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Wednesday, 24 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
“We’re moving seriously into home furniture now,” said Alpha’s Head of Marketing. “It’s a great opportunity, because Sri Lankan consumers need and deserve a better deal in this product category than they normally tend to get. We’re going to give them that deal, not just with the product itself but with everything from repairs and refurbishment to the total shopping experience.”
The vehicle for this new initiative is Alpha Home, an island-wide chain of furniture stores featuring innovative retail concepts that will make it easy for customers to find exactly what they want and offering a wide range of added-value services. The first home store opened on 28 June at Wattala, closely followed by the second at Nawala on 4 July.
“These aren’t like the furniture stores consumers are used to,” explained Dissanayake. “The display areas will be set up like actual rooms in a house, with plenty of walk-through space. You’ll be able to see exactly how the various pieces look in a home setting, accessorised with lamps and rugs – all of which, incidentally, are also for sale. You could buy a complete drawing room or bedroom – all the bits and pieces you need – from Alpha Home if you wanted to. Though really the main idea is to help you visualise how the pieces might look in your own home.”
As for the furniture itself, it is good-looking, modern and surprisingly modest in price. “Our aim is to be contemporary and fashionable, but affordable,” said Shamal Gamage, Alpha’s manager for the new range. “Our typical customers would be a young middle-class family who are looking for quality on a budget.”
Usually in this group, husband and wife are both employed, so convenience is very important. “They prefer not to spend too much time on dusting and cleaning,” said Alpha’s Head Designer Ravishi Carim, whose team came up with the new range. “So we’ve gone for clean lines, a minimum of ornamentation and durable, hard-wearing materials.” She and her team have been active visiting international furniture exhibitions and revisiting classic furniture designs in search of inspiration. “We’ve revisited these and come up with some new concepts of our own,” she added proudly.
Technology, too, plays its role. “We use classic materials for the most part,” stated Carim. “Solid teak and mahogany are perennial favourites. But we also make imaginative use of modern materials, which Sri Lankan consumers aren’t so familiar with.”
Together with furniture manufactured at Alpha Industries’ own Sri Lankan factories, the Home range will also feature an impressive range of lamps. Carefully selected by Alpha designers, many of them have innovative design features, such as bases and stands fashioned from driftwood, resulting in an organic look that is accentuated by the warm yellow glow of the energy-saving bulbs they are fitted with. Indeed, colour is a very important aspect of the Home range, adding vibrancy to furniture and accessories alike.
On top of all this variety, Alpha will be happy to customise their products to suit individual tastes. “Technology makes this possible,” Dissanayake explained. “For a small premium, you’ll be able to vary the size of a piece, its colour and a few other factors and options.” Whether customised or off-the-shelf, all Home products will carry a five-year warranty on their wooden components and frames.
There are plans for a refurbishment service to be introduced later, but it will be some years yet before the new Alpha furniture range requires any such attention. Right now it’s all spanking new, sitting pretty in cheerful, homelike arrangements, all ready to seduce visitors to Alpha Industries’ new Home Stores in the suburbs. “I think people are going to be in for a surprise,” added Dissanayake. “They associate Alpha with quality and practicality but not necessarily with domestic comfort and high-fashion design. I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction.”
