Santhosh Chandran
Doha
TRADERS at Souq Haraj at Najma are changing their business strategy by focusing more on imported low-price new furniture items instead of selling used furniture, which the market has been known for.
For more than two decades, Souq Haraj has been a popular destination in Doha for buying and selling used furniture and household items. The market, always crowded with buyers and sellers at evening hours, has served as one of the easy solutions for expatriates, especially newcomers to Qatar or newly employed, to acquire furniture and other items at cheaper prices.
However, the booming business at the market started nosediving when the buyers and sellers began to explore the potentials of the Internet and social media to buy and sell their properties.
Speaking to Qatar Tribune, manager of a furniture shop said,"Even though, we haven't completely stopped the business of used furniture, we have shifted our focus to low-price imported furniture. Now, our supply chain with China, India and Turkey is very strong. Low price of this imported furniture is an attraction to buyers. Many of these products can even be of the price with the used furniture at the market."
Souq Haraj currently has over 30 furniture shops, most of which deals in the used items business but now are being stocked with low-price imported furniture.
A Sri Lankan expatriate said,"Now, no one is interested in dealing with traders in Souq Haraj for used furniture as similar items can be easily acquired through social media networks at better prices. Social media platform provide more opportunities for both sellers and buyers. There, both the buyers and sellers engage one another without the exploitation of a middleman."
As part of efforts to meet new challenges, some shops have already launched their social media pages to market their goods.
Salesman at a shop said,"We have our own page on Facebook and social media groups to meet the new challenges. Now, we are getting a number of queries through our social media page. Perhaps, Souq Haraj will lose its popular name the market for used furniture and get a tag as a market for low-price imported furniture."