Furniture rentals take a beating this year

Industry sees lull in business with employees leaving for native places

Hyderabad: As the pandemic forced many to stay indoors and turned homes into workspaces for a majority of sectors, the demand for furniture and home appliances surged as well. Renting furniture made sense for those whose job required them to move to a new city, and the prospect of buying furniture for the entire house isn’t feasible.

The demand for furniture rentals shot up significantly last year, but, after the initial spike, local rental businesses say that they are barely getting any orders these days. “Most people who used to rent furniture from us have returned to their hometowns this year. We used to supply the entire furniture to bachelors which would come to Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 a month. Just renting table and chairs doesn’t bring in much for us,” says Murtaza Rampurwala, owner, Let Me Hire Furniture Rentals.

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Before the pandemic, his store in Somajiguda supplied work desks, dining tables, sofa sets, sofa-cum-bed and appliances to the IT crowd. Those in the field are of the opinion that as some IT companies steadily bring more workforce into offices, they expect to see companies opting for rented office furniture.

“Right now, it’s a struggle for us. These days we just get one or two requests for renting out home appliances like refrigerators or washing machines,” says Kumar, co-partner at Rent O Rent in the city. For IT professional Pragya Gupta, who rents most of the furniture at her house, purchasing furniture is tedious and also requires a long-term investment, something she is not prepared for.

“I don’t see the point of investing so much money into buying furniture. When I sell it, I may get a fraction of the amount I bought it for. With rentals, if I don’t like something, I can go for a change next month and it’s within the budget,” she says. Like all businesses affected by the pandemic’s ebb and flow, after the initial upsurge, business owners are hopeful that things will change in near future.

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