The European Market for Office Furniture

This is the twenty-nine edition of the report The European market for office furniture and it analyses production, consumption, prices, distribution channels and international trade of office furniture in the European continent.

A forecast on office furniture consumption in 2017 and 2018 is provided.

The report analyses sales data and market shares of top European office furniture manufacturers. Ranking of company sales are broken down by country, by segment (seating, desking systems, executive office furniture, filing systems/storage, wall-to-wall units, meeting rooms and communal areas).

The report also analyses the office furniture competitive system: prices, distribution channels and short company profiles.

Office furniture industry production is broken down by product type (seating: Executive office chairs, Operative office chairs, Visitor chairs, Folding/Stackable chairs and others; operative desking systems: adjustable and not adjustable, free standing and panel based; executive office furniture; filing systems/storage; wall-to-wall units; furniture for meeting rooms and communal areas).

Trends of office furniture prices by country and data on employment and turnover per employee are also provided.

The report also provides a focus on office swivel chairs in Europe: a detailed analysis on office seating quantities and brand positioning. The number and the performance of swivel chairs sold in 2015 and 2016 and brand positioning by average "net price", is given for seven major countries (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden). Values include both products manufactured in Europe and products imported from Extra European countries.

The analysis of office furniture distribution channels by country covers: direct sales, office specialists, non-specialists and other. A breakdown of office furniture sales by distribution channel is available for the top companies.

A breakdown of European office furniture exports and imports is provided by country and by product type (office furniture and office seating).

Addresses of about 210 office furniture companies mentioned in the report are also included.

The European considered countries of the study have been expanded from 16 to 30:

• Northern Europe: Denmark (DK), Finland (FI), Norway (NO) and Sweden (SE);
• Western Europe: Belgium (BE), France (FR), Ireland (IE), Netherlands (NL) and the United Kingdom (UK). Unless otherwise specified, figures for Belgium include those for Luxembourg;
• Central Europe (DACH) : Germany (DE), Austria (AT) and Switzerland (CH);
• Southern Europe: Greece (GR), Italy (IT), Portugal (PT) and Spain (ES);
• Central-Eastern Europe: Poland (PL), Czech Republic (CZ), Slovakia (SK), Hungary (HU) and Romania (RO), Slovenia (SL), Croatia (HR), Bulgaria (BG), Cyprus (CY), Malta (MT), Estonia (EE), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT).

Highlights

According to CSIL, the office furniture market in Europe increased by around 2% in 2016. This is a highly concentrated market where the top 20 players represent almost 43% of the total European output, growing by over 7 points if compared to 2011. Some major acquisitions recently operated are: SB Seating acquiring Malmstolen and Offecct, Lammhults Design Group incorporating Ragnars, Abstracta and Morgana, Hali merging with Svoboda, Bene purchasing the majority of Neudörfler. Concerning the competitive system, Steelcase is still the market leader in Europe. Recently the company and Microsoft announced a partnership in order to develop the technology-enabled spaces designed to boost creative work. Regarding office furniture products the sector is facing major changes with emerging new workplaces conceiving and an increasing technology integration. Smart devices are more and more integrated in the product itself.

Table of Contents

Abstract of Table of Contents

1. SCENARIO: Office furniture in Europe

• 1.1 Office furniture in Europe: market evolution and figures by country
• 1.2 Leading groups in Europe and their market shares
• 1.3 Current trends and forecasts for 2017 and 2018

2. BUSINESS PERFORMANCE: Office furniture main statistics and Macroeconomic indicators by country

• 2.1 Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden)
• 2.2 Western Europe (Belgium, France, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom)
• 2.3 Central Europe (DACH: Austria, Germany, Switzerland)
• 2.4 Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain)
• 2.5 Central-Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia)

3. INTERNATIONAL TRADE: Exports and Imports of office furniture

• 3.1 Exports of office furniture, 2011-2016
  • Exports and leading exporters by segment, by country and by geographical destination
  • Office seating and Office furniture excluding seating
• 3.2 Extra European destinations. Exports and leading exporters
• 3.3 Imports of office furniture, 2011-2016
  • Imports and leading importers by segment, by country, by geographical origin and provenance, 2011-2016
  • Office seating and Office furniture excluding seating
  • Chinese imports penetration by country

4. SUPPLY STRUCTURE

• 4.1 Product segments. Main figures, production by product type and largest countries.
  • Office seating
  • Operative desking
  • Executive furniture
  • Filing systems
  • Wall-to-wall units
  • Furniture for meeting rooms and communal areas
• 4.2 Employment and investment activity

5. DISTRIBUTION AND PRICES

• 5.1 Distribution channels. Evolution and sales by channel in a sample of companies
• 5.2 Prices: focus on office swivel chairs in Europe.
  • Top 5 markets
  • Brand positioning by average net price and number of units sold (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Poland)

6. COMPANY MARKET SHARES BY PRODUCT: Total Production in a sample of companies, 2015-2016

• 6.1 Total sales.
• 6.2 Office seating.
• 6.3 Office desking.
• 6.4 Executive furniture.
• 6.5 Filing systems (storage products, archiving systems, personal filings and cabinets).
• 6.6 Wall to wall units.
• 6.7 Furniture for communal areas.

7. COMPANY MