Kitchen furniture producers saw a sales increase of 4% in the 1H totaling €2.5 bn. In the office furniture sector, a total of €1.1 bn. meant a plus of 7.9% yoy. The manufacturers of shop fittings and other commercial furniture generated a turnover of €920 m. (+7.2%). Producers of upholstery furniture, on the other hand, suffered losses of 5.3% with a total value of €480 m. Sales of home furnishings, other furniture and furniture components dropped by 1.6% with a total of €3.7 bn.
Furniture exports in Germany gained 2.2% to a total of €5.5 bn. Exports to France, the most important export market for the German furniture sector, increased by 3.5%. Positive developments were also observed on the Dutch (+6.2%), Polish (+10%) and Spanish (+6.1%) markets. Declines occurred for furniture exports to Austria (-1.3%) and Switzerland (-3.8%). The most important growth markets for German furniture producers are the United States (+9.5%), China (+25.9%) and Russia (+14%). The quota of industrial exports (share of directly exported goods by German furniture producers of the total sector sales) increased to 32.6% in the 1H. According to the VDM, this is a new peak value.
