A profile of Al Meera, one of the leading manufacturer s of kitchens, wardrobes and bathroom furniture in the Middle East.

1. www.worldfurnitureonline.com38 December 2019 • WF
l Meera Kitchens is one of the
leading manufacturers of
kitchens, wardrobes and bath-
room furniture in the Middle East.
The company’s production capacity
increased from 10,500 to 30,000
kitchens along the years, and
today’s production is estimated to be
around 25,000 kitchens. Around
50,000 among wardrobes and vani-
ties are also produced. Turnover is
approximately made as follows: 50%
by kitchen furniture, 30% by
wardrobes and 20% by bathroom
furniture. The company’s factory is
equipped with Homag woodworking
machinery to facilitate and improve
the production process. Al Meera's
services include designing and con-
sulting/manufacturing and installa-
tion/after-sales service. The compa-
ny distributes mainly Siemens and
Franke appliances and it has
branches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
Oman and Qatar.
Manufacturing plant is in the Ras Al
Khor Industrial Area. The flagship
showroom is in Sheikh Zayed Road
in Dubai.
Founded in the late Eighties, the cat-
alogue includes around 1,000 differ-
ent items. The boom for the Contract
sector lasts since 20 years, while the
Retail market has been opened
some 10 years ago.
RETAIL AND CONTRACT
The kitchen furniture market in the
Emirates is worth around 50,000
kitchens, of which around 8,000 are
imported. The import of built-in appli-
ances is in excess of 100,000 units
per item (hoods, ovens).
Kitchen furniture in the Emirates is
mainly distributed by kitchen special-
ists/showrooms and through the
contract business. Kitchen furniture
is generally already included in the
apartment and for this reason the
contract sector is estimated to claim
half of all UAE kitchen market.
For Al Meera, Contract is approxi-
mately 70% of the business in value
and 90% in quantity. At least 1,000
kitchens are retailed in the 4 owned
showrooms. Average price is
approximately Eur 15,000 Retail
(including appliances) and Eur 1,500
in the Project business. On average,
FOCUS
KITCHEN
CSIL MARKET RESEARCH
A
AL MEERA AND THE KITCHEN
FURNITURE MARKET IN DUBAI
by Aurelio Volpe,
CSIL International Market Research
Mashrabiya
Rossana curve

2. www.worldfurnitureonline.com 39WF • December 2019
FOCUSCSIL MARKET RESEARCH
KITCHEN
appliances weight 25% on the price
of the kitchen sold.
Kitchen doors are made mainly of
melamine for the Project sector and
of laminate for Retail. All in all, per-
centages are: 55% melamine, 10%
aluminium, 15% laminate, 10%
wood and veneer, 5% lacquered.
Melamine is usually used on a MDF
substrate. PVC and PU doors are
mainly gloss. Oak and Acacia are
the most used woods. Parts of the
cabinets are made in aluminium.
Worktops for the Contract business
are made of Granite (that is relative-
ly cheap in the Emirates), Quartz
and Staron for the Retail sector.
Ceramic worktops have been
recently introduced.
THE COMPETITIVE SCENARIO
The catalogue is divided in five sec-
tions: Contemporary Classic (proba-
bly the major share, for example
painted oak), Aluminium (granite
worktop, white and red colours),
Modern (ceramic worktop, white),
Contemporary (acrylic and quartz
worktops, Grey colour), and Classic
(cherry, painted glass).
In the contract business, competitors
include the manufacturers of metal
kitchen furniture, mainly addressing
the Professional sector (kitchens for
hotels). In Retail, Al Meera is a valu-
able alternative to European brands,
selling some hundreds of kitchens in
the range between Eur 25,000 and
40,000 (including appliances). In this
price range, competitors include
Scavolini (now with a second store in
Dubai), Nobilia, Ixina, and Stosa
(distributed by Ricci).
On a higher price range, we find
Boffi, Dada (distributed by Finasi)
and Schuller (distributed by
Goettling). In the price range from
Eur 4,000 to Eur 15,000, where at
least 1,000 kitchens are sold, we find
also Alsmayaa, Kitchen King, Mac Al
Gurg, IKEA, Al Danube.
Competitors in the contract business
(metal) include Eurokitchen, Aswar
Kitchen and Ovens, Sultaco, Al
Amira, Al Jazeera Kitchens. IKEA
opened a large store in Abu Dhabi in
2011, as a part of the Yas Mall, and
its market share in the kitchen furni-
ture sector is booming.
Foreign workers in Malaysia
THE HOUSING MARKET
The housing market in Dubai and
throughout the UAE has been in
quick recession since the world oil
crisis in 2008, and the plummeting
oil prices in 2014. The expectation is
that real estate prices will continue to
drop in the next two years (last year
-6%/-8%) unless there’s some dra-
matic change. During 2018, 43,000
new residential units have been
added to the already existing stock
of 491,000 in Dubai. More than
60,000 apartments would go on sale
next year. It is expected that Expo
Dubai 2020 will push the number of
tourists from today’s 16 million to
around 20 million along the year.
HPL modern
Beige & Wood