22 Mar Contract channel: Keys to professional spaces

The contract channel is one of the key sectors at Yecla Furniture Fair.

Design, manufacture, supply and assembly of furniture for professional spaces is the so-called contract sector.

Spaces designed for collective use, to be inhabited and utilised by a large number of people on a daily basis.

But how are these spaces evolving? What market trends affect them?

And what is also important, what does any furniture company need to make its way into the contract business?

That’s what we’re going to talk about in the article you are now reading.

We welcome you to sit back and discover the answers to all these questions with us.

Highlights for the upcoming Contract

It is essential for our business, as furniture entrepreneurs, to be aware of the current state of the contract sector.

It is one of the main professional markets in which to set our sights, as well as an open door to internationalisation and foreign markets.

Markets in which Spanish furniture is valued and sought after.

That is why we would like to kick off this article by reviewing the current hallmarks defining the contract sector.

Contract: A sector shifting towards the individual

Collective spaces are undergoing a process of transformation to adapt to changes we are experiencing as a society.

Large hotel, hospitality, consumer and professional spaces, such as offices and coworking spaces, have relinquished their prominence as spaces and now focus on the user at their core.

These are spaces designed and devised from the outset bearing in mind people who will be using them. A personalisation of the collective space.

Consumption based upon experience is in demand. Not so much ‘going somewhere’ as ‘living somewhere’.

Interior design in the contract sector, therefore, is an interior design oriented 100% to the emotional, to senses, seeking that we relate actively with the space to be inhabited.

Technology for Contract

Putting users at its core means that we must necessarily make use of the technological means at our disposal and place them at our service.

The contract sector is therefore a modern sector at the technological and digital forefront.

A sector in which intelligent materials, sensorisation and hyperconnectivity are commonplace.

Self-regulating lights, sofas that measure our temperature and adjust to it, blinds which lower and raise automatically. These are just a few examples.

Our aim is to find spaces which connect with us in every sense.

A perfect combination of comfort and connectivity.

Democratising the collective space

All in all, current trends in the contract sector are towards the search for collective space democratisation.

Making spaces accessible to everyone. Accessible and enjoyable. Spaces that make you want to live in, to walk through and interact with.

Ranging from offices offering levels of comfort on a par with those at home, to restaurants where space is just one more ingredient to be savoured, or hotels we feel bound to prolong our stay in.

Spaces at people’s disposal.

What you need to sell on the contract cannel

Today, the world of contract is not a simple market.

There are certain crucial elements you should bear in mind as a furniture and timber company if you are thinking about engaging in the contract business.

We would like to go over them with you. They are as follows:

• Logistics and production: Contract orders are usually large. Therefore, you must be ready to deal with them logistically and in terms of production capacity in your factory or workshop.
• Operational flexibility and after-sales service: As important as the sale itself is the after-sales service and being efficient. If you are not able to provide your customers with an excellent maintenance service, replacement service, etc., they will seek new suppliers.
• Short lead times and tight prices: The contract sector is a highly competitive sector. Demand is high, lead times are short and profit margins are tight. Competition is plentiful and usually at a high level.
• Process precision: You will have to comply with strict regulations and approvals that will require high levels of precision in all your manufacturing processes.
• Constant training and consultancy work: Your sales team must be well prepared and be able to offer a consultancy service to your customers when they demand it. Contract sales tend to be slow in nature, more reliant on the medium or long term than on immediacy.

Come and grow thanks to Contract

Yecla Furniture Fair offers you, during the next edition to be held from 28th to 31st May, a unique opportunity for development.

Expand into new international markets, close business deals with other exhibiting firms and take advantage of one of the main national professional meetings focused on furniture, wood and related industries.

Download here, 100% free of charge, your invitation to attend.

We look forward to seeing you!