For South African furniture manufacturers, e-commerce offers an additional route to market beyond traditional showrooms and retail channels. SAFI’s Takealot initiative is testing how local manufacturers can access this opportunity, while providing valuable insight into what is required to sell furniture successfully online.
From factory floor to online marketplace
The pilot is currently in its implementation phase, with participating manufacturers working through Takealot’s comprehensive registration and onboarding process. Recognising the complexities involved, Takealot is providing dedicated one-on-one support to help businesses navigate the requirements and address practical challenges as they arise.
“Selling furniture online involves much more than simply listing a product,” says Tracy Symons, SAFI Marketing Relationship Manager. “Manufacturers need to consider product and catalogue information, stock availability, logistics, shipping costs and the platform’s administrative requirements. The onboarding process itself has also highlighted just how much preparation is involved.”
Home Concept, The Room and Leisure Lounge are currently at the most advanced stages of onboarding, while Make Furniture and Woodlam continue to progress through the process.
Learning what works
Importantly, the pilot is as much about learning as it is about getting products onto the platform. The process is helping SAFI identify practical stumbling blocks and better understand what manufacturers need to participate effectively in e-commerce.
“One of the real benefits is seeing where the challenges emerge in a real-world environment,” explains Symons. “Takealot’s individual support is helping manufacturers work through issues around logistics, product information and onboarding, while the experience is also giving SAFI useful insights that can inform the ongoing development of our own national furniture catalogue.”
Looking ahead
SAFI will continue to monitor the pilot and learn from the experiences of participating manufacturers before considering how the initiative could be expanded.
“We’re not assuming that e-commerce will suit every manufacturer,” concludes Symons. “The aim is to understand what works, where the challenges lie and how we can use what we learn to help manufacturers make better-informed decisions about accessing digital markets.”
