INTERVIEW WITH FAMA SOFAS

Fama Sofas is a family business with 50 years of experience in the sector; they export 70% of the production and sell in more than 70 countries around the world.

Easy Engineering: A brief description of the company and its activities.

Fama Sofas: The production is carried out entirely in Spain, in our factory located in Yecla (Murcia). We have one of the most technologically advanced plants in the upholstery sector worldwide, which we merge with the know-how of our craftsmen who carry out all the manual sewing and upholstery processes. We have recently expanded our 20,000m2 facilities by a further 20,000m2 in a first phase, within a total project of 68,000m2.

Our company philosophy is based on the essential concept of Honesty. For us, people are the most important, from our workers to our customers, passing through all the people affected by our activity.

E.E: What are the main areas of activity of the company?

Fama Sofas: Our main activity areas comprise pretty much the whole range of upholstered furniture that we can find in the market nowadays.

We also produce solutions for collectivities, hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, airports, nurseries, waiting areas, theatre, nightclubs, stadium, even sensorial buildings. Working with metal, glass, wood, stone, kryon, plastic (as PET, methacrylate) and so on.

Apart of that, we are a company known for our creativity and imagination. We also work hard to create new products concepts, to provide solution to existing needs or new needs among the HORECA world and homes.

We count with an Investigation and Development department, where we have also developed a litter for little kids when they go to the dentist, a new headrest for cars with an anti-neck lucsation shape, innovations on packaging or new industrial machinery adapted to production chains.

The best of our GOALS it is the fact that we have achieved to create our own style (Fama Style), building a strong brand, and also how we achieved the introduction of many innovative solutions (for users or manufacturers) in a very traditional sector which is the one of the upholstered furniture.

E.E: What’s the news about new products?

Fama Sofas: Our customers, year after year, keep saying to us – next year you won’t surprise me again like you just have done – and we always do, like 10 years ago, this started to be our target for the upcoming collection every year. 

So, this year we presented a new extra soft comfort sofa which has been a complete success. We have had even some customers buying it without trying it. We have also presented what can be the first outdoor sofa with relaxation system in the market, certified with 5 years warranty.

For next year we keep the same direction and we intend to present new solutions in unexplored and explored markets without forgetting our identity.

E.E: What are the ranges of products?

Fama Sofas: We manufacture fixed sofas and also with all kind of mechanism inside such as bed system or relaxation system…, armchairs also with all kind of mechanisms, chairs, footstools, barstools, beds, Bed headboards, benches, office armchairs, outdoor sofas and armchairs, etc.

We also produce coffee tables, lunch tables, auxiliar tables, desks, special tables for nurseries, shelves, paintings (decoration for the wall), we have even done some lamps, little ones and 12 meters one for hotels, coffee stations, wardrobes, side tables, counters, dividers, etc.  all about furniture world.

E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?

Fama Sofas: Our main activity is destinated to the retail market, despite every day, more and more we are entering in the hospitality market, we are now quite strong in developing projects for hotels, restaurants, etc. After of the pandemic, retail and contract market activity has increased considerably, nowadays is stable.

E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?

Fama Sofas: We don’t really follow any trend, we do the way we thing is the best, analyzing a lot and no matter the effort we have to put on it. This is how we actually built our own Fama style.

As we create and innovate, it comes to a point that we actually create market trends… with the use of new colors, functionalities, designs and materials.

In the textile’s world, we are able to launch trends. We create ourselves the patterned fabrics and then also new color tones depending the identity of the collection. After hours of hard work and a lot of testing and analyzing, we come up with a collection created from 0 and different from our competitors, this is how we stand out from others and consequently, we start trends.

E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?

Fama Sofas: Innovation is an essential part of our philosophy, and this orientation is pushing us to design new products that offer unprecedented Solutions worldwide. We develop an average of 5 innovations per day, around 1,000 per year.

We are a company committed to continuous innovation, both in products and components, as well as in all the processes that take place in our daily life. We have developed many products and elements for which we have obtained the patent, and many others that have been approved as utility models.

Among the latest products we have presented, it is worth highlighting some systems with important patented innovations such as – SENSAE -, a system that activates the motor of the relaxation mechanisms through a sensor and/or a mobile app, without having to touch the armchair. Or a seat construction system that allows the adjusting of the hardness in the seat cushion and also to exchange the core of the seat cushion to multiply the useful life of the sofa.

E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023?

Fama Sofas: As I previously said, the markets got stable after pandemic booming, it can be due the war (which contributes to the energetic crisis) or also the government elections, which also affects, inflation or that we are simply just before summer and the people now are thinking about investing in their holidays.

Hopefully after summer, the market will get boosted but we estimate that not in a significant way.

The real necessary thing is the war to come to an end, not only to finish with the suffering of the people who get the direct consequences (which is the most important thing) but also to see the regulation of the energetic costs and in consequence inflation will decrease generally.

Just when the life’s basic fixed costs for people will decrease, then is when people will be more comfortable to invest in more things. We never know with such situation, but we believe that at the beginning/middle of the next year, we will start getting better generally figures and then be able to increase our production around a 30% at the end of the year or during the next one.