and transporting by truck later on for mail order deliveries. |
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An extreme example of what can go wrong when furniture is tightly packed within a container: bent aluminum frame, beyond repair. |
Another classic, insufficient packaging for container transport and the ensuing delivery by truck. |
Robust and technical packaging can be a significant addition to your import cost breakdown (can reach 7-12% of the value of a product) however, it can provide protection against having to discard the damages to the furniture are discovered when it is unpacked at your warehouse or even worse (because of higher removal and disposal costs), at your clients’ homes.
Ideal packaging. Luxury furniture deserves luxury packaging, a sensible (albeit expensive) precaution due to risks of damage while importing. |
Special packaging that will resist any damage during transport from Vietnam to your country. |
How to purchase high-end furniture and import it from Vietnam
Without having the capability of traveling to Vietnam to buy furniture, not only once to meet the furniture producers and visit their factories but on a frequent basis depending on your purchasing schedule, the furniture exported from Vietnam by some suppliers will disappoint you, even though you did your due diligence and made the trip to Asia to prepare your panel of furniture sellers and furniture producers.
At Luxury Furniture Vietnam we have a long and proven track record purchasing furniture from the best factories in Asia that have international recognition due to the quality of their products. We open our panel of furniture suppliers to overseas buyers who are looking to gain access to the source of production and to avoid having to pay high commissions to all the middle-men involved in a typical transaction when buying furniture in Europe or elsewhere, far from the production sites.
Our skill and experience in carrying out quality control at each furniture factory in Vietnam that we work with as well as our overall capability of proposing furnishings and decoration items from a varied range of producers makes us a unique and attractive proposition for owners of hotels, restaurants, interior decoration agencies, architect studies, etc.
If you are looking to buy luxury furniture in Vietnam, we have a panel of European furniture producers that are located in Vietnam and that produce high-end and luxury furniture for clients all over the world. Are you looking to buy contemporary furniture in Vietnam? Our Danish partners produce the most stunning and modern designer furniture you will ever see. Contemporary lines and award-winning designs? We have them!
Real goose feathers and down, imported Italian leather and an original Scandinavian design are just some of the components that make this designer sofa a luxury item
You might also be looking to buy classical furniture in Vietnam. French styles (Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, but also Art-Deco, Chippendale and many other classical furniture styles) are made by our Italian partner under the direct supervision of an Italian master craftsman and according to the most demanding rules to ensure absolute luxury in every item.
Solid brass made with the “lost wax” process delivers the most incredible accents and details.
We also have designer furniture produced by Vietnam’s most famous furniture designer, Quasar Khanh. Made with molten aluminum, our organic design range is stunning and will thrill you.
Organic design by Quasar Khanh, made from molten aluminum and polished by hand.
Natural fiber (rattan, water hyacinth, sea-grass, etc.) furniture is readily available from our Vietnamese partners who are truly skilled and produce beautiful furniture and decoration items.
If you are looking to buy garden and outdoor furniture in Vietnam, try our mosaic table collection, there are many stunning items from mosaic tables to chairs and stools in wrought iron.
Mosaic tables available for import from Vietnam
We also can offer furniture from European furniture producers like our designer barbecues made in Spain, our designer glass furniture made with Italian Murano glass and our award-winning furniture made in Austria and designed by Martin Ballendat.
Luxury designer barbecues made by a Spanish furniture producer
Enter the world of luxury furniture with a few mouse clicks and discover that you have instant and direct access to purchasing and acquiring the most beautiful furniture that Vietnam and even Asia has to offer.We ship to any location in the world, such as Europe, the USA, Middle East and Persian Gulf, Russia, Africa, etc.Import furniture from Vietnam and begin building your path to success whatever your project (retail, wholesale, interior decoration, architecture, etc.).
Here is a fine example of our products being imported and retailed in Europe through this high-end furniture retailer, click here to visit “Imagine Outlet: meubles haut de gamme” website.
25 Responses to Buy furniture from Vietnam: potential and pitfalls when importing furniture from Asia
Tina -
August 7, 2014 at 9:49 pm
Hello,
I am looking for high-end bean bag chairs. We only work with top quality textiles and top quality manufacturers. Please let me know if this is a product you work with.
