Interview: FabFurnish sees a bright future, especially in small towns and cities
FabFurnish.com is aiming to tap the $15 million strong Indian home furnishing market. The portal gets 75,000 visits on a daily basis, while women customers, and people between 26-45 age group have been the most active.
Home furniture & furnishing is the newest genre in the online shopping segment. Even as the genre gains popularity among users, the online retailers such as Fabfurnish.com have shown confidence in the new concept and aim to expand further.
We had an opportunity to interact with founder and MD of FabFurnish.com, Vaibhav Aggarwal, who reflects on a range of topics including the site’s future plans and overall e-commerce segment. Here’s excerpts from the interview:
FabFurnish.com is relatively new to the online shopping arena. How has been the journey so far?
We launched in Mar’12 and have been in business for over 20 months now. In that span, we have gone on to become India’s largest online home only store, in terms of assortment and visitors.
What was the concept behind FabFurnish? Please explain the business model of FabFurnish.
While the largest organized player is only $200-300 million, Indian home furnishing market in itself is worth more than $15 billion. So, there’s a huge growth potential in this segment. Besides, shopping for home in local Indian markets, even in metros, is quite a painful process owing to its largely unorganized setup. This is where the idea of by helping people beautify their homes, by venturing into this untapped segment, clicked to us.
Ours is the hybrid model. We have our own inventory.
Which categories are doing the best on FabFurnish?
All our 4 key categories – furniture, furnishings, décor and kitchenware – have been getting an excellent response from customers. The festive quarter witnessed a risen demand for Decor and Lighting products.
What are FabFurnish’s policies for customer support? How simplified is it for users?
We get limited number of return requests, lower than some of the bigger players. We’ve an easy return policy for all damaged goods.
How many active users/page views your website has? Which demographic has been the most active?
We get 75,000 visits on a daily basis. Women customers, and people between 26-45 age group have been the most active.
Which are your biggest markets in the country? How do you see FabFurnish’s growth in tier-2 and tier-3 cities?
There’s a marked growth in online shopping in Tier 2&3 cities, esp in decor and bed&bath category. We have always focused on catering to middle class consumers via our product selection and price range. We have coffee tables ranging from Rs 2990 going up to Rs 19990. So, we are really catering to a broad consumer segment.
What are your future plans? What new to expect from FabFurnish in coming days?
We continue to focus on providing best and widest selection to the consumer at unbeatable prices. We plan to introduce new categories, different price points, and ensure that our customers keep coming back. We will be introducing unique items and build on our already extensive assortment. Also, we are planning a major marketing push early next year to build the brand.