DANISH furniture company Normann Copenhagen has opened its first franchise store and its Asian flagship store in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig in recognition of the growth it has experienced in the region.

“Over the last five years, Normann Copenhagen has enjoyed an average growth rate of 20%-25% [within] the Asian market and it is focusing its attention on this blossoming area. Manila… is the nerve center of Southeast Asia and with the new store, Normann Copenhagen hopes to strengthen its position and visibility in the market,” the company said in a statement.

The 200-square meter store is located at the upper ground floor of One Uptown Residences. The brand is franchised in the Philippines by Mattony Inc. which distributes Danish design brand Vipp and Portuguese paper company Renova, among others.

“Normann Copenhagen is one of the younger, more trendy brands [of] Danish Scandinavian design… and we’ve always been known as the crazy side of the Nordic [design style]. We don’t have the same very simple colors… we are a very diverse brand both in colors and design. You have a very, very broad selection,” Iben Schwaner, business development director, told BusinessWorld during the launch on Oct. 3.

She said that their market would be people who want “something fresh and have good quality that can last for many years.”

The 20-year-old company was started by Poul Madsen and Jan Andersen in their native Denmark and while it retains the minimalist style philosophy of Scandinavia, it plays around with bold colors and designs “that oozes with personality and character,” the statement said.

“A Normann Copenhagen product is playful and has a light-hearted feel and welcoming look. It has a simultaneously familiar and novel expression,” it added.

Normann Copenhagen boasts of a “premium yet still accessible” price point for its designs, according to Ms. Schwaner. And while the company started with residential and retail customers, Ms. Schwaner said that today “about 60%” of their business is company or enterprise orders, especially in Asia and the US.

“We work a lot in the office sector. We just did the new Adidas headquarters in Shanghai, for example. In other places around in Asia and Europe, we are very strong in the hotel business,” she said before noting that China is one of their strongest markets.

The Philippines will have “a wide selection” of Normann Copenhagen design items — Ms. Schwaner figured that “60% to 70% of the furniture” is currently on display at the showroom.

“During the next month, we will evaluate the demand and the things that fit here,” she said.

For more information about Normann Copenhagen Manila, contact the showroom at 0917-627-8478 or via www.normann-copenhagen.com. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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