Change is inevitable. In an industry with such intense competition, anticipation and adaptation is what separates the best from the rest. As they say, fortune favours the bold, and Mr. Chai Kin Pheng, founder of Kinheng Furniture Sdn Bhd, is definitely not shy in that respect. 

In the past, furniture designs lack innovativeness, and designs were mainstreamed too quickly. Adopting design innovation will be what sets one apart and that was exactly what Mr. Chai did. Naturally, a lot of risks were involved, but the prospect of that being paid off was perhaps too tempting for Mr. Chai to turn away. Considering the fact Kinheng started off with a humble 5,000 square feet factory that has now grew 30 times in size, guess Mr. Chai’s gamble was fully justified. 

Success shouldn’t be an end to a journey. Conversely, it should be served as an added incentive to search for even more. It is ill-advised to rest on one’s laurels in today’s market as competition intensifies with the emergence of overseas competition from giants like China. You will most likely be squeezed out eventually if you are not always on your toes. According to Mr. Chai, you have to look beyond just getting sales tomorrow. 

Customers change, and so do trends. As expected, the visionary Mr. Chai is already well equipped to embrace the switch in demand of the younger, more compact generation with his latest bedroom collections. Equally impressive is Kinheng’s marketing efforts this time round. Instead of the traditional focus on furniture’s selling point, they have gone with a softer approach, by “packaging” the functional message with elements that convey a taste of real living that customers can relate to. By linking the brand with a desirable lifestyle, it’ll definitely pull at customer’s heartstrings.

Get the complete read on Kinheng’s 2014 collection in Furnish Now's (December issue) cover story. Also, be sure to visit their booth at MIFF 2014 and their website at www.kinhengfurniture.com