– Deep immersion in the “figure”
– Tight monetary policy is no longer necessary
– Mattress manufacturers have a chance to earn
– It is proposed to establish the Ministry of Forestry
– “Lisderevmash” at an exhibition in Dubai

Everything that happened last week in Ukraine and the world and is relevant for the furniture maker, read in our digest:

1. In order not to lose his buyer in five years, furniture makers already need to study and master the tools that technological startups take to the surface, Artem Ershov, a leading specialist at Ascona, is actively introducing digital technology into the trade.
Classic offline retail has begun to crowd companies with the digital sector – young online startups. They offer a similar product, but cheaper and faster. The legendary Ashley, the world’s largest furniture company with a turnover of six billion dollars, recently lost the lead to Amazon, the giant of e-commerce with a capitalization of more than a trillion “greens.” Attacking reputable companies, upstart youths in ripped jeans and sneakers successfully rob their customers.
Another shock for traditional business is the leadership of online projects, which is usually not related to their profitability, is not the pursuit of it. Amazon was not profitable for a second. “Casper” too. However, this does not prevent them from taking places at the very top of the business Olympus. In these companies continue to invest, their capitalization is constantly increasing. It turns out that the profit in the field of e-commerce is not the main thing, the main thing is to take away a piece from competitors and grow.

2. The refusal of the National Bank to reduce the discount rate is not the optimal solution, the head of the NBU Council, Bogdan Danylishin, believes. He is convinced that the preservation on March 14 of the old level of 18% per annum will not contribute to economic growth in the country. Danilishin criticized this decision on six key positions.
The actions of our National Bank do not fit the global trend, the expert adds. The US Federal Reserve, which has been raising its stakes since 2015, recently announced its willingness to decline. The European Central Bank is in no hurry to strengthen its monetary policy, and in China, the regulator softens it.
In addition, consumer inflation, according to the economist, shows a steady downward trend. Not only in 2018, but this year too: in February, it slipped from 9.2% to 8.8% on an annualized basis. Basic inflation is falling even faster, which does not include administratively regulated prices (utility tariffs, public transport, etc.) from 8.7% to 7.7%. That is, tight monetary policy is no longer necessary.

3. However, suppliers of modern mattress fillers and manufacturers of other attributes for sleeping, such as pillows, could take advantage of this chance, because in Ukrzaliznytsia trains they will no longer use feather and down pillows and will also replace mattresses. This was reported in the press service of the railway carrier. Instead, the carrier will gradually switch to modern synthetic materials – hypoallergenic and those that are easy to clean.
“Last year, 7,308 such pillows, 7,328 mattress covers, 4,124 blankets, and 870 mattresses have already been acquired,” the report said.

4. Such an initiative was voiced at the recently held fourth congress of foresters of Ukraine. For what? It is necessary to strengthen the institutional capacity of forestry by creating a new central executive body with the function of forming and implementing state policy in the field of forestry and woodworking industry in the form of a separate ministry. This was stated by Deputy Chairman of the State Forest Resources Agency Vladimir Bondar.
He drew attention to the fact that today the State Agency does not have the right to initiate legislation to speed up the resolution of a number of issues, in particular, the professional separation of economic and control functions, the fight against illegal logging, shrinking forests, the creation of a timber market and the like.
According to him, for a quick solution, in particular through legislation, of all problems in the forest industry, three key things are needed: the creation of a national forest policy, the conduct of a national forest inventory, and adequate funding for all forestry work.

5. From March 12-14, Dubai (United Arab Emirates) hosted the main exhibition of the woodworking and furniture industry in the Middle East – “Dubai WoodShow”. This year, visitors to the forum showed a lot of modern wood processing technologies, the developers of which focused on the idea of ​​environmental friendliness of their decisions.
According to the organizers, 240 exhibitors and 530 brands from more than 20 countries of the world were represented at their exhibition this year. They note that the Middle East region is becoming the main importer of wood, and one of the largest private such purchases comes from the United Arab Emirates. The reason for the high demand of experts called the growth of construction industries and furniture production. They call Ukraine a significant exporter of wood that has undergone primary processing.
As the organizer of the main Ukrainian event of a similar theme, the Lesdrevmash exhibition, AKKO International has long-standing partnerships with the organizing committee of the exhibition in Dubai. Therefore, I took the opportunity to present Ukraine at this forum as a potential market for manufacturers of equipment and tools.
The format of the Lesdrevmash exhibition presence at the forum in Dubai this year has been somewhat expanded. Member companies of the Ukrainian Association of Woodworking Equipment (UADO), a long-time partner of the exhibition, were also able to present their woodworking solutions and opportunities at a joint stand.

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