Interview
Smart furniture that creates an environment and workspace which encourages employees to do their best as individuals and as a team is in
2016-12-05
S.Sainkhuu:
Smart furniture that creates an environment and workspace which encourages employees to do their best as individuals and as a team is in demand
Anun has already made its mark in the Mongolian furniture industry as a modern high quality office furniture manufacturer and supplier. In recent years organizations of all industries such as banks, financial institutes, educational and cultural organizations and mining companies are keen on buying furniture from “Anun”. We sat down with its Chief Executive Officer Mr. S.Sainkhuu to discuss about current trends and projects they have been working on.
Would you like to introduce “Anun” center to our readers?
“Anun” center was first founded in 1997 as an office furniture trading company. We currently supply office furniture to companies and organizations of all types in industries such as mining, banking and finance, educational organizations and other private companies.
In addition to manufacturing and importing furniture we provide a wide range of professional services such as consultation on smart use of space, design 2D and 3D planning of furniture layout, supply spare parts and guarantee after sales maintenance and repair of our furniture.
You import furniture from South East Asian manufacturers. What major projects have you worked on in recent years?
Yes, we have been the official distributors of a Singaporean furniture company called “Wilsin” since 1998 and Chinese-Taiwanese furniture company “Kuoching” since 2003.
In 2006 Аnun established its own furniture factory and in 2007 we opened our brand new 2000 meter square showroom. We officially presented Wilsin’s “Deskspace” brand to our customers in 2011, which is otherwise known as “smart furniture”.
In 2012 we fully furnished the apartments of “Viva City” complex, which was a 1650 apartment project. Two years later, we worked on the “Bella Vista” complex in Zaisan, a 54 apartment project and in 2015 Anun successfully completed furnishing and interior design of the “ASEM Village” project.
An interesting fact I would like to point out here is that since 1997, Anun has set up one work space every 15 minutes. On average a single workspace consists of a 1.2 meter long desk, a chair, a cabinet and a drawer. Our company has worked with almost 8000 companies nationwide.
What is the current market share of Anun in the office furniture sector?
Our company annually provides 30-35% of the total office furniture market with annual sales of over MNT10 billion. This information is disclosed publicly every year by Customs and the National Statistics Office of Mongolia. This confirms that we are among the top tier in our sector.
Could you please share with us your experience supplying office furniture to mining companies?
We have a wide range of experiences. One of them is the ger camps, gallery camps, Tsetsii compound and the power plant of “Energy Resources”, where we prepared and provided over 2000 work spaces and resting places. When the Oyutolgoi open pit mine first opened we also provided our services to furnish their offices and workspaces. In addition, Anun was part of the Millennium Challenge Account Vocational Education Project to furnish local secondary schools across the country.
We are ready to work with other mining companies to supply office and camp furniture that suit their needs and requirements.
What does the current furniture demand of local companies look like?
Although the current crisis is causing a drop in demand there are still many companies that are operating successfully and looking to change their office setting and image. From May 2016, in accordance with Resolution number 185 of the Government of Mongolia, the customs tax for imported office furniture rose from 5% to 20%.
While this increase in tax on imported furniture was aimed to support local factories it also caused a spike in furniture prices, decrease in purchases and ultimately a decrease in sales for business owners in today’s difficult economy. It should also be added that these local factories completely depend on imported materials for their production.
Could you introduce the Аnun furniture factory to us?
Our factory was established in 2007 with equipment and machinery from Germany and South Korea and has a capacity of producing 24,000 units per year.
What would you say is unique or special about Аnun`s office furniture production?
When producing our products we are aligning our customers’ needs and requirements with state of the art designs and finishes. In other words, a customer can have any number of furniture in any size and design they wish.
The main materials required for producing furniture are the panels, boards and the gear that connect them. We use high quality non-toxic glue and E0 standard panels that have been pressed under high pressurized air. The couplers and buckles are durable and long-lasting, designed for multiple assembly and re-assembly.
You mentioned something about smart furniture earlier on. Could you explain a bit more in depth?
“Smart furniture” allows the customer to change the length, width and height of the furniture according to their needs. For example, it is possible to change a single desk into a desk for two people facing each other by changing the metal details; the desk pole is expandable. So if that company would like to change a single desk to a desk for two, all they need to do is buy another ledge from us. This is a much more cost efficient solution than buying an additional desk.
To mention another example, the cabinets we use take up 1 meter square space of the office. By placing the cabinet under the desk you are able to save that 1 meter square of rent space and the furniture we provide takes these details into account.
What is trending right now in the global furniture market, especially in the office furniture industry?
It is probably safe to say that the International Furniture Exhibition organized in October every two years in Cologne, Germany, sets the trend for the global furniture industry. This year architects and designers of 670 companies from 40 countries entered the exhibition to showcase their new designs, products and services whereas a total of almost 56000 furniture companies, organizations and individuals from 118 countries attended the exhibition to see these products and services.
Furniture architects and designers are mainly concerned with how to create a work place that encourages employees to do their best as individuals and as a team. Office furniture that provides the necessary space to do work, uses office space smartly, and in different forms, adds value to the company and saves costs in the long run – that is the kind of furniture that is currently trending.
In addition to such flexible solution we must not forget about providing a pleasant environment that takes into account employee health, wellbeing and satisfaction.
