January 12,
2015 by in Business Strategy, Executive Changes, Industry 
Satya Tiwari, president of rug, decorative accessories and accent furniture vendor Surya, has been steering the company since 2004. During that time, the company has blossomed into the go-to resource for retailers seeking a coordinated approach to their rug and accessories merchandising strategy. The company is in the midst of building a one-million-square-foot warehouse space and 60,000-square-foot office space in Georgia. The building will bring the company’s facility under one roof, a must Tiwari says to maintain Surya’s collaborative environment.
Home Furnishing Business: What’s your outlook for the home furnishings industry in 2015?
Satya Tiwari: I think 2015 will be great. The economy is growing; gas prices are lower leaving consumers with more money; housing is making a comeback. All indicators show that this will be a strong year for our industry.
For our organization, growth is very important. We want to grow by capturing more market share with our existing categories and by helping our customers grow their accessories business.
HFB: It’s been a big year for Surya with the planning of the Cartersville, Ga., facility and other initiatives. What’s driving your growth?
Tiwari: For sure. We are investing for the future. At the end of the day, the market we sit in is immense. In all our categories, it’s a big industry. We compete against Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel. These guys have done a great job. Our value isn’t just selling our retail partners product, but in being their service center.
We have to be first class in sourcing, merchandising, logistics. We have 6,000 customers. The question is how do we help them capture a higher share of the accessories market. That’s an area where our partners can use our help. At the end of the day, a great sofa is a great sofa, but it’s not the sofa, but how retailers help consumers visualize it. It’s all in how they capture the end consumer’s attention.
We truly take a collaborative approach with our retail partners and share information back and forth to enhance growth for us and for them. We listen closely to our customers. We’re one of the leading sources in collaboration with our partners. By putting our heads together, we can do great things.
HFB: Surya has been undergoing a large merchandising transformation with its leap from rugs to the addition of lighting, art décor and accent furniture. What’s the thought process behind the expansion into other categories?
Tiwari: We feel that accessories category has been a failure for retailers because they expand it to include too many suppliers. By expanding Surya’s category offering, we can help them better focus on that segment of the business.
We really are a service company, and as we continue on that path, we can help our partners be successful.
We have a very productive product development team. People just assume they’re only developing product, but they have created 10 to 15 lifestyle environments that encompass price, design aesthetic, ideas of types of houses and more.
It gives us a holistic understanding of the U.S. market. We use the environments to create the feeling, the texture, the warmth of a home. At the end, we develop product to meet these lifestyles. We visualize how the product will look in the environments and how it should be photographed. There’s a lot of thought that goes into our approach, and we have a number of people who travel the world to stay abreast of changing lifestyles.
HFB: Surya has partnered with a number of designer names for product launches. Can we expect to see more of those partnerships in the future?
Tiwari: We currently have a lot of strong names, and we want to digest and take the lines to the next level. We don’t want to overdo it.
We’re creating our own brand, as well as those with our partners. We want to strengthen those that we’re working with, but keep in mind, we look for partners with a design aesthetic, not just a name. Adding names is easy, but really connecting with them takes a lot of resources.
Although these names are important, we don’t want to become just a house of brands. It’s a delicate balance to maintain.
HFB: Surya has a heart for giving back. Talk about that passion. Where does the urge to give back come from?
Tiwari: At the end of the day, we’re humans. We live and work in a community. Let’s face it, selling a rug is not the sexiest thing. We’re not just here to sell products. Life has a higher calling, a higher meaning than that. Our goal has been to remain connected in the communities in which we work by supporting causes that mean something to us.
For the last five years we’ve been contributing to great causes, and those efforts connect our team in an important way. It shows us higher meaning of life; it helps keep us above the clouds.