Dirk-Uwe Klaas, CEO of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM)
For Dirk-Uwe Klaas, CEO of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM) in Bad Honnef, it’s obvious why home styling has finally been discovered as the latest hot topic: “People spend approx. 340 days a year in their own home. That’s why an increasing number of people are coming to see home as a place for self-fulfilment. Nowhere else can you indulge your own tastes as freely as in your own four walls.”
Cars instead of sofas – a lean period for German furniture manufacturers
But even if home styling has become a cult – is it actually still possible to make money with furniture in the face of shrinking private budgets and the massively subsidised bargains available on the automotive market right now? At first glance, the German furniture industry’s half-yearly figures indicate a resounding “no”. With sales of 7.6 billion euros, German furniture manufacturers were an alarming 13.8 percent or 1.2 billion euros down on the previous year’s figure.
However, in view of the unique economic situation right now, any serious answer to the profitability question must take account of figures from earlier years as well. Back in 2008, for instance, the results painted a very different picture: furniture producers ended the year with growth of 1.6 percent. Although there was a slight decline in domestic sales, this was more than offset by export growth of 4.3 percent as compared to the previous year.
07. October 2009
Categories: Business, Interior Trends 2010, Trends
Tags: Andreas Bogdanski, BBE, BVDM, CSIL, Dirk-Uwe Klaas, discount furniture retailers, domestic sales, export, furniture industry, furniture market, Hans Strothoff, Höffner, home styling, Ikea, Interior Trends 2010, kitchen, Made in Germany, market data, MHK, profitability, retail sector, sales volume, specialist retailers, statistics, Steinhoff Europe Upholstery Group, Trend Book, trend colors, Trendboard, Trends, VDM, world imports, XXXLutz
