The first store in the country was officially launched yesterday at Citta Mall in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
Founder and CEO of Hauslife, Yu Kong Cing, said this partnership which led to the setting up of the first store in the country would benefit greatly by taking advantage of its knowledge in the local furniture and furnishing market.
“We intend to bring the brand’s world-renowned furniture store to a higher level in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the first store will have an area of 800 square metres.
It is the first store outside the United States featuring the design and layout of the brand’s newest store design.
Hauslife intends to open two more stores by the end of this month. The stores are located in Bangi and Subang Jaya, both of which will open on 30 June 2015.
President and CEO of Ashley Furniture HomeStore Todd Wanek said the company’s growth over the past 17 years is the result of its efforts to foster good relationships with customers.
As a local partner, Hauslife will offer management solutions ranging from consultancy through to implementation to meet customer requirements, as well as sales and marketing of products and store expansion across Malaysia.
Much of Ashley’s furniture is sold pre-assembled as compared to self-assembly by the customer for IKEA’s furniture.
Ashley Furniture HomeStore is fast expanding across the globe. It is now one of the world’s leading chain of furniture store brand and is the no. 1 retailer of furniture and bedding in the United States, with an annual sales in excess of US$4 billion.
The first Ashley Furniture HomeStore opened in Anchorage, Alaska in 1997.
It now operates in more than 560 locations, including throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, US Virgin Islands, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Japan and Indonesia.
The company aims to open 1,000 stores in Asia within the next 10 years.
Many of its stores are independently owned and operated, but all of the furniture sold is manufactured by its parent company, Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.
Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., headquartered in Arcadia, Wisconsin, is one of the world’s largest manufacturer of home furniture. The company is family-owned by father and son team Ron and Todd Wanek and employs over 13,000 people with factories in the United States, China and Vietnam.
Established in 1945, the manufacturer offers one of the industry’s broadest product assortments to retail partners and homestores across over 123 countries.
Meanwhile, the household retail business continues to boom in Malaysia. IKEA will be opening its second megastore soon in Cheras while home improvement retailer Ace Hardware will be opening soon its 16th outlet in Malaysia at the Atria Shopping Gallery in Petaling Jaya.
Australian home decor and fabric retailer Spotlight added its second and third outlets recently. Last year, Thailand-based Index Living Mall and HomePro ventured into the country with both stores opening at IOI City Mall in Putrajaya.