Jamel Industries managing director Carmelo Princotto took the fight for market share to his competitors’ doorstep when low-cost imported furniture threatened his business.
Jamel Industries managing director Carmelo Princotto took the fight for market share to his competitors’ doorstep when low-cost imported furniture threatened his business.
With a new business plan and a shift in production focus, the Wangara-based furniture maker has managed to prosper, while some of its local competitors have succumbed in the face of cheaper imported products.
In fact, Jamel claims it has experienced significant growth in recent years, reaching an annual turnover of almost $12 million, as well as export success, particularly to the Middle East and New Zealand.
In the process, Jamel has grown from a one-man operation in 1992 to a current staff of more than 100.
Mr Princotto said the advent of cheap furniture imports not only threatened his business through the loss of sales, but also led to job losses within the company.
“Jamel Industries, just like all other Australian furniture manufacturers, has struggled and has been greatly affected by the increasing number of cheap imported furniture,” Mr Princotto said.
To combat this problem, Mr Princotto developed a new business plan to allow his company to work effectively alongside the cheaper imports though the formation of a new company within Jamel, called Jamel International, in 2004.
Establishing the separate Jamel International subsidiary allowed the company to source quality craftsmen overseas to manufacture some of the components in conjunction with Western Australian labour and materials.
All Jamel International furniture is distinguished by the ‘JI’ label, which notifies the consumer that some components of the piece have come from overseas.
Mr Princotto said his approach allowed the company sell these pieces of furniture at a lower cost, competing head-on with furniture constructed fully in lower cost regions, almost eliminating the threat of loss of business.
“The difference with our tactics as compared to other furniture manufacturers is that they were trying to fight imports and sell their own full WA-made furniture for less, therefore losing out on all profits made originally,” he said.
Mr Princotto also identified an opportunity in the export market for his company, as well as other WA furniture makers, in the booming property market in the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Princotto and Lounge Innovation managing director Tony Menna established a partnership under the name Mobilia Australiana Designs, with the aim of marketing WA furniture brands worldwide.
The network has now extended to include a number of WA furniture companies, Merlino, Wentworth, Clare Craft Jarrah and Inglewood Elements among them.
In November 2006, Mobilia scored its first win after securing a number of supply contracts with the Fortune Group in Dubai, including the furnishing of the new 108-storey, 484 metre high Burj Al Alam tower.
The tower, which is expected to be completed in 2009, will house modern offices, a five-star hotel and shopping plaza.
Mr Princotto said the projects represented an exciting development not only for his business, but also for the promotion of WA product worldwide.
“We developed a market [in the Middle East] knowing there was so much activity happening over there, and it inspired us to set up a program there,” he said.
The network also has a supply project with Dubai Properties, and is working with interior designers and retail stores in its Middle East markets throughout the UAE, as well as in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran.
