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Furniture maker to open flagship store Leading domestic furniture maker Markor Home Furnishings Co Ltd is expected to launch its flagship retail store in Beijing next month, taking advantage of China's emergent middle class. It will be the Urumqi-based firm's Markor's fourth retail shop in China after those in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tianjin and Shanghai. The Beijing outlet will also market products from Ethan Allen Interiors, one of the United States' largest furniture suppliers, a move which is expected to strengthen their business partnership established in 2001. The new chain store will present 26 "lifestyles," ranging from the casual US countryside style to elegant European Renaissance, with more than 1,000 pieces of furniture and 4,000 home accessories. Markor has been focusing on furniture exports in the past few years. Its exports reached US$200 million last year, sending goods to the United States, Canada and Europe. But Markor Home Furnishing Retail President Ed Grund said the company now plans to further expand in the domestic market to capitalize on China's growing middle class - already larger than the entire population of France. "We are targeting the top 10-15 per cent of household income customers," said Grund. "This is currently an under-serviced market." This section of the population wants unique, artistically designed and high quality furniture, Grund added. China's furniture market has maintained a double-digit growth in recent years, thanks to the country's strong economic development. But the market still has great potential for further growth, experts said. The average Chinese citizen spends just US$5.48 annually on furniture, according to a 2002 report by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. In contrast, the average German spends an annual US$371 on furniture, with the average Hong Kong urbanite shelling out US$80. Expressing confidence in China's healthy economic growth, Grund said the company could open 10 stores by the end of this year, and possibly 50 within a few years. Grund emphasized that Markor will offer a new, unique experience to Chinese customers with its high-quality services. "We want to establish new standards of furniture retailing," said Grund. Its unique services include mortgage loans to customers and free design consultation to satisfy customers' needs. |
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