Beating the competition – success in Kenya’s hotel furniture industry

Debate on African manufacturing tends to be pessimistic about local producers’ ability to compete against foreign rivals. Why then is Kenya’s hotel furniture industry flourishing? An Institute of Development Studies working paper based on research carried out in 1997, shows that Kenya’s leading hotels source 95 per cent of their furniture from local manufacturers. The study examines why and how the buyers (hotels and their designers) help the manufacturers to produce customised furniture to international quality requirements. The ability of local furniture manufacturers to win business depends only in part upon their ability to meet the required quality and price conditions; hotel buyers must also be familiar with the capabilities of local producers.