BULGARIAN FURNITURE CLUSTER - Mrs. Genoveva Christova President Wisdom alone cannot cure the Bulgarian furniture industry, but the Team work can!…

Why in cluster? How to stay competitive in increasing competition? How to keep pace with Europe? How to be noticed when coming from a small country? DESIGN STUDIOS UNIVERSITIES NGOs FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS

Why in cluster? COMPETITIVENESS SPECIALIZATION – COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES INTERNATIONALISATION/ EXPORT OPTIMISATION + SYNERGY : common purchase of materials, common supply, etc EFFICIENCY MORE BUSINESS!

Bulgarian Furniture Cluster is a nationally based business organization, established in There are 31 members of the cluster divided in following groups: 22 SMEs furniture manufacturers from the whole supply chain 5 design studios, 2 NGOs – Association of Bulgarian Designers + CHERGA 2 educational institutions - ISIA Florence + TU that have decided to join their resources, capabilities and potential with the purpose to increase their competitiveness at foreign markets! Who are we?

Where are we?

What are we doing? Coordination International Trade Education Trainings Quick Win Projects Design Improvement FAB LAB

Leadership (Ambitious + Energetic) Cluster Coordination 3 sub-groups: ( markets & logistics, innovation & product development, technology & processes) Sharing information and resources Equal treatment of each member (neutrality) Mutual trust! How we are doing? Coordination

OP Competitiveness – Clusters grant scheme Individual Grants for each member: technical modernization; ISO 9001, ERP systems, etc CBC Projects: BFC + SFC ESF (BFC + Exemplas/UK) – skills assessment / gaps analysis Quick Win Projects How we are doing?

International Trade Main cluster activity Joint orders – LIGNA GROUP Ltd Joint Marketing Activities - Fair participation, like: The Sleep Event London 2010 & 2011 Milano Design Week 2011 (via Tortona) imm Cologne 2011 HI Design Valencia 2013 Trade missions (b2b) – Holzcluster Austria; The Chair Triangle in Italy

Sleep event in London

Aggregate turnover of about 25 mln. Euros (5.2 mln Euros directly from cluster orders) 4 SMEs above 50% from their turnover Aggregate employment of 2753 people Economic growth of 14% in the years of crisis ( as per the result in 2012) Economic data 2012

5 685 hotel rooms in Europe Preferred supplier for 2 Hotel Groups in Germany RESULTS:

2300 CITROEN showrooms in France 700 finished within the first 6 months of 2012 RESULTS:

Dining sets for 12 Home Furniture Stores in Finland RESULTS:

Education Trainings Cluster activity Joint master degree in Design (ISIA Florence + NBU Sofia); graduate placements ESF (BFC + Exemplas/UK) – skills assessment / gaps analysis OP Competitiveness ( BFC + University of Leicester, UK) – middle management, supervision, process management

Design Improvement Cluster activity Design workshops – Black Sea 2010 & 2011 – 8 new products for cluster members Creation of identity – critical success factor for the future of our business!!! CHANGES collection in London and Milano

Design workshop – Black Sea 2011

Cooperation with Sofia Tech Park Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small- scale workshop offering digital fabrication ( 3D Printing) Innovation & Design FAB LAB Cluster activity

The myth of Balkans individualism or business development via direct competition! The competitive advantage + smart specialization of each company in the group! Strategic approach and new way of thinking Branding and identity Being noticeable beyond your own borders! Conclusions!

Thank you very much for your attention! Lets get clustering!