Against the backdrop of independent Georgia’s turbulent history, few companies have successfully operated since the 1990s while facing the future ambitiously. One such company is furniture salon Belux, which is approaching its 30th anniversary. The Head of Import Department, Lela Pirashvili, tells Forbes Georgia about the path the company has traveled and what the new Belux showroom – set to open next year – will look like.
By Anton Kokaia
Belux opened almost 30 years ago. There aren’t many companies in Georgia that trace their roots to the 1990’s and continue developing to this day. What accounts for this longevity?
30 years isn’t simply a number – it’s an era we watched unfold before our eyes. When Belux was founded, “interior culture” and “European quality” in Georgia felt less like real options and more like dreams.
From the 1990s to today, Georgia has undergone a huge transformation. Business survival wasn’t just about finances – it was about an instinct to sense what people needed when the environment was chaotic. We were never just a furniture store. We were a window into European aesthetics. We filtered the best global trends and adapted them to the Georgian character. We evolved alongside our customers, often getting ahead of their needs by one step.
Furniture is an individual choice – you let it into your private space, where your family’s story is being written. Our marketing strategy was always built not on selling, but on offering a lifestyle. Belux isn’t just a business; it’s a 30-year dialogue with Georgian consumers about aesthetics, comfort, and quality. That unbroken dialogue is the foundation of our longevity. Belux has built a reputation where the name itself is a guarantee of quality.
Belux is proof that business longevity is defined not by luck, but by professional integrity. For 30 years, our company has demonstrated that trustworthiness is the most durable capital a business can accumulate.
What is Belux’s concept built on, and has it changed over time?
Our concept formed around one clear idea from the very beginning – quality must always be higher than its price. Over 30 years, that strategy has maintained the company the status of “accessible premium quality.” Our professionalism lies precisely in managing that balance.
Belux’s concept has rested on three core pillars since day one: professionalism, reliability, and – most importantly – the largest and most diverse selection in Georgia. Our core idea was, and remains, that customers shouldn’t have to choose between quality and variety. Quite the opposite – we offer a space where every major direction in the global furniture industry comes together.
Scale has always been central to Belux’s concept. Our goal was to build a platform offering the most diverse selection in Georgia – furniture spanning every style, texture, and design, from classic to modern minimalism. Professionalism lies in managing this diversity. We ensure that the enormous assortment is not chaotic, but systematically curated and quality-filtered.
Has the concept changed over time? It has developed, but its essence hasn’t changed. Our commitment to quality and our ambition to offer the widest selection in Georgia have remained.
Thirty years ago and today, Belux is a place where anyone, whatever their taste, finds an item they’ve been dreaming of. What changed is only the scale and the approach. Where we once relied on imports from just a few leading countries, our geography is now far broader. We continuously modernize our assortment, add innovative materials and designs, so that our variety always reflects global trends.
Belux works with many manufacturers. What criteria matter most when selecting them?
For me, managing imports has never been just about transporting products. It’s a rigorous selection process. I joined the Belux team almost from the very beginning, and over the years I’ve personally visited hundreds of factories worldwide. Professionalism here shows in knowledge of details: materials used, processing technology, ecological composition. We don’t rely on catalogues alone. We know the anatomy of every product we bring into Georgia. When you have information at a professional level, your decisions are calibrated not for short-term profit, but for long-term quality.
As a company with three decades behind it, we’ve built a rigorous filter for selecting partners. For Belux, a supplier isn’t just a product source. They’re a link in a chain that must carry our reputational responsibility.
Two fundamental criteria determine our choice of manufacturers. The first is technological production culture – we prioritize manufacturers who have not just design vision, but a well-functioning, high-tech production line. Professionalism is in the details: how wood is processed, fabric density, what mechanisms are used. We only work with suppliers who continuously modernize their production. That guarantees the product stands the test of time.
The second criterion is optimal balance between quality and cost. This is where the “accessible premium quality” formula plays out. We look for manufacturers whose products match the world’s leading premium brands technically, but whose pricing is rational – companies that invest in product quality rather than brand marketing. That lets us offer customers more than they pay for.
