German Furniture Industry slow start 2020

GERMANY – In January 2020, sales in the German furniture industry were down by 1.9 percent reaching € 1.40 billion.

According to the VDM (German Furniture Industry Association) statistics based on data from the Federal Statistical Office, foreign sales were down by 0.8 percent to € 454.7 million. Sales in the domestic market fell 2.5 percent  to € 954.6 million.

In January 2019, total sales were up by 1.4 percent compared to same month 2018. Both domestic sales (+1.2 percent ) and exports (+1.9 percent ) contributed to this increase.

The kitchen furniture industry was the only segment in the German Furniture Industry that recorded growth in sales in January. According to VDM data, sales in the Kitchen segment rose by 4.5 percent  to € 415.3 million. This increase was driven by exports (+8.5 percent ); domestic sales were up 1.8 percent  compared to previous year.

In the office segment total sales were down 3.0 percent  to € 169.3 million (domestic: -4.6 percent , exports: +3.2 percent ) and shop furniture total sales fell by 2.5 percent  to 116, € 2 million (domestic: -4.7 percent , exports: +3.6 percent ) the growth achieved abroad was offset by losses in domestic business. Sales in the upholstered furniture segment were down 6.6 percent  to € 72.9 million (domestic: +2.1 percent , exports: -22.5 percent ). Sales also fell in the upholstered and mattress segments.