Thank you,
Tina
Imagine Vietnam -
August 8, 2014 at 11:39 am
Hello Tina, thanks for stopping by.
We do not currently work with bean bags but we do know that there are bean bag producers in Vietnam and they presumably work with major brands. Finding the best and most reliable producers would require some research and due diligence before going any further.
We are not sure whether you are currently producing in Canada or elsewhere. One very interesting aspect of producing in Vietnam is that there is a temporary admission status that enables any furniture producer to import raw materials and components to use them in producing finished goods for export, without paying an import tax on those raw materials. As long as they can justify the consumption of those materials in the production (there is an accepted wastage rate) of the finished goods that will be exported later on and, that the transit period in Vietnam does not exceed six months, this is a perfect solution for ensuring your order is produced with the raw materials and components of your choice. This option is however only feasible and interesting if your orders involve large quantities on a regular basis. As you mention on your website that “Each Bean Bag chair comes with virgin polystyrene beads that are 100% Canadian made so you can expect high performance specifications and Canadian standards”, this could be solution to ensuring you maintain these high standards for your product. The fabrics you use are also very specific so it would be recommended that you provide them to the bean bag producer in Vietnam if you chose to produce them here. You can also ask the producer to purchase all components and raw materials from a designated supplier (if you don’t mind sharing the source with them).
If you prefer to let your supplier source the raw materials and components, you would definitely need to provide very specific technical specifications (Martindale and rubbing stress tests minimum required performances for example). You will then have to monitor whether these requirements are respected which is not necessarily an easy task unless you use an independent laboratory to test a sample product (the cost of this can be significant so you would need large quantities to depreciate this amount). Another important issue you will want to guarantee is safety for children so this might require independent testing too and the guarantee that the specific components you require are used (i.e.: child safe zipper pulls). In the best case scenario, or easiest solution, you would be buying standard products from a bean bag producer who already has all the certificates available but this can be a difficult task and from what we see on your website, you have your own designs and materials.
Signing a contract to protect your copyrights (designs, filling, stitching and other particular aspects of your product) will be essential to at least make the supplier think twice before selling your products to another client. This is a recurrent problem across all industries and Asian countries when you outsource the production of your own designs.
You might also prefer to have final packaging (with your brand and graphic standards) used directly at the production site, before shipping, so you can then easily deliver all your customers in Canada and elsewhere. There are quite good packaging suppliers in Vietnam, even for very technical packaging though it seems these products will not require technical packaging.
We can help you if you wish to outsource to Vietnam the production of your bean bags (sourcing, on-going production control, quality and packaging control before shipment, etc.) please contact us by email for further details.
Jessica -
August 8, 2014 at 1:05 am
Hi, I just read your article:”BUY FURNITURE FROM VIETNAM”. It is really informative and gives great insights in the industry. As I think about starting my own business in furniture, I was wondering if you could maybe give me some input in the logistics chain.
Do the Vietnamese manufacturer have Minimum order quantities (MOQ) for chairs, beds and stuff if would like to get shipped here to Australia. If so, what is the amount?
How long does it take from handing in my order to the manufacturer until the good gets arrives in Australia?
I would really appreciate if you could give a quick feedback from your point of view as experts.
Best Regards,
Jessica
Imagine Vietnam -
August 8, 2014 at 11:11 am
Hello Jessica, we’re glad you found our post informative and useful!
Let us address your concerns separately.
Minimum order quantities (MOQ)for a furniture order
Regarding your question about Minimum order quantities (MOQ) when ordering furniture from a factory, let us see if we can provide a comprehensive answer.
If you wish to purchase directly from furniture suppliers (factories), you will have most certainly come across this issue. MOQs will vary depending on the furniture factory and especially depending on the furniture production process and materials that are used. While most furniture producers have been adapting to supplying smaller quantities, an MOQ is still essential for factories to optimize production costs (adjusting machines to cut and assemble different pieces, changing print patterns or colors, etc.). Buying raw materials in large quantities leads to reduced prices but this doesn’t mean that the factory will want to store the raw materials/components on their site, so it is one more reason to demand an MOQ.
