Mah Jong sofa enters B'luru

French luxury furniture brand Roche Bobois on Friday marked its entry into Bengaluru with an exclusive 7,500 square feet store on Ulsoor road.

The store houses Roche Bobois’ Contemporains as well as Nouveaux Classiques collections. While the former features sleek, contemporary pieces, the latter is a tribute to traditional designs with original prints and textures. The store also displays the iconic Mah Jong sofa, which was created in 1971 by Hans Hopfer, and continues to be Roche Bobois’ most recognised design.

“Roche Bobois is a niche brand that symbolises sophistication. At the store we want to present the entire feel of the brand to the customer,” said Samvit Tara, Managing Director of Roche Bobois India. 

Roche Bobois had set up its first Indian store in Mumbai in 2014. “The Mumbai store has received tremendous response, and has seen a 25 per cent growth over the past year,” said Tara. “Some 30 per cent of our clientele there were from Bengaluru. So it was natural for us to set up shop here. Moreover, the Bengaluru centre is also set to serve Chennai and Hyderabad,” he said. The store has been set up at a cost of around Rs 4 crore-Rs 5 crore, with Rs 2 crore-Rs 3 crore worth of merchandise on display.

Roche Bobois has a network of 250 stores across 50 countries. Tara plans to set up 5–10 stores in the next five years, with the third store slated to be launched in the next month in Mumbai. “We are planning more stores in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune,” Tara said.

Select furnishing options
“Roche Bobois is primarily a furniture brand, but they do understand that people want to finish their homes. The brand thus offers select furnishing options that goes with the furniture,” he said.

The company has a contract division wherein it takes up design projects. “There is a 70:30 ratio, where 30 per cent of the business is consumed by design projects, and 70 per cent is store sales,” said Tara.

“The most important thing about the brand is that it offers affordable luxury. It has great pieces to offer, but at realistic prices plus customisation options,” Tara said.  With sofas starting at Rs 1,00,000, the brand offers customisation of upholstery and size for all its pieces, based on budget and space.

“Roche Bobois designs are very functional and normally fit into all dimensions. Almost 99 per cent of the customers pick up standard pieces,” he said. The brand has been associated with world-class fashion houses like Jean Paul Gaultier, Missoni, Sonia Rykiel, and Ungaro.