For a furniture salon, presentation matters as much as the product. What are Belux’s showrooms like, and what sets them apart?
I would say that Belux’s showrooms are a direct reflection of the company’s scale and professionalism. When you’ve spent 30 years building a brand whose core promise is quality and accessible premium quality, a showroom can’t be just an exhibition space for products – it must be a place where customers receive complete information and visual experience at a professional level.
Belux owns one of the largest exhibition spaces in the region. Our selection is so vast it couldn’t fit in a single plane. That’s exactly why we use a thematic division principle in our presentation. For customers, this is comfortable to navigate, too – bedrooms, living rooms and soft furniture, office furniture, outdoor furniture, and an outlet are each presented as independent spaces. This lets people fully concentrate on their specific need without being overwhelmed by the variety.
The showroom presentation reinforces what we’ve already discussed – quality exceeds price. Placement of items is designed to clearly reveal material texture, level of craftsmanship, and the perfection of details. The showroom’s scale lets us show several variations of the same style, giving customers freedom of choice and added confidence in their decision.
Delivery timelines are a significant challenge in the furniture industry. How does Belux manage such a large assortment and inventory effectively?
You’re right, managing delivery timelines and inventory stability is one of the most technically demanding tasks in furniture industry. At Belux, handling this challenge isn’t accidental success – it’s a precise logistical and operational system based on years of experience.
Over the years, we’ve refined our relationships with international carriers and manufacturers. That experience means we know the specifics of each region and port, seasonal cycles of production, and potential delays. It lets us plan delivery timelines not theoretically, but with practical precision.
One of Belux’s key advantages is that we don’t operate order-to-order. Years of practice showed us that time is critical for customers. Therefore, the company maintains vast warehouse infrastructure, allowing us to keep large stocks on hand at all times. Our experience helps us balance the assortment correctly – we know what demand will look like so customers don’t wait months for an item.
We also have extensive crisis management experience. Over 30 years we’ve weathered countless global and local crises, which taught us flexibility. Whilst supply chain disruptions prove critical for newer companies, Belux has ready alternative routes and partner resources to ensure that the process isn’t halted.
This is the highest form of reliability – when customers know a company’s experience is a guarantee of peace of mind. Our many years of experience let us be predictable partners in an unpredictable field like international imports.
Next year, Belux enters its fourth decade. How do you envision the company’s development over the next ten years?
Entering the fourth decade is for us not just an anniversary date – it’s a new, higher level of responsibility. When you have 30 years of solid foundation, your vision for the future becomes more expansive and ambitious. We see Belux’s future in the synthesis of tradition and innovation.
Our development strategy covers several key directions. First, technological innovation and digital experience. Our goal is to bring our professional expertise into the digital world. In the coming decade, Belux will invest even more in technology, allowing customers to use virtual reality and remote consultation to select exactly what they want before ever setting foot in a showroom.
Second, sustainable development and eco-responsibility. The defining challenge of the next decade is ecology. Belux plans to tighten selection criteria further, giving preference to manufacturers using fully renewable resources and energy-efficient technologies. Our goal is for accessible premium quality to be not only functional and beautiful, but ethical and safe for the environment.
Third, consolidating regional leadership. Our ambition is for Belux to remain the leading institution in the furniture industry – not just in Georgia, but across the region. Our years of experience position us to become the foremost consultants in the development of interior culture. We will continue refining the concept of large-scale showrooms, so that customers always receive world-class service and product.
It’s also significant that next year, as Belux steps into its fourth decade, we will present customers with a new showroom – a conceptual space oriented toward a higher market segment. The exclusive collections and interior solutions it will feature will pleasantly surprise even the most refined taste. It will be a summation of our 30 years of experience: even more quality, even higher aesthetics.
We have a past we’re proud of, and a future we’re ready for. The next decade will be a time of preserving the professional values that brought us here, and meeting new challenges, beginning with next year’s grand opening.
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