Workers are also more efficient making many units of the same kind than switching from one model to another during a shift. One way to get around this concern is if the factory has a permanent stock (to reduce delivery lead-times for their main clients and still benefit from producing large quantities within a production run). Permanent stocks imply that there are customers with recurrent and regular orders for a specific model. The specific model in question must also be available for sale to other clients and not of the customer’s own design (if that were the case, the factory should not be able to sell it to other customers). Some factories will accept small quantities but you will have to pay a premium (similar to when you ask for a sample) that can range from 100% to 300% of the FOB (Free on Board incoterm, applied for container orders) price. The price for an LCL (less than container) order will also naturally be an Ex-works price (you will carry all the costs and organization of logistics from the factory to the port as well as export and loading costs).
For wooden products, for example chairs, the MOQ can be of 50 to 100 chairs, for tables, it is generally 50 units. If you look at woven products (natural fibers like rattan or water hyacinth or synthetic like resin/pvc wicker) the MOQ will generally be one full container (FCL), this container can be either a 20 foot or a 40 foot container. Some factories (woven materials) will allow much smaller orders (without the premium we mention above) but you will generally find a minimum of three units of a specific model and only if you have developed a good relationship with that factory.
In general terms, the bigger the quantities, the more leverage you will have to negotiate a lower price with the furniture producer.
Production lead-time for producing a furniture order
This will also depend on the raw materials, production process and product composition.
If raw materials are not readily available, you might have to endure a lengthy wait just to get these, before production can begin. With leather products for example, if your furniture supplier needs to import leather to produce your order, this can take from a couple of weeks to a month.
Depending on the level of activity of your supplier (especially during their high-season which will vary depending on whether they produce outdoor or indoor furniture) when he receives your order and on the priority he might give to your order above other orders, you might have to wait from 4 weeks to as long as 10 weeks.
Transit time for a furniture container from HCMC, Vietnam to Brisbane, Australia
While you would have to confirm this with your freight forwarder (or supplier if they can book the container for your), here is an estimation of the distance and required transit time.
Image credit http://www.searates.com/reference/portdistance/
In some case, a cheaper freight option implies a longer route (with a stop for consolidation on a larger vessel in Vung Tau, Vietnam, Singapore or Hong Kong for example).
We hope all this information is helpful and we wish you success with your furniture venture in Australia.
Jessica -
August 12, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Thanks for the detailed answer! I really appreciate it. That makes my understanding of the industry much more clearer.
I liked especially the link for calculating the route and time of delivery you gave to me.
Can you maybe recommend me any manufacturer in Vietnam that have already experience in producing high quality furniture with a low MQO as of 50-100 items as well as manufacturer for 100-500 items?
Are there any products you would not get manufactured in Vietnam?
And do you think it is better to have get the furniture manufactured in Vietnam compared to Thailand and Malaysia. If so, why?
I’m very looking forward for your reply 🙂
Have a good day,
Jessica
Imagine Vietnam -
March 16, 2015 at 2:58 am
Hi there Jessica, how is your furniture project going? In your last comment you asked about which country was the best candidate for manufacturing and importing furniture, Thailand, Vietnam or Malaysia. Each of these countries has excellent furniture factories, however finding the right factory for your business can be like finding a needle in a haystack and can be very costly. You really need to be located in the country you are purchasing from or have an agent you can trust to manage your orders. This is the only way you can avoid the kind of disappointments we mention in this post.
Mani -
May 19, 2015 at 6:19 am
Hi Jessica,
I’m own a company offering Furniture sourcing and inspection. it would be good if we collaborate our business together. currently i’m reside in Malaysia and i have working experience in Vietnam and China.
Imagine Vietnam -
May 19, 2015 at 10:13 am
Hello Mani,
Thanks for your comment. While I think you can be an extremely valuable resource for carrying out Quality Controls (QC inspections) in Malaysia, I am not sure about how cost-effective it would be to have you come to Vietnam to inspect a shipment. By experience, final dates for inspection tend to vary at the last moment and huge flexibility in terms of schedule are crucial on behalf of the inspector.
