Mr Andrew Ng, Chairman, International Furniture Fair Singapore; and
President, Singapore Furniture Industries Council
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;

Good morning.

I am pleased to join you here for the opening of the International Furniture Fair Singapore 2008, which is held in conjunction with the 25th ASEAN Furniture Show (IFFS/AFS 2008). Both events are well established and highly-respected platforms for international furniture designers and companies to showcase and market their latest designs, and forge business partnerships.

Outlook of Singapore’s Furniture Industry

2 The global furniture industry has registered healthy growth. Furniture manufacturing output grew by 6% to 8% a year since 2002. The industry is now worth more than US$300 billion. Asia’s share of global furniture exports has grown from 18% in 1996 to 32% in 2006, while Europe’s share shrank from 66% to 55% in the same period.

3 The furniture industry’s growth is driven, in part, by the bullish property and hospitality market. Strong emphasis on quality lifestyle and consumer spending in the US and Europe also contributed to growing demand. Emergence of new high-growth markets such as China, India and the Middle East have opened up new opportunities for Singapore furniture manufacturers.

4In Singapore, the furniture industry registered a Value Added of $655 million and contributed 0.34% to Singapore’s GDP in 2005. Singapore’s share of world furniture export market currently stands at 0.7%. The industry can confidently look forward to achieving a 2% share of the world furniture market by the year 2015.

Industry branding

5 The outlook for Singapore’s furniture industry is clearly optimistic and buoyant. But like other competitive sectors, there is no room for complacency. As furniture manufacturers, you must continue to sharpen your competitiveness to grow the business and win new market share. This is where having distinctive branding and strong design capability could make a huge difference to the future of Singapore’s furniture industry.

6 Hence, the launch of the Singapore Mozaic branding this morning by the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC), with support from Spring Singapore and IE Singapore, is a timely initiative to strengthen the concerted effort to grow our international market share. This brand positioning will harness the collective strength of industry players to differentiate their products and enhance recognition of the quality, design, reliability and value offered by Singapore furniture companies. A distinctive brand positioning is fundamental to the industry’s future growth. It will also help the industry to attract new investment and design talent to energise the industry with new ideas and innovative designs.

7 I am happy to note that 27 companies have signed up and are qualified to carry the Singapore Mozaic brand alongside their own as a mark of being one of Singapore’s finest. We will also see a focused effort by both the industry and government agencies to promote the Singapore Mozaic branding to the world. For a start, the Singapore Mozaic companies will be showcased collectively at the world-renowned Milan Furniture Fair next month and other international events including the Orgatec in Cologne and the Index Dubai later this year.

Design to drive growth

8 Besides branding, design also plays an important part in projecting a strong image for Singapore’s furniture industry. Design is not just about aesthetics or expensive brands and labels. Every product, no matter how humble and ordinary, from telephones to tables and cupboards, can benefit from creative design. Good design adds elegance and grace to ideas and fosters engaging and rewarding experience by the users and consumers. Good design can better serve people from all walks of life and improve quality of life.

9 The power of design is becoming more apparent. Increasingly, entrepreneurs appreciate that design can contribute to business success and performance. The 2007 National Design Industry Study conducted by Ernst & Young showed that 44% of businesses acknowledge that design gives them a competitive edge (up from 32% in 2005). In addition, a growing number of businesses that use design services have invested in in-house designers or established design capability to support their business need.

10 The DesignSingapore Council under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts actively promotes design and a design-led culture. It has initiated a variety of programmes targeted at businesses, designers and design students. The furniture industry is most welcomed to tap on some of these initiatives. One initiative which is particularly relevant to you is the Overseas Promotion Partnership Programme (OPPP). This programme supports emerging designers and design companies to gain higher international profile and exposure. I urge you to work with the DesignSingapore Council to further internationalise Singapore’s furniture designs and design capabilities.

11 Last Tuesday, the Minister of State for Education Radm(NS) Lui Tuck Yew announced the preliminary recommendation for a fourth university in Singapore. You will be pleased to note that design is one of the disciplines being considered as part of the integrated learning approach for this university. The university will break out of traditional boundaries to offer a cross-disciplinary education. It will emphasise “solutions-directed research” to provide answers to problems faced by industry.

12 In terms of capability development, the design sector can look forward to future graduates of the fourth university with cross-disciplinary training. They will be a big boost to the design industry and Singapore as a whole.

Furniture Design Award 2008

13 The SFIC, as the apex organisation of the furniture industry, is also actively promoting design and innovation. One of SFIC’s initiatives is the Furniture Design Award (FDA). This Award has helped to nurture design talent, showcase creativity and helped designers gain recognition in the industry. Since inauguration, the FDA has served as launch pads for many designers in the furniture and design sector. Outstanding successes include Andrew Pang of Lavaworks, Nathan Yong of Air Division, Adrian Chua of Sevenvine and Jeremy Ong of Designscale. These past winners of the FDA are all today successful design entrepreneurs. They offer a strong testimony that Singapore designers can develop unique and iconic winners in the international furniture market. I hope that the winners of this year’s Furniture Design Award would likewise continue to take furniture design to new heights and contribute to building Singapore’s design strength.

Conclusion

14 In closing, I applaud the SFIC for its efforts in spearheading the growth of the Singapore furniture industry. I also extend my congratulations on the successful launch of the Singapore Mozaic brand. To the winners of the Furniture Design Award, I extend my heartiest congratulations. Finally, I wish all exhibitors a successful and fruitful exhibition.

15 It is now my pleasure to declare the International Furniture Fair Singapore 2008 & the 25th ASEAN Furniture Show 2008 open.

Thank you.

World trade of furniture, World Furniture Outlook 2008, CSIL Milano. The US$300b figure, from the same report, is based on 2006 data.