COLOMBIA – Exports of Colombian modular wooden furniture totaled USD 8,167,565 in the first nine months (9M) of 2016, down 2.9% compared with the same period 2015 (USD 8,413,422).

SPAIN – IKEA arrived in Spain 20 years ago and to celebrate it, the company open for the first time in the country two pop up shops in the center of Madrid and Barcelona, the two cities where it first settled in the peninsula in 1996.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) in coordination with the Dominican National Lottery, presented the ASONAINCO Exporter project, which seeks to improve production processes, financing and quality of the goods of fifty companies that are part of the National Association of Furniture, Mattresses and Allied Industries.

BRAZIL – While August furniture exports increased by around 13%, this year has been tough for furniture manufacturers in Brazil. 

COLOMBIA – Increased sales, particularly in the export markets, created the need for RTA Design to make significant investments to improve efficiency and expand production capacity by about 70%.

ITALY – According to an article by Mauro Spinelli issued in the World Furniture  #70/September 2016, the office furniture market in Europe recorded a positive growth for the second year in a row (+4.7% in 2015). 

GERMANY – The ALNO Group will be presenting trends and innovations from its product lines from 17 to 23 September in an exclusive design tour as part of the annual “Küchenmeile A30” exhibition.

ITALY – Within the current month of September will be completed an agreement that will bring Investindustrial, through its subsidiary B&B Italia, to become majority partner of Arclinea Arredamenti S.p.A..

SWEDEN – For FY2016, IKEA Group total sales amounted to EUR 34.2 billion (USD 37.6 billion), increasing by 7.1% against the previous year. Adjusted for currency impact, total sales increased by +7.9% and same store sales (sss) grew by 4.8%.

GERMANY – From 17 to 23 September Häcker Küchen will present its new products at this year’s in-house show in an entirely new exhibition with the motto “living spaces”. The exhibition will demonstrate how Häcker’s units can be individually and conveniently arranged to furnish a wide variety of living spaces, not just kitchens. The in-house show will take place at the company’s headquarters in Rödinghausen. 

GERMANY – Fabryki Mebli “Forte” S.A., one of the largest European furniture manufacturers, is expanding its product portfolio in the area of self-assembly furniture. The required wood-based material panels will be produced on a Siempelkamp press. 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – On July 11, executives of IKEA and Caucedo Logistics Center (CLC) celebrated the start of construction of the new IKEA regional logistics operations building, strategically located in the facilities of Port Caucedo.