Second hand furniture market at Najma area is dying a slow death
If you arrived in Qatar a few years ago with the intention of settling in the country for any period of time, then one of your first-ever trips after finding a house would be to the old market at the Najma area.
With hundreds of shops selling second-hand furniture, it was a veritable heaven for furnishing your first house. A lot of people have found items for their homes from these back alleys.
But now, several factors are leading to a slow death for these shops. Along with falling house rents, prices of used furniture have also witnessed a steep drop.
Nowadays, most of the newer accommodation comes fully furnished. Since a lot of people are moving away from the country, there is also an oversupply of household items.
Qatar Tribune, citing sources from Souq Haraj at Najma, said furniture prices may fall even further, thanks to availability of more furnished apartments.
“The practice of furnishing apartments with used furniture hardly exists in Qatar today. Expatriates, who have moved recently, are being offered well-furnished residential apartments with new furniture and gadgets. So, the demand for used furniture has already dropped significantly,” said Ummer Hassan Koya, a salesman at a wooden furniture shop.
Some of the major reputed shops moving out of the locality to newer areas, availability of cheap furniture from China and mushrooming popularity of online sales of furniture have also added speed to the old shops’ demise.
Have you visited the old shops at Najma any time? What have your experience been? Do you look at it with a tinge of sadness? Or do you think it’s good riddance? Let us know in the comments section!
Picture courtesy: qatar-tribune.com
Now all the mostly all small shops are struggling to survive due to hike in rent of shops. Soon they may die, if something not done to sustain their lives. The bulldozers (Corporates) are wiping out the small businesses. The people want same "SALE PRICE" as hyper markets in bakkalas too. How can it possible.
Even the person work in MEDEA don't have such sense, who fight in a Bakkala for it. This is the situation now.
Lets not cover our limitations by blaming China ...............
They can play tricks like sale , sale , sale 33% down etc to attract the new customers ............ or we can write an article in the two newspapers that it is not healthy to sleep on the beds which are more than 5 years old ........... it absorbs your energy ..... .... I am 100% sure sales will pick up from the nest weekend ............. a tried & tested formula ............. .
Society changes, tastes change - life goes on. As the article says , some of the shops are moving to new , perhaps cheaper locations. Let the market go
This is sad.. We must support this market .. Will buy something this weekend