We will keep your information for any needs we might have regarding furniture supplier sourcing in Malaysia or furniture quality control in Malaysia, thanks for stopping by!
Florette Vernon -
February 21, 2015 at 2:35 am
My husband & I have purchased bedroom furniture from Leon’s Furniture Store in Hamilton,Ontario,2013.we have just discovered mold or mildew on the particle board,yes particle board of the furniture.Furniture was made in Vietnam… This will never happen to us again as we will buy furniture that is only made in Canada or the US.Very frustrating.
Imagine Vietnam -
March 16, 2015 at 2:54 am
Dear Florette, thank you for sharing your experience.
Producing and then shipping furniture from Asia to Europe or the US means that the furniture will go through extreme variations of temperature (the container can get really hot) and humidity (Asia is very humid compared to Europe or the US). Poor storage conditions at the furniture factory, container loading conditions, a faulty container and poor packaging combined with rain (there are some seasons during which it rains heavily in Vietnam and Asia) can lead up to the presence of humidity/fungi related problems such as mold or mildew on imported furniture..
This can have a significant impact on the furniture which can even begin to crack one year after it was received in the US. Mold is more uncommon in our experience but this does happen too, despite a comprehensive quality control (QC) before shipping the items. This is why it is so important to select very carefully the factories you purchase your furniture from in Vietnam, they need to understand the importance of storage conditions (components and finished products and packaging material) and have the resources to protect their furniture.
Linh -
March 14, 2015 at 4:36 pm
I am Linh. I have a wooden furniture manufacturer.
Imagine Vietnam -
April 7, 2015 at 11:46 am
Hello Linh, I’m not sure that would be the best way to go around advertising your factory but thanks for visiting our website. Have a great day!
Richard -
June 19, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Hello there,
First, I must express how glad I am to stumble upon your website as I am in the preliminary stages of beginning a retail furniture business here in XXXXX.
My aim is to carry modern, Scandinavian design type of furniture while including some accessories like lamps, wall art decorations e.t.c As you can imagine, it is seeming challenging to establish a supplier base in Asia. I was initially considering only China and was hoping to establish some key contacts there before visiting these companies in China to establish the quality of their products. Do you think it is wiser connecting with a Sourcing agent or establishing this connections myself? I hope to get the blueprints of my sourcing strategies and logistics perfected in the next two months. So every advice I can get would be highly appreciated at this time.
Looking forward to your insight. Thanks.
Richard
Imagine Vietnam -
June 19, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Dear Richard,
Thank you for appreciating our blog post about importing furniture from Asia.
As you will not have a purchasing office in Asia, it would be advisable to work through a sourcing/purchasing agent. Sourcing because he can help you find the right furniture and purchasing because he will carry out independent quality controls for you before shipment. This does mean that you would have to include a middle-man into your equation which of course, no retailer wants to. In the short and long run, I am sure it will be worth it.
Another issue, is how attractive you are to agents and especially to furniture factories as they do not always attend efficiently every request they receive (they receive dozens every week from persons wanting to start their furniture retail business and many times they do not wish to waste time with unqualified requests). You should have your presence (furniture store address and website) ready so that they can see the potential in your new business or at least you will have more credibility than requesting prices and terms via a @gmail.com free webmail account. The main issue is however the quantities you are willing to purchase as not many factories (though more and more are turning towards small orders) are interested in small volume orders. For small volume furniture orders, if you find a factory that produces them, prices will be higher and if less than a container, you definitely need someone over there to go from ex-works furniture prices (delivered at the factory where it is produced)invoiced to you by the furniture factory or furniture manufacturer to DDU prices (delivered to your port of destination in your country so including pick-up at the factory in Vietnam, transport to the port, loading and customs procedures at Vietnam or Asian sea-port, sea-freight to your port of destination, import and port unloading fees upon arrival, etc.). Purchasing furniture LCL (less than container level) is much more expensive per item in transport than purchasing furniture FCL (full container level) and has many other considerations to take into account (i.e.: damage during transport in a consolidated container, etc.).
