Shop for Furniture at Radhabazar

Team Chronicle

Are you planning to refurbish your office space, or re-decorating your dining area? Or do you want to buy a pair of bright-looking garden chairs? Well if you don’t want to spend a fortune on the furniture, you can head for Radhabazar located near the Tiretta Bazaar area adjacent to Lalbazar Police Headquarters where you will find something that will definitely suit both your taste and pocket.

This furniture bazaar which has spilled into the adjacent Rabindra Sarani as well offers you a wide variety of smart, chic-looking furniture pieces, primarily in steel, plastic and few wooden ones as well. What is surprising and amusing is the variety of products. You will see neat stacks of steel benches usually put up in parks or in the airport lobby rubbing shoulders with the chairs you find in salons, or bar stools kept beside the revolving chairs you find in office set up. And the shops can easily give the bigger furniture brands a run for their money. So just name it and you will find it in the furniture bazaar in every conceivable shape, size, colour and not to mention the price.

The Bazaar USP

Undoubtedly, the USP of the market is its price and the sheer wide variety of items available in each shop. Since the market sells any piece of furniture at a much lower price, this is definitely the place you should stop to grab some smart-looking stuff for your house.

If you buy a chair or a table at INR 7,000 from a mall or local store, this market will provide you the same product at a lower rate, between INR 2,000 to 3,000. Since it is a wholesale market, they sell furniture pieces at wholesale rates. Products are priced reasonably; but what is mind-boggling is the sheer variety; you can buy furniture priced as low as INR 1,000 while it can go up to INR 1 lakh. In other words, there is something to suit everyone’s budget. Some of the shops also have their own manufacturing unit, thus they allow you to customise the furniture to suit your needs.

History

This is one of the indigenous markets in the heart of Central Calcutta – a market which was actually not set up but just mushroomed to serve the needs of the customers.

This market is perhaps not very old, since it is only in recent times that customers have started preferring moulded plastic or steel furniture instead of the traditional wooden ones which definitely leave a hole in your pocket and also are difficult to maintain.

Mr. Jagdish Beria who owns a wholesale store in the bazaar, said: “Initially there were some electrical shops in the area, which downed their shutters and were sold off gradually. Since 1980s, slowly a cluster of shops came up while the market started expanding in the 1990s.”

“Shree Balaji was the first shop in the Radha Bazar Lane.” claimed Krishan Beria, son of Jagdish Beria who now runs the shop in the market.

Shops

The market has around 50 stores, all stocked with a wide array of sleek furniture. The shops inside the Radha Bazar Lane are quite roomy although the tables, chairs, sofas and every other piece of furniture are stacked at the entrance, leaving it quite narrow. Each shop also employs two to three attendants, who not only patiently answer all the queries but also guide the customers to make suitable choices after flipping through the catalogue.

According to Rakesh Gupta, owner of Gupta Furniture, “Each shop has a unique collection. The products are sourced from different points and the styles are different too. Some shops stock only steel and plastic products while others have wooden ones. The price range depends upon the quality and brand.”

Some shops also sell furniture meant for residences like sofa sets, wardrobes, and kitchen fittings while few other stores only offer office furnitures.

The Market

While not a huge market, however, the bazaar has several stores lined up on either side of the street as well as in the squalid-interiors of Radha Bazar Lane. Just as you walk past the exit gate of Lalbazaar Police Headquarters, keep a tab on your left side while you proceed towards Poddar Court. The second lane on the left marks the entrance to the furniture bazaar which then spreads out on either side of the street. Shops like Gupta Furniture, New Bengal Steel Furniture and Shree Balaji are among the large and noted furniture stores in the lane while there are several smaller stores too.

Steel Co. is the oldest store on Rabindra Sarani which was founded in 1957. Today it is one of the biggest furniture stores in the market dealing with household as well as office furniture. Another large store is that of Vikas Sales Agency which was set up in 1974. Others gradually followed.

Shree Balaji was established in 1979 while Gupta Furniture started operations in 1984. Shop owners claim that this is the biggest furniture market in the eastern region. The market seems to be a flourishing with customers making a bee line for products round the year. “Our profit percentage is around 3-5 percent per product. There is always a steady flow of customers and there is hardly any hour when we sit idle”, said Rakesh Gupta.

It is a wholesale as well as a retail market but retail products are priced 3-4 percent higher than those sold on wholesale rates.  However, some shops sell their products at the same price. And even though there is a marginal difference between the retail and wholesale rates, however, the products are still at least 15 to 20 percent cheaper than other markets in the city.

Vikas Saraf, owner of Vikas Sales Agency which sells only various kinds of chairs said: “We cater mainly to the wholesalers. But if a retailer comes to us, we sell them at the wholesale price.”

Shree Balaji deals primarily with steel products. “Our products are imported from China. We assemble mainly the loose parts like the chair & table and then sell it to our customers as a complete product. We generally don’t provide a warranty on the furniture but counting on our experience, we assure that the piece of furniture would last long enough”, says Krishan Beria.

Source of Product

Products are sourced from both within and outside the city, sometimes even from abroad. Indian brands are generally brought from Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore while international brands are imported from China and Malaysia.

Customers generally arrange for the transportation of the product bought by them. However, if necessary home and office delivery facilities are also available as a cost option. A delivery man is entrusted with the task and the charges are paid by the concerned customers. The delivery charges usually range from INR 100 to 1,000 depending upon the consignment size and delivery distance. Warranties are usually of one to two 2 years, depending upon the brand.

Fast Facts

Location: Radha Bazar Lane near Tiretta Bazaar

Open: Monday to Saturday

Timing: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm

Car Park: In front of Poddar Court