The German furniture industry recorded a slight increase in sales in September

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VDM/Fordaq
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In September, the divisions of the German furniture industry that focus on private furniture requirements increased their sales by 5.7% to € 1.3 billion. The upholstered furniture producers stood out in particular with a sales increase of 17.8% to € 92 million and the kitchen furniture manufacturers with an increase in sales of 11.6% to € 560 million. The “Other Furniture” division, which includes living, dining and bedroom furniture, but also small pieces of furniture, non-upholstered seating and furniture parts, posted almost stable business (minus 0.9% to € 603 million).

On the other hand, the situation in the capital goods sector is tense: due to the reluctance to invest in large parts of the economy, the office and shop furniture manufacturers posted sales of € 352 million in September, 14% less than in the previous year. Across all divisions, the German furniture industry saw an overall increase in sales of 0.8% to € 1.68 billion in September. While domestic sales rose by 1.9% to € 1.15 billion, foreign sales fell by 1.5% to € 533 million.

"The drastic drop in sales caused by the lockdown in April (minus 28.7%) and May (minus 23.3%) has meanwhile largely made up for in our industry," says Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM) and the Herford furniture associations, with a view to the latest surveys by the Federal Statistical Office. "In addition to the VAT reduction, the fact that consumers have shifted their budgets in favor of living and furnishing as a result of the limited travel and leisure options helped us."

 In the first nine months, the 465 German furniture manufacturers with 50 or more employees generated sales of € 12.4 billion, a decrease of 6.7% compared to the same period of the previous year. With a decline in sales of 5% to € 9.6 billion, the consumer-related areas performed significantly better than office and shop furniture (minus 11.9% to € 2.7 billion). The kitchen furniture industry was the only division that exceeded the previous year's level, increasing its sales by 1.8% to € 3.8 billion in the first nine months. The upholstered furniture industry registered a decline of 3.4% to € 650 million.

“The positive order situation makes us confident that our industry will continue to recover over the remainder of the year and start the coming year with a good cushion of orders,” says Kurth. According to internal surveys by the professional associations, incoming orders in the German home furniture industry rose by 10.8% in the first nine months of 2020 and by 9.1% in the German kitchen furniture industry. An increase of 2.6% was registered in the upholstered furniture industry. Incoming orders for October are also still clearly positive.

The German furniture industry is facing challenges in its international business, which - also in view of the current, corona-related closure of the furniture trade in some neighboring countries - continues to be difficult, as Kurth explains. "In addition, it is important to manage delivery bottlenecks, for example for chipboard, foam or fittings that arose from the lockdown and the unusually high demand in the summer months." % out. The kitchen and the residential segments are likely to do better.

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