From the Goan Attic

How many times have you passed by a billboard or a shop covered in painted detail of a company’s advertisement that constantly reminds you of a brand that simply screams traditional Goa? ‘The Attic’ a brand name familiar to most Goan’s has been around for a decade now and most definitely fits the bill of offering a glimpse into the old Goa. Dealing with tasteful antique furniture that is appealing, not only to those who take a special liking towards such carefully crafted wood works but everyone else willing to spend a minute or two, just to have a peek at their eye grabbing collections.

This range of explicit antique furniture that the brand has to offer has made its way to other countries of the world that have been longing to own a piece of our traditional Goeam(Goa). The two founders of The Attic, Maurilio Mendonca and Daniel Ferrao have been on business trips to places like, Portugal and alike. Therefore they make sure that the past Goan legacy is given its well deserved limelight.
Best friends from school, the two have come a long way since then, Mendonca a post grad in computers and Ferrao a post grad in telecommunication and engineering realised how unsatisfied they were with the jobs they had in Mumbai. Ferrao’s dad had a business dealing with antiques, and since both friends were well exposed to the world of antiques from a young age, you can say that they definitely knew their way around the industry. So not long since their return to Goa they came up with the idea of setting up a furnishing business. They set their minds to this idea and with a lot of effort collected an initial investment of Rs. 50,000/-. After a thorough market research coupled with them playing their cards right, they set up their first venture, “D.M’s Woodcraft Furniture’s”, where they would create replicas of old furniture. But that was nineteen years ago and the business still runs flawless. From the moment they stepped foot into this business things began to look up for them. So they felt the urge to setup a whole new venture and expand their horizon.
It was about five years after the set up of D.M’s that the two wanted to deal with more than just furniture, and that’s when ‘Greenscape’ a landscaping and plant nursery was started. Greenscape too, was quite successful right from the commencement of business. Two years later both directors decided to branch out once again and that’s when ‘Novoferro’ a company specialised in the buying and selling of designer furniture and furniture made from wrought iron came to life. All these companies are located at Camar Chazana and ‘The Attic’ the company name that definitely rings a bell with most, is also located at Panjim now. This brand was yet another one of the director’s plans for expansion and also their most heard of.
But they refused to stop at just that! Keeping in mind their motto ‘know your limits’ they saw an opportunity and grabbed it when the time was right. This opportunity was none other than the real estate business and hence the name ‘The Attic Constructions (India) Pvt. Ltd.’ Mapusa, only this time their business was none like those before. The company delivers services of real estate developers, builders and contractors. Their first project has already been set into motion at Karaswada, ‘The Attic Sapphire’.
When asked for the secret ingredient behind the continuous success of every venture the partnership has undertaken, all Mendonca had to say was “we abstain from being arrogant and we always do our homework.” The company has seen a series of fortunate returns with every business move they have made. They simply give props to the concept of ‘playing it smart’.
But all this dose not explain their clients loyalty, that plays a major role in the success of the company’s dealings. Like I was told, the directors prefer maintaining a direct customer relationship, i.e. they rather sort out any customer queries themselves. Therefore, building a bond so much greater than that created advertising. Their happy customers are so pleased by their warm hospitality that they make sure the word gets out, thus creating a buzz about the company trough mere word of mouth. Their other advertising strategies are the conventional yet effective in a niche market situation, personal selling. They also advertise trough hoardings, billboards, magazines etc. They have their very own web site too which they use to make sales online to potential clients.
When asked about the fierce world of competition Mendonca simply chuckled and said “There is a reason why we are No.1 in Goa, its because we know the ropes in this business. We know the dealers and we know the best and right prices. And we obviously know better than to trick a customer into paying the wrong price.”
The two enthusiastic business partners also have future plans of setting up a mall that would deal with the sale of interior products, products that could someday soon furnish your home to give it that dash of trough Goan comfort. However, this will have to stay a dream for now. But as we have already seen these aspiring visionaries really seem to know what they are doing, and definitely know how to take and idea and turn it into something big!