It’s not a usual interview when a company as well-known as Blum talks about actively expanding its focus on application areas beyond kitchens. At the recently concluded Interzum 2025, BuildingandInteriors met Maarten de Vries, Regional Director-Asia Pacific and Nadeem Patni, Managing Director, Blum India, to understand how things are shaping up at Blum.
B&I: What are the various trends you see from your vantage point at Blum? Give us both the Asian and Indian perspectives.
Maarten de Vries
I think overall, the markets are changing quite fast. Businesses are having to stay alert and adapt to changing scenarios. Sometimes, these scenarios change over a span of a couple of weeks. This is quite challenging for any industry or company. But that’s also part of the new normal. From that point of view, if we take a look at Asia, we do see different trends within Asia. Certain countries have come out very strong from COVID. Some of the others to a lesser extent. We now see the tariff wars going on. So, these are a mix of headwinds and tailwinds. To give one trend is a bit tough. But definitely, Blum is extremely bullish on the mid-to-long-term perspective for the Asian market. The fundamentals are strong. Our teams across Asia (and Asia Pacific – which is overall my work area) work in tandem with our customers and keep offering the best possible solutions and services to these constantly growing and promising markets.
Nadeem Patni
The Indian market is not new to Blum. We have been present in India for a fairly long time through our various distributors over the last 20 years. A major step in the recognition of the importance and potential of the Indian market was when Blum set up a wholly-owned subsidiary here 4 years ago. Now we are well-settled into the Indian market with our own teams and processes. All these 4 years for Blum India, our focus has been on building the brand, building a very strong foundation and taking control of the business on the market front. Our strategy has begun to yield results. Now, it’s time that we start getting a little aggressive with our approach towards the market. The Indian market has many players in the furniture fitting solutions market. With the high-quality solutions that Blum offers, we believe we can make a big change in the way we add value to the furniture and kitchens for our customers across India.
B&I: For Blum, how is India positioned in its overall company plans?
Maarten de Vries
For Blum in Asia, India continues to be a very important market alongside China and Japan. There are differences in the way each market works. For example, Japan is an industrial market for Blum, while India is a trade market. Looking at the overall APAC, markets like New Zealand and Australia are also very important. Speaking specifically of India, I see it growing even more strongly over the coming years.
B&I: Furniture fitting solutions companies in India are moving both vertically and horizontally to cater to a wider customer base. How does Blum India see this trend? Any plans in that direction?
Nadeem Patni
While many companies may be moving towards offering lower-priced solutions, here we are at Blum, introducing two premium solutions. These are Brevago – our latest premium pocket door system – fully handleless. And a new box system called PLICOBOX. Even with this new box system, we are expanding its applications beyond kitchens and talking about wardrobes, living rooms, and bedrooms.
Our tagline for Interzum 2025 is ‘Blum Now. For Everyone, Everywhere’. This is another dimension that we are going to actively talk about. We are going beyond kitchens with our solutions. While we are doing this, we are also exploring the various categories – TANDEMOBOX, which represents functionality. Then we have the LEGRABOX, which is premium but very design-focused. In between the two, we have the MERIVOBOX, which is very flexible in its use. At Interzum 2025, Blum has launched a 105-degree soft-closing hinge. With these kinds of solutions, we are targeting diverse markets since the application of these hinges suits various furniture requirements. We are also in the process of launching a very good hinge, which is priced very competitively, maybe 20-25% higher than our competitors, but will come with the same Blum commitment to quality.
Maarten de Vries
I would say that though our focus remains on the premium-end of the market, we are also sensitive to the market realities and looking at the mid-segment market. But our solutions would never compromise on the quality which the markets expect from Blum. That’s what our customers have bought us for over the last 70-plus years. They know that Blum furniture solutions would take care of everything on this hardware part. We are not in the market race of offering cheaper (and cheaper!) solutions. We know where to stop. I do not say that we will not offer products in the more ‘affordable’ price points, but these price points will still be higher than those offered by the competition. What we will never introduce are solutions which cannot stand up to the Blum quality standards.
B&I: Would Blum be looking at manufacturing in India?
Maarten de Vries
At Blum, we have a clear policy that we produce where we have a certain quantum of demand. Our factories produce very high-quality fittings. To set up a factory in a particular geography, to have that level of quality and quantity, the market needs to show a certain demand. And currently, we actually don’t have too many hubs that can generate that kind of demand. But we never say never. If the demand is there for the quality we produce, the option is always open for discussions. But as of now, there are no concrete plans on this. One more important point here is that Blum produces most of the single parts in-house. So, moving manufacturing to a new region is not simply a matter of putting the final product together but also making locally the many components which go into making one finished product. The Blum family believes that since their name is on the product, it should be as good as it can be.
B&I: How do you see Blum shaping up over the next 1-2 years?
Nadeem Patni
The Indian market is still a carpenter and contractor-driven market where there’s a lot of loose hardware being sold. Then we have an evolving manufacturer and kitchen retail market. This shift from carpenter to modular furniture is happening. For Blum India, over the next 1-2 years, the major share of business will come from the trade market, but the share of contribution from the modular furniture and kitchen retail will also grow. We are moving very strongly on establishing the brand and also strengthening our sales division. We are now targeting Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns and cities. So, I would say that over the next 1-2 years, you would see Blum getting an even bigger footprint across India with more sales and service support.
Maarten de Vries
I travel extensively across India along with Nadeem. A city like Hyderabad continues to surprise me on each visit. And there are many other cities which get my attention. The potential in India is evident when you look at such cities. My take on this is – India will keep growing. Blum wants to be a part of this India growth story. So, Blum is expanding its teams and its reach into the country. We are listening very carefully to what our customers have to say. And we are here as their problem solvers, i.e., solution providers in the furniture solutions space.
B&I: What’s your take on the new application areas that you are showcasing at Interzum?
Maarten de Vries
It’s a very interesting area that we are communicating in at this Interzum. You see, Blum is a solution provider in the furniture space. The reason we focused on kitchens in our communications is that the hardware in a kitchen takes the most strain. If our hardware works well with the kitchens, so will it in living rooms, bedrooms or other parts of a home. Our customers worldwide, including India, acknowledge our quality. We have always worked extensively alongside architects and designers on hotels, restaurants and office spaces. Now, we are actively talking about the solution areas beyond kitchens extending over living rooms, bedrooms and wardrobes.
Nadeem Patni
As Maarten put it very clearly, we are saying that we are not just for kitchens but for spaces around homes, offices, restaurants and hotels. Basically, if you are looking for quality furniture fitting solutions which give you peace of mind in terms of how the furniture will ‘function’, Blum is the right solution provider. This Interzum is not only about the new introductions, which are always in our R&D pipeline, but also about the larger ‘connect’ with solutions beyond just kitchens.
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