A furniture and homewares store from Steinhoff International – which also owns Freedom Furniture and Snooze – will enter the local market early next year with a store at Blacktown before opening up to 30 stores in Australia over the next five years.
POCO Australia will launch at the Blacktown Mega Centre and offers a one-stop home solution superstore with a wide range of products at extremely low prices.
It is aimed at budget-conscious shoppers but features quality and European styling which appeals to many consumers.
The brand and concept originate in Germany where there are 98 POCO stores, however, the product offering will be created for the Australian consumer.
“We sell everything you need to turn your house into a home,” says Greg Benstead, POCO Australia managing director. “Not only will our prices be substantially lower than anything else on the market in Australia, but we guarantee to have available stock of every product on display.
“That means you can browse through our 6,000 metre square super home market, choose your products and have them immediately loaded into your vehicle in our collection dock – there’s no dragging large boxes off shelves or having to wait weeks for back-orders, you can buy it and take it home that day.”
The store will have products in the furniture, bedding, kitchen, storage, white goods, decorative and exercise equipment categories as well as DIY products like paint and wall paper. Customers can also dine at the German-style café in the store and purchase $1 a cup barista coffee and snacks.
Furniture will be sourced from local suppliers and Steinhoff’s manufacturing and sourcing facilities in Europe and Asia.
“The combination of a strong Australian dollar and our parent company’s collective buying power means we can offer our customers fantastic value for money. You’ve never seen prices this good, and not just on some products, but on everything," adds Benstead.
Furniture is sold in flat pack form and customers will be able to take advantage of an innovative system for getting products home.
“If you buy an item of furniture that won’t fit in your car, we’ll swap you the keys to one of our vehicles and let you drive your products home. You simply return the vehicle when you’re done and we give back your car keys,” he explains.
The opening of POCO Australia will also mean new jobs for the Blacktown community, where its headquarters will be located. It will soon start recruiting 70 people for roles such as customer service and point of sale.
“In Germany, where POCO is one of the biggest players in the discount furniture market, we have a strong tradition of supporting and growing our local community, and we plan to continue that approach here in Australia by hiring locally. We’re looking for people with a great work ethic and values who will fit into our culture. POCO provides all the training required so previous experience is not essential – we’re more interested in them having the right attitude.”
This article first appeared on Giftguide.com.au