Lebanon has untapped potential to serve Italian furniture makers as a manufacturing base for medium-range lines for the Middle East market. Paying a visit to Lebanon, the president of the Italian federation of wood, cork, furniture and furnishing manufacturers, Roberto Snaidero, told Executive that he is envisioning increased collaboration between members of his association and Lebanese enterprises.
To open more opportunities for Lebanese companies for joint ventures with Italian furniture producers and manufacturers in general, Snaidero organized meetings with industry leaders here and in Italy. “As the president of our association, I now want to go deeply into this matter here in Lebanon,” he said. “This process cannot be resolved in the short term but it is important to begin. I think it is important for us and for Lebanese companies.”
Developing the skill base of engineers and staff in partner firms here would be essential, while large investments would not be a guarantee for success. “Lebanon is not a big market and some countries around it cannot buy the top class of furniture. We have to move into these countries with medium-range furniture, so we can start with investments in the range of $1.5 million to $2 million,” he said.
He pointed to Snaidero Middle East, a kitchen manufacturing joint venture between the Italian Snaidero Group and local partners (Indevco) as a model for such partnerships. Snaidero Middle East, established in 1995 with an investment of $1.3 million in equipment and training, succeeded in marketing its products in 14 countries of the region and today contributes 5% to 6% to the total turnover of Snaidero Group, according to Maro [OR MAURO?] Matiussi, general manager of Snaidero Middle East. “We estimate to have around 10% market share in Lebanon, which we estimate makes us leaders in Lebanon and in the region as a whole,” he said.
