The Bengaluru-based company will expand its base in north India
In an exclusive interaction with Sourcing Hardware, the company’s CEO Khanindra Barman(kay@wurfel.in) shared while announcing Wurfel Kuche to Offer Franchises, “We are looking at expanding in the northern part of India and we plan to offer about 20 franchises in the coming year”. At present Wurfel has 28 stores across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kochi, Surat, and Bhubaneshwar, to name a few. The company, set up in 2015, operates on a franchise model and aims to reach 100 showrooms in the next three years.
“While we are expanding at a fast pace, it is quite important for us to choose our partners carefully,” remarked Barman, adding that Wurfel associates with local partners for its showrooms and the two work jointly as business partners. “We believe in working together, growing together and we have a very strong support system,” he remarked. “In terms of support, all training is taken care of at our end like sales, designing, installation, etc along with branding and advertising at the national level,” he explained. The company, shared Barman, appoints regional managers and business development executives to support the franchise partners. “There is constant hand-holding to clear all roadblocks,” he said, adding that as per industry standards, the ROI in their business model is quite good. Barman is convinced that Wurfel’s retail expansion across India and its growing brand image are the factors that attract business associates to be a part of their journey.
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According to Barman, the kitchen and the wardrobe industry is one of the fastest growing in India. “It’s been growing at a rate of 40% every year. People are looking for more of customised solutions unlike before and there is a huge opportunity,” he said. Barman explained that the philosophy of Wurfel Kuche is to deliver high-end European products at a good price. In fact, Wurfel offers kitchens – European quality, style and service – starting at Rs 2 lakh. “In order to be competitive in the market, we need to work on volumes,” he said, reiterating that the strategy to have more stores is a well thought one. “We started off with the strategy that we will have more number of stores across the country so that we can generate more volumes and eventually give a great product at a great price,” he remarked.
So what is required of the potential franchise partner? “Investment to the tune of Rs 50 lakh and complete brand exclusivity are the key terms,” Barman answered. “As far as the infrastructure requirement is concerned, we don’t have a hard and fast rule. Having experience in the same industry will be an added advantage. However, anyone who believes in the brand, and is willing to take it forward is welcome to our family.” Talking about the uniqueness of Wurfel’s business model, Barman said, “We have a very different kind of business model. Usually, in any form of production the sourcing time is less than the delivery time; however, in our case, it is completely the opposite.” Wurfel’s delivery period is 30 days and sourcing time is a minimum of three months.
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He reasoned that this is because they source each and every component from Europe, leading to high inventory in warehouses and shorter order periods. He added that the company offers a ten-year warranty on their product, and that they have a toll-free number to address concerns within 48 hours of notification, thereby taking care of customer
service.
The company has recently launched the MyStory series of handcrafted shutters. The shutters are customised and can be ordered in various stone finishes that are suitable for hand sculpting. “We wanted to come up with a completely new design concept for the whole world, and it’s a very unique and exclusive concept. The customer has complete flexibility in choosing the stone finish in this series.”
