A bookcase with different-size compartments positioned at different heights —the Random by Neuland Industriedesign. Xavier Lust’s deceptively simple “Le Grande” table made of one sheet of aluminum. Numerous variations of the Flow armchair by Jean Marie Massaud.
The new MDF Italia showroom at Bonifacio Global City may not be for everyone, not so much because of its price points as the fact that you need a certain eye and informed taste to appreciate the furniture designs.
It’s for people who already know what they want, and are willing to spend for it. You won’t find flashy objets d’art or gold-plated whatever here. Instead, on display are their most popular items, a veritable “Best of the Best.”
With their clean lines, right angles and subtle color combinations, there is the tendency to describe the mix at MDF Italia as minimalist, but that would be oversimplifying things.
“What we have achieved is a purity, a simplicity aided by technology,” said Frederik Billiau, the brand’s general sales director. “Clean is a good word to describe it. The look is clean but not minimalist,” added Umberto Cassina, MDF Italia’s vice president.
Aiming for the essence of things is a guiding force in the company. To accomplish this, designers remove the superfluous to emphasize what is really important.
“Our customers pay attention to details, quality. They look for the essence of beauty and luxury,” Billiau said. “They are not looking for flashy, gold-plated things. They are not out to impress other people.”
This way of thinking is shared by the company. For example, MDF Italia will not stop at making a two-meter-long aluminum table. They will make a four-meter-long table, but only if they can maintain their quality standards.
“It’s harder to make a longer table because there is a tendency for it to lose stability the longer it is. Fortunately, we have patented a panel that is able to support the table,” Cassina said.
The select merchandise at the showroom features various colors, styles or materials. For instance, the Flow armchair can have different legs or even use casters. A sales staff cited one customer who bought a dozen Flow armchairs with spider leg-like casters, and which sells for P138,000 each.
Best-selling tables
Despite the apparent popularity of the chairs, tables represent 25 percent of the company’s volume sales worldwide. Billiau credited this to the flexibility and unique dimensions of their tables. “We manage to produce in an industrial way a table which is basically customized with competitive pricing and a reasonable delivery time,” he said.
Businessman Ben Chan is responsible for bringing in the brand and, this early, the partnership looks promising. In addition to finding the right local partner, MDF Italia is upbeat about opening in Asia because Asian clients are very loyal. “They invest in partnerships. They are not only looking for the right product or a good price, but a real partnership,” Billiau said. “If you go to the US, the transactions are much more superficial.”
While volume sales are important, Billiau and Cassina agreed that since they are a relatively young company, they were in it for the long haul. “This is why we tend to want to invest more in Asian countries. We believe that here, we can find and build much stronger relationships,” Cassina said.
