Entrepreneurial-minded ZOU GEBING, MORRIS has led Asia’s premier sofa maker to market dominance. Here’s how.

Zou Gebing, Morris (鄒格兵) Chairman, CEO and Executive Director of Morris Holdings Ltd.

“Our Chairman Zou Gebing has been working in the furniture manufacturing industry since 1997. With his extensive knowledge and passion, he joined the former of Morris Group Co. Ltd (“Morris PRC”) in 2002 and soon entered the senior management,” says a company spokesperson.

“In 2012 he completed the full acquisition from the original shareholders of Morris PRC. December 2015, Morris PRC underwent restructuring, furniture related business has been separated out to form the group under Morris Holdings Ltd, and from 12 January 2017, our stock is officially listed on HKEx Main Board.”

Fresh Challenges

China is currently a major producer of upholstered sofas and the largest exporter globally, accounting for approx. 50% of global export value in 2015. It is expected that China will maintain its leading position in the global upholstered sofa production industry in the coming years, due to its relatively low costs, mature manufacturing techniques, manufacturers’ efforts in enhancing technical strength, enabling it to serve the mid-to high-end market globally.

Recent years, some SE Asian countries, such as Vietnam have increase their competitiveness in upholstered sofa exports, which was primarily due to the increasing labour cost in China.

The Group will continue to expanding its sales network, not limited to the U.S. but also exploring other overseas markets e.g. Europe. It is also in the final stage of preparation for the operation of their new production facility in Cambodia. This would further increase production capacity and lower production costs in the long run.

Full Speed Ahead

“Except the global trading network, domestic market is another focus for us. Following the rising living standards in China, we foresee that the domestic furniture and furnishing market will have a continuous increment in the future. And the Chinese consumers will have higher expectations on product quality and brand values. With this market trend, we believe it is essential to build our own brand and strengthen our own brand value. To cater Hong Kong and China consumer demand for high quality sofas with contemporary design and added value functions, we have designed and produced sofas under our brand “MorriSofa” since 2017 through our two Flagship Stores in Wanchai, Hong Kong and Xuhui District, Shanghai.”

Market Share

“One of the key elements of our brand establishment is the continuing effort on product design and development. A strong and innovative design, research and development team is critical to our sustainable development and success. We set up Haining Research and Development Centre in 2003. The R&D Centre develops our featuring sofas equipped with various functions such as wireless smartphone charging, Bluetooth speakers, heated seats etc. These functional sofas level up the lifestyle of our users.

“Competition is keen in the Hong Kong furniture market. Consumers could have various choices of furniture in Hong Kong, including local and China manufactures, international brands and designer brands. Hence one of the biggest challenges we faced is how to differentiate MorriSofa from the competitors and to gain local market share. To stand out in the market, we have 2 key directions in our product strategy. Firstly, we believe design is gold in the furniture industry. We hope our products could be both aesthetic and able to fit our consumers’ needs. So, we have worked with Giovanni Cagnato, a well-established architect, to design a new series for MorriSofa, which we hope to bring excitement to the local consumers. Secondly, thanks to our strong R&D centre, we strive to be pioneer for introducing new home-experience with multi-functional sofas, letting our consumers to enjoy themselves in every possible way at home.”

As an entrepreneur, Zou believes vision, determination and focus are the key of success. From ODM shifting to ODM in 2010, Zou built up the company value by enhancing product quality. He took a further step onto the OBM business in 2014. By having vision, foreseeing the market trend, Zou lead the company to success.

For additional information, please visit www.morrisholdings.com.hk

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