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Year in Review // 4 Highlights for Oppein Kenya in 2020
In this series, the year in review, we are having chats with our members & partners, to hear what challenges, lessons and adaptations they’ve taken in the year 2020.
Background
Since the first positive case of COVID-19 was reported in mid-March, the Kenyan government issued several directives to curb its spread. The key directives were banning of international, an evening curfew, cessation of movement into, and out of certain counties, and a mandate for workers to stay at home when possible.
These containment measures affected businesses, significantly disrupting supply chains, and reducing foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores.
The pandemic also presented a critical opportunity for businesses to pause, and rethink their business models. For others it presented a chance for them to focus on investing in systems that would make it easy for their customers to access their services.
These challenges drove rapid adoption of technology among businesses and consumers. The former looked into leveraging more on digital platforms. Consumers, on the other hand, turned to their phones, and laptops to access essential goods, services, and information.
About Oppein
Oppein Kenya, one of the members based at our Karen location, also faced the pains of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, amidst everything, they were able to scale their business despite having to stoll on a few projects that were in the pipeline.
With a key focus on Interior Design for homes and office spaces Oppein Kenya is a Franchise of Oppein Home the top kitchen and total home-furnishing brand in China, and the largest cabinetry manufacturer in Asia
Over the past 26 years, OPPEIN has established its core competencies in brand influences, mass customization, and dynamic distribution system.
“We are excited about this move, and we just can’t wait to open our showroom doors to the Kenyan Market,” Florence Wanjiku – Marketing Manager, Oppein Kenya.
The company manufactures high-quality kitchens, wardrobes, customized home furniture, bathroom products, interior doors, and home furnishing, and can offer a whole-house solution for customers.
In 2018, OPPEIN went public on Shanghai Stock exchange with stock code 603833. The market value of OPPEIN in 2019 reached about USD 7.7 Billion. In 2019, OPPEIN Group’s sales turnover reached USD 1.9 billion, marking 26 consecutive years of growth.
Globally, OPPEIN has expanded 7000+ global showrooms and presented in 118 countries and regions around the world. 10,000+ global projects have chosen OPPEIN, owing to its unceasing striving for perfection, and the passion to satisfy the individual needs of home décor.
Year in Review
We sat down with the Marketing Manager at Oppein Kenya, Florence Wanjiku, who gave us a glimpse of the year in review for the company. Here the 4 main highlights from the discussion:
New Location // Adding up to its 7,000+ global showrooms Oppein has been able to set up one more showroom in Kenya along Mombasa Road Nairobi. However due to the pandemic they had to push the official launch of the showroom launch to the first quarter of 2021.
“We are excited about this move, and we just can’t wait to open our showroom doors to the Kenyan Market, just for them to have the first-hand experience of what we are all about,” said Florence.
Over time the company will seek to leverage more on technologies like Virtual Reality that will enable customers have a tour of the showroom space at the comfort of their office or home, a move that has already been affected in their main office in China
Team Growth // Over the period the company has also been able to grow their team. From a team of four to over ten team members. This has helped the company streamline the business operations and services by bringing together professionals and putting together systems in place that have enabled them to deliver efficiently to their customers
Clientele Base // As difficult as the year was, Oppein has also been able to grow their clientele base in Kenya to reach over 50 clients in the year. This was partly contributed by just the company running its operations from Nairobi Garage, where they were able to get some of their clients from the community.
Expanding Markets // With the experienced growth over time, the company now eyes expanding into yet another market in East Africa later this year.
“Our key focus is in Uganda for now. It is work in progress as we are currently researching on the marketing, but hopefully, by Quarter three of next year, we will have a team stationed there,” concluded Florence.
With its highly automated woodworking machines and accumulated competency in mass customization, OPPEIN has also grown its production capacity and flexibility to meet specific needs of its clientele.
The company’s vision is to make OPPEIN a modern, innovative company respected and loved by the people, held in the highest esteem in Kenya and the whole of Africa.