Do check all the relevant import rules and regulations in your country to avoid surprises (flame retardant fabrics required in sofas, etc.), you can do this using the HS codes (international customs codes for each type of furniture). Choosing the right logistics operator can also seriously help reduce costs so this requires quite a bit of effort so that you are transporting your furniture from Asia in the most cost-efficient way.
Keep in mind that some factories (especially the high-end ones) will prefer to reserve a market in a specific country for their main buyers (purchasing several containers of furniture from them each month) and may not want to attend competitors (however small they may be) in that same country. This means their main buyer will have exclusivity for their country.
Quite a few hurdles but nothing is impossible, keep working on your blueprint, cost and revenues calculations and most definitely, begin finding the right partners for your future furniture business.
All the best!!!
Richard -
June 23, 2015 at 11:39 am
Hi Luxury Furniture in Vietnam,
Thank you for the well detailed insightful reply to my earlier email.
I have now realized your concern as regards to presenting ourselves to furniture sourcing agents/manufacturers as qualified interests to distinct ourselves from numerous inquiries these companies get. However, we would hold any referral you give in high esteem. Would you be able to recommend any Furniture Sourcing agents in eastern China for us or how to establish these connections?
Yours Sincerely,
Richard
Imagine Vietnam -
June 23, 2015 at 11:41 am
Hello Richard,
Thanks for your reply.
We could help you if you would be importing furniture from Vietnam but in order to get the best prices, you would have to import at least a 40 HQ container. As an example, and this is for mid-market price retail furniture price points, please see the furniture price-lists attached, you would need to order at least ten units of each variation of model/dimensions/finishing and the entire order would need to be at least that kind of container. Not for the faint of heart or for a start-up as quantities are significant. For other high-end products, we can consolidate and send smaller orders but then the prices per furniture item are high though of course, we are talking about high-end and luxury furniture, not mainstream or mid-market furniture.
Best Regards,
Luxury Furniture in Vietnam
Minh Anh -
June 26, 2015 at 4:46 am
Dear Luxury Furniture,
I would like to contact with you for introducing ourself but both of your phone numbers cannot be reached.
May you send me another number or email for direct contact? Thanks.
Warmly Regards,
Minh Anh
Ed Butler -
August 11, 2015 at 8:47 am
Hi there. I am not sure if you are able to help. I am based in Singapore but am looking to set up a furniture business exporting old colonial furniture from Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia over to Europe. (I have a couple of people in France and Holland willing to partner up with me).
Do you know much about this market? How best to source agents (do you need agents?)or am I as well off trawling the antique markets myself. Also, what kind of restrictions that might apply to exporting antiques or any other tips you may have? Any pointers would be most welcome.
Ed
Imagine Vietnam -
August 11, 2015 at 9:12 am
Hello Ed,
Thank you for your visit. We do not work with antique or colonial-era furniture and we are also much more familiar with Vietnam than with Indonesia, Malaysia and other Indochinese countries. However, we do have enough experience in those countries and with furniture in general to give you some pointers that might be useful.
As you are located nearby (Singapore), you might consider that an agent is not necessary. Several questions and your subsequent replies will give you the answer:
1) “are you experienced in purchasing furniture in Asia”?
2) “are you able to recognize a true antique from a purposely aged furniture item?”
3) “will you be able to access and source this furniture by yourself in countries that you are not familiar nor have an existing network in”?
4) “will you be able to carry out quality controls before the goods are packaged and shipped?”
If you are confident you can carry out those tasks, then you can try to get things rolling by yourself. You can always change your methods as you go along if you come across the right type of agent. However, this is a niche operation (small quantities, very specific original antique furniture).
Antique furniture carries two main issues we would be concerned about: distinguishing the fakes from the real items and moisture content and other structural issues that might appear only once the items are in Europe.
In terms of trawling local antique furniture markets, not always will there be specialized and organized locations with antique furniture on offer. You will have to be constantly visiting different sites which might have only a few furniture items available (but these might be real treasures). You will need a local guide/interpreter to move around and gain access to the most interesting opportunities.
In terms to restrictions regarding antiques, this is extremely difficult to establish. You can get stopped at the border between Cambodia and Vietnam simply because you are carrying some Buddha statues (which might clearly not even look like antiques). The reasons for this behavior and the solutions needed are various however in most cases this is only for the cultural and religious items (hence the Buddha statues being targeted). For colonial-era furniture, there will not be any issues unless it is considered as part of the country’s heritage.
All the best! Do get back to us if you have further questions.
Genesis Peter -
October 23, 2015 at 7:40 am
If you need furniture do contact me I will provide you with best furniture in industry at much cheap price .
my contact details are
************* (deleted)
Imagine Vietnam -
October 23, 2015 at 8:21 am
Dear Peter Genesis,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. We really do not advise our readers to jump into promises of “best and cheapest furniture”, origin unkown, no references, etc. This is really the crucial point of importing furniture from Asia, do not do business with a furniture factory you do not know, have never visited and whose products you have never inspected. Following this simple rule can save you a lot of time, money and headaches.
Schmeka -
December 12, 2015 at 11:36 am
I just want to buy furniture for my home directly from a Vietnam manufacturer and cut out the middle man. Is this the best way to go?
Imagine Vietnam -
December 12, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Dear Schmeka, buying directly from a furniture manufacturer in Asia (be it Vietnam, China or elsewhere like Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.), is never an easy task due to the following:
1) Furniture factories most often refuse to deal directly with end-users as their orders are small (retail orders) and this means a lot of work (administrative, organising the production order, packaging and shipping of the furniture) for a tiny fraction of margin that does not compare with a bulk order that they usually receive from their regular clients (big furniture retailers, furniture traders, funiture wholesalers, etc.).
2) If you are purchasing as an end-user, your order will not be of significant size and thus, your transportation costs to your home will be high, especially port of destination charges (terminal handling charges, LCL surcharge, and many more). In some cases,it is better to send a 20 foot container with only half of it full (12-15 cbm) as this can be cheaper than sending those 12 cbm (cubic meters) as a “less than container” (LCL) shipment.
3) The producer will not take much care of any ensuing claims (damaged goods, wrong delivrer,furniture not corresponding to the description, etc.) of a private buyer as he knows that this private buyer will most probably never purchase furniture from him again. After-sales customer service to end-users is often totally absent from a furniture manufacturer’s priorities.
4) In terms of packaging, furniture manufacturers do not care about specific mail-order or door-to-door technical packaging for furniture. They will systematically use the same “export grade” packaging which is only convenient when all items are carefully loaded into one container (at the furniture manufacturer’s factory) and then unstuffed and repackaged at the country of destination by the professional buyer who will then repackage for appropriate delivery to your home.
5) It will be up to you to organize all port of destination procedures, pay the costs as well as make sure that your furniture is imported legally into your country: you will need a customs agent and a transporter to make the delivery to your home from the port.
The reasons above are just an example of why purchasing directly from a furniture manufacturer is often simply not possible or just to costly despite an interesting product price. Some furniture producers are trying to integrate downstream by selling directly to end-consumers but this is quite far down the road and for the moment, only interesting for clients that live in the same country as the furniture manufacturer (picking up your furniture order at the factory is often required).
If you have a specific project and furniture in mind, please do get back to us and we can discuss on a case-by-case basis. We often ship furniture to end-users around the world, this being said, we do act as a middle-man, solving all the issues we have listed above.
Stephen Goldberg -
March 14, 2016 at 6:45 am
Good Evening”
We want to import American looking style Furniture from VN Of course their are many styles from Colonial, to Danish Modern, to Contemporary, to even very comfortable reclining chairs, and so on. We also want to target the university and young apartment dweller market where we can see Ikea has a hold, and so we would ship un-assembled book cases, desks, and so on. There is too much to say here.
Imagine Vietnam -
March 14, 2016 at 2:55 pm
Hello Stephen, thank you for reaching out. The specific segment you are mentioning, knock-down (K/D) furniture requires very big quantities in order for it to be profitable and for factories here to attend your requests too. We are not sure what is your current purchasing policy or capacity, this would be a crucial factor.
The best way to get started is to give us more data about your company and furniture sales operation (which clients and through which channels) as we need to know whom we are talking to before proceeding further.
Thanks!