Samir Patel, Co-Founder & Director, Arancia Kuchen, discusses with Seema Gupta the competitive features that set the Arancia brand apart from competing brands in the Indian market, including imports
How is the modular kitchen industry evolving in India?
The modular kitchen market in India is expanding as demand is no longer restricted to the upper middle-class. The growth in the per capita income of people, coupled with organised players offering services at affordable rates, are some of the factors that are giving a boost to the modular kitchen industry in the country.
It’s amazing to observe that people of every class want to have a modular kitchen in their house. The consumer has started appreciating the importance of branded yet customised kitchens due to advantages like efficient planning of space for optimum use, aesthetics, smooth functionality of fittings, and the ergonomics for the user’s comfort. Keeping in mind these trends, we are offering kitchens with designs that are at par with the latest European kitchens but are more affordably priced.
Further, with the emergence of nuclear families, increasing number of housing projects, growth in organised retail, and evolving aesthetics in home interiors, the modular kitchen market is anticipated to witness increased growth in the coming years.
What are customers looking for in modern kitchens?
Many modern homes are moving towards an open kitchen layout model where the kitchen is integrated into the living and dining space, and everybody congregates wherever they please. In fact, the kitchen has become the new living room, where friends and family gather to socialize or participate in the kitchen activities.
With kitchens slowly becoming a larger social space within a household, there is a demand to completely customize the kitchen to match the house interiors. Design elements such as colour, lighting, countertops, cabinets, floorings etc are being considered to match and complement the overall theme so that the kitchen looks beautiful and inviting.
What’s more, with our lives getting busier, homeowners are beginning to invest in high-tech, efficient appliances to complete all the necessary tasks.
What does Arancia kitchen range comprise of?
Our kitchens are available in 9 ranges; each one of unmatched design, high durability and reliable performance due to their sturdy fittings. We have kitchens of solid wood, ceramic surfaces; and with shutters powered by membrane technology, making them super-fluid for day-to-day handling.
We have acrylic, superior quality laminate and polymer composite board with ABS finish, lacquered glass with beautiful patterns, PU lacquer finish in gloss and matt, seamless high gloss ABS doors for a smooth, continuous front and edges, with no joints visible even on the edge banding.
Arancia kitchens come with a 5-year warranty. Since we have in-house manufacturing, there is no dependency on vendors and no hassles for sourcing. This also means that customers get a high-end kitchen at a more reasonable price. We have 9 ranges and over 250 colour options. Besides kitchens, we provide furniture units, hardware fittings and shutters
What are Arancia kitchens’ unique selling points?
Our forte is making customised modular kitchens for every space and budget, with the desired material, finish and accessories. World class accessories, comprehensive range of kitchen appliances and most modern accessories enable high and reliable functionality of our kitchens.
Our designs are at par with the latest European trends. The kitchens are fabricated using the most sophisticated European technology, machinery and raw materials imported from Germany, and a production team trained by German professionals.
Our team of kitchen designers use sophisticated software and 3D modelling to give a complete virtual walk-through of kitchens to prospective clients. At the same time, we showcase a wide range of kitchens with a variety of factory finishes and styles to enable the buyer to make a choice as per his/her requirement from our 9 ranges and over 250 colour options.
Since, we have in-house manufacturing, there is no dependency on vendors and no hassles for sourcing. This also means that customers get a high-end kitchen at a more reasonable price as compared to imported kitchens. Plus, the time taken from placing an order to installation is less than that of an imported kitchen. Our best sellers are the Charme, Armoise and Argentine range.
We have a one lakh sqft factory in Surat with a production capacity of 2,000 units per year including 1,000 furniture units such as beds, wardrobes, TV units, etc. Our kitchens come with a 5-year warranty. Our clients include the Life Style Group, Future Group and other premium kitchen and furniture retail chains in India.
We have 50 franchisees in India, 5 in Nepal and 1 in Oman. Our aim is to open 75 more franchisee showrooms by 2020 across India, Nepal, and in the UAE
Which markets are you catering to and plan to expand in?
We have 50 franchisees in India, 5 in Nepal and 1 in Oman. Our aim is to open 75 more franchisee showrooms by 2020 across India, Nepal and in the UAE. Having recently launched Arancia Mobel, a modern furniture brand in Vishakapatnam, we are set to open three more showrooms in India and one in Nepal by June 2018. Shortly, Arancia will also roll out Smartekk range of kitchen baskets to add further value to its kitchens.
Any other products in the pipeline?
We keep launching new products to give more options to customers, for instance, Slimtek is our latest hardware fittings range with a thickness of just 13 mm. We have recently launched AGX range of shutters with abstract designs and they are coloured on both sides, and powered with matching edge banding. This is the latest trend in European countries. With kitchens serving as the hub of household communication, integrating tech into kitchen design is a natural step forward, and at Arancia we are constantly striving to maintain a balance on the same.
