GERMANY – At the press conference held on January 13 at imm cologne 2016, Dirk-Uwe Klaas, CEO of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM), presented the balance of the sector.

2015 was characterized as a successful year. Furniture “Made in Germany” is perceived in the market as a guarantee of performance and quality. This is reflected in the sales of € 14.4 billion for the period January to October 2015, 5.4% growth against the same period of 2014. The association projects that by the end of 2015 the annual growth rate will stand at 5%. By 2016 the industry expects more moderate growth considering that pressure of imports remains high.

Foreign markets provided a major impetus for growth. The total volume of exports in the first ten months of 2015 rose 5.6 percent to € 8.4 billion. In markets outside the EU, the weak euro has made furniture “Made in Germany” cheaper and stimulated exports. One third of exports of German furniture is sold in countries outside the EU. A look at the EU countries shows light and shadows with exports to the UK rising by 9.2 percent and to Switzerland 8.7 percent. The Dutch market was able to overcome its weak growth, German furniture exports to this important market rose 6.9 percent. The Spanish market is also recovering. From January to October 2015, growth was 22.4 percent against the same period last year. Exports to France, the main international market for German furniture, however, decreased by 1.1 percent and Austria also developed negatively with less than 0.2 percent growth. As for other major markets in the first 10 months of 2015 more German furniture was supplied to China (+ 3.7 percent) and the US (23.9 percent).