CSIL-Centre for Industrial Studies has presented the Word Furniture Outlook 2021 with the forecasts about the furniture market for 2022
According to CSIL, the furniture industry has doubled its volume from 2000 to 2021, reaching a worldwide volume of about $500 million, which will be surpassed in 2022. The pandemic has had very little effect on the furniture market, probably due to the fact that the home has played a major role in this long period. The long forced stay at home has driven furniture sales, allowing the entire industry to recover and return to pre-Covid levels very quickly.
Of all the world’s furniture production, more than a third is for export. Over the past two decades, exports have grown at the same rate as production, and imports have continued to grow as well. In 2021, the international trade of furniture is back to double-digit growth.
Read also the Altagamma Observatory on the luxury goods market after the pandemic
The furniture market in 2022: upholstered furniture
In the upholstered furniture sector, the strongest growth has been recorded in Asia and North America for the past ten years. As always, the lion’s share belongs to Asia Pacific, followed by North America and Europe. The most lively and important markets for upholstered furniture are those in which solid domestic production goes hand in hand with significant import. The major importers are the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Canada. The main supplies for the United States come from China, which is declining in favor of Vietnam; Germany obtains stable supplies from Poland, China and the Netherlands. France, the UK and Canada have China as their primary source; France and the UK are importers of Italian upholstered products, although the Italian share is declining.
As for trends, upholstered furniture is seeing a growing demand for sustainable products and “smart” products that can invent new functions. The consumer is at the center and asks for increasingly personalized products. Moreover, after the long forced stay at home, comfort is back at the top of consumers’ requirements.
Read also the Altagamma Observatory on the luxury goods market after the pandemic
The kitchen furniture market
The global market for kitchens is experiencing a positive trend and is expected to grow by 12% by 2021 – a growth mainly concentrated in Asia Pacific. Between 2010 and 2020, the main exporters of kitchens were Germany, Italy, China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Canada, while the main importers were the USA, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Norway and Malaysia.
Office furniture is growing thanks to home office
Nomadic and flexible home office furniture is also on the rise. Demand for this type of furniture to reorganize the domestic space is actually expanding. Alongside the demand for furniture, there is also an increasing demand for technology to make home spaces increasingly equipped as workspaces. In fact, among the best-selling office products are swivel chairs, home office tables, and tables with adjustable height.
Discover home office furniture
By 2022, then, the global furniture market (100 countries examined) is expected to grow by about 4%. Among the large markets (over $5 billion in furniture consumption), the countries expected to have the biggest rebound in furniture consumption are European and Asian countries.
