2023-12-15 09:59:20
Declining purchasing power, rising prices of raw materials… Running a business in the decoration sector may not be an easy task. But artisans and traders manage to hold on.
It has become the unmissable meeting place for decoration enthusiasts, creative minds, the imaginative and all those looking to satisfy their new decorating fads or simply to give a boost to their interiors. It’s the Decoration and Design Fair that we’re talking about.
At 20e edition opened yesterday, as usual, at the El Kram exhibition center. A few hundred exhibitors attended this high mass of decoration and design. They came to introduce visitors to the finest decorative art. Linen and household textiles, furnishing and decorative objects, tableware, decorative porcelain, etc.
A gloomy socio-economic context
There is something for all tastes and budgets, even if in these lean times, the appetite for decorative products should experience a certain decline.
Indeed, if the global decoration market is expected to grow by 36% between 2020 and 2027, to reach more than 840 billion dollars – an increase driven by the growth of the middle classes in the world -, under our skies, the business decoration would probably not benefit from this upward trend. And for good reason: a gloomy socio-economic context which is impacting the purchasing power of households, many of whom are struggling and struggling to make ends meet. But according to the testimonies of the exhibitors, it is the rising prices of raw materials which constitutes the stumbling block against which these small craftsmen stumble.
Like other economic activities, the decoration and design sector is feeling the effects of the successive crises since 2011. The drop in the number of marriage contracts has, surely, a negative impact on the sector since this are the newly settled couples who devote the most budget to decoration and furnishing. “The decoration market is buoyant in Tunisia. Its growth is mainly driven by home improvement projects. But the high cost of raw materials means that we are eating into our profit margin to be able to ensure the continuity of our activities,” testified Monia Rassâa, designer specializing in the creation of earthenware items.
Same story with Hassen Jeljli, architect and founder of a company specializing in the manufacture of luminous objects. If the products he manufactures are very successful with a niche clientele made up mainly of architects, designers but also individuals who love innovative decoration, the architect has not hidden his dismay about the high cost. raw materials whose prices soared after the Covid crisis.
3.5% of annual expenses for furniture…
It must be said that the information concerning the local decoration market is not very detailed and enlightening, but it is admitted that on average, Tunisians spend relatively little to embellish their interiors.
As an indication, they devote on average 3.5% of their annual expenditure to the purchase of furniture and household appliances, or 191 dinars per person. An amount, all in all, modest but which can be explained by the low level of salaries and the phenomenon of social downgrading. However, certain activities still seem to be on the rise. This is the case, for example, of exterior decoration which naturally remains the prerogative of the upper middle classes and wealthy households. “We have been manufacturing garden furniture for 30 years. We are obviously targeting specific customers, including owners of spacious villas, etc. Business is going well and our products are impressive,” proudly confided Abir, sales representative of a company specializing in the manufacture of outdoor furniture.
The show is in its 20the editing. Since 2004, its organizers have tried to adapt it to the context in which the decoration and design sector evolves in Tunisia. “Looking in the rearview mirror, the Show, which is also dedicated to professionals, in this case architects and designers, has come a long way. The design sector has certainly evolved, but it can do better,” said Héla Nssibi, communications manager of the Salon.
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