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Mrs Anne Patricia Sutanto

Homeware International was established in 1998 but was reformed in 2004. Since day one we have been focused on home accessories such as baskets and lighting. We use only raw materials from Indonesia such as stone, wood, rattan and water hyacinthe. From the beginning we have exported to British brands starting with Marks and Spencer and then Next and Laura Ashley. We then ventured into homeware brands in the USA such as Crate & Barrel.

We really look at how we can turn Indonesia’s raw materials into designs for interior decorating. Today, 98% of our production is exported and 2% is sold domestically. We also cater to galleries around the world and partake in home accessories fairs to show the latest designs that Indonesia has to offer.

I look at competitors as partners as it gives us a reason to be more creative and innovative. When it comes to homeware, we look at the different materials that we can use for the creation. This means we can offer a one stop solution for homeware brands to create all types of accessories.

We are manufacturers and sell wholesale as opposed to being a retailer. While we do supply to local brands in Indonesia and there are very good brands in the country, the quantity they purchase is still marginal compared to markets such as America and Europe.

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Mrs Anne Patricia Sutanto

The greatest challenge is in the government policy and regulations. For example, the recent regulation banning the export of raw rattan from Indonesia will have a significant impact on our basket business. The policy is based on the idea that Indonesia is less competitive if we only sell raw rattan and not the finished product. Right now, the raw rattan is sent to Vietnam and China to be treated or woven and although they are facing a shortage of skilled labour, the governments of these countries provide incentives for the manufacturing industry as a whole so they are much more competitive. Therefore they can produce rattan products that come back to Indonesia to be sold and despite the rattan coming from Indonesia, consumers here must pay a high price for it.

Indonesia has a competitive labour force and while infrastructure is still a problem it is improving. Therefore the government needs to understand the manufacturing industry when it creates regulations that benefit both raw material producers and manufacturers.

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Mrs Anne Patricia Sutanto

China and India are markets of interest for the future. Our future ambition for China is why we started participating in the homeware fair in Hong Kong as it attracts buyers from Mainland China. For the design, we create designs based on market trends and also designs created in collaboration with the brands that we serve. At the moment our target markets are Western markets and therefore we tend towards Western styles in our furniture. Looking at a market like China, of course their tastes and styles are different but this is also evolving and modernising. Therefore, we will adapt our design style to the market but staying within the style that we already have.

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Mrs Anne Patricia Sutanto

We will be venturing more into using wood. For other products we are focusing more on light furniture pieces such as side tables that can be collected easily from retailers. ‘Knock Down’ furniture that can be purchased online and then delivered is also proving very popular and we will concentrate on this type of furniture for the future.