CSIL World Furniture Outlook Seminar was held last April 10th, during Salone del Mobile Milan. The Seminar welcomed some 150 participants from over 100 countries and 12 international keynote speakers.
World production of furniture is worth about US$ 450 billion[1]. This estimate is based on CSIL processing of data from official sources, both national and international, that cover the 70 most important countries. The furniture production of all high income countries combined covers 45% of the world total. World furniture production has been growing at a 8% average in the last decade with a major decrease in 2009 followed by resumption of growth in subsequent years. In the decade from 2002 and 2012 production grew at a yearly average of 18% in emerging countries and +1% in advanced economies. Leading furniture producers in order of importance are: China, United States, Italy and Germany. All the main emerging producers (together with China, also India, Poland, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam and Malaysia) had very substantial growth rates.
Major 200 Furniture Manufacturers Worldwide
After the crisis, the global furniture market is again on a growing trend, with opportunities arising in different parts of the world. Trade barriers are lowering and import penetration is increasing. Foreign markets are within everyone’s reach. On the other side, global sourcing strategies and international fragmentation of production are moving the operating boundaries of companies far from the headquarters. Are the largest furniture players catching the opportunities through effective internationalization strategies? Are the key players performing better than other companies? Is there some lesson to learn? CSIL is carrying on a research on the 200 major furniture manufacturers worldwide, gathering data at company level, in order to answer to those questions. The selection of the 200 companies was based on the following criteria: (i) Primary activity of the company is furniture manufacturing, (ii) Company turnover relating to furniture is higher than US$ 100 million; (iii) Financial information on the company is available. Major 200 furniture manufacturers are geographically distributed as illustrated in the map below. Around 30% of the leading manufacturers are headquartered in emerging countries, in line with the changing geography of furniture production on a global scale. Major 200 furniture manufacturers accounts for around 15% of world furniture production. According to CSIL preliminary results, the aggregated turnover of the 200 major furniture manufacturers has been growing since the year 2009, but the growth for companies headquartered in emerging countries has been higher (the rate of growth was almost double).
World Trade Of Furniture
World trade of furniture amounted to US$ 95 billion in 2009 (-19% on the previous year) and grew back to the pre-recession level in 2012. A substantial increase is expected also for 2013. Growth in world trade of furniture over the last decade has many explanatory factors. Among them: market openings, global sourcing strategies of key players (both manufacturers and retailers) and increasing consumption in emerging markets. World furniture trade basically involves 70 countries. The leading furniture importers are the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The major furniture exporters are China, Germany, Italy, and Poland.
By CSIL
