The average German only replaces his sofa with a new one every 8-12 years. Don’t you sometimes wish there was a scrapping incentive for furniture too?
We in the furniture industry aren’t calling for subsidies – we just want equal treatment for all sectors. Instead of getting people to scrap their cars, the politicians ought to be scrapping taxes for normal citizens and SMEs so they’ve got more money left in their pockets and budgets at the end of the month – money they can use however they see fit.
The imm cologne’s Trendboard is anticipating a return to more quality consciousness as a response to the economic crisis. Is “real” quality actually still affordable these days?
We’re living in a time when people are refraining from quick consumption again so yes, you could say people have started to change their mentality. They’re becoming more sensitive to how we use the world’s resources and looking for things that promise value and durability again. That’s why there’s an increasing demand for sustainability and value in our industry too. For earlier generations it was normal not to follow every furniture or clothing fashion or go along with every new style that came out. Then there was a period of rapid and changing consumption. The pleasure was often short-lived and the products interchangeable.
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20. October 2009
Categories: Business
Tags: Association of the German Furniture Industry, Business, Cologne, consumers’ changing mentality, design, designers, Dirk-Uwe Klaas, eco-compatibility, ecology, electrotechnology, export, Frank A. Reinhardt, furniture, furniture industry, Gemütlichkeit, green design, higher education, imm cologne, innovation, interview, LED light, lighting, LOHAS, market data, mass-market products, polarisation, premium design, purchase criterion, quality, renewable resource, revenue, sales, surface optimisation, sustainability, VDM, wood
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.
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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
Looking good for imm cologne: according to the European Consumption Barometer 2009, a study by Dresdner-Cetelem Kreditbank, Germany remains Europe’s largest sub-market for the furniture industry with an estimated market volume of 27 billion euros. Whilst sales have decreased slightly in Europe as a whole, in Germany they have stayed at the same level as in the previous financial year.
Purchasing intentions in Germany remain fairly stable, far above the European average, and are also a positive signal for the current year. Overall, Germany is Europe’s largest sub-market for items of furniture. The British and Italian markets lag some distance behind in terms of market volume. Similarly, the Germans were also able to claim the largest furnishing budget per household for the year 2008. German citizens invested 680 euros on average in sofas and kitchen tables. British households came in second with an average of 663 euros. The Italians were soundly beaten, investing far less money in furnishings with an average of 559 euros.
“Anyone wanting to earn money through furniture turns to Germany, and imm cologne is the biggest event in this market. Trade fairs like imm cologne set the signals for our future economic success”, says Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse. “With the changes in the German trade fair calendar, imm cologne is the only option for companies wishing to present themselves and theirproducts in Germany at a trade fair before spring 2010″, adds Udo Traeger, director of the division Furniture, Interior Design and Textiles at Koelnmesse.
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17. September 2009
Categories: Business, Exhibitors
Tags: Business, CDH, Cologne, commercial agents, distribution, European market, furnishing budget, furniture market, Gerald Böse, imm cologne 2010, international, international platform, Koelnmesse, market data, market volume, media representatives, purchasing intentions, sales, specialist traders, top brands, trade associations, Udo Traeger
The average German only replaces his sofa with a new one every 8-12 years. Don’t you sometimes wish there was a scrapping incentive for furniture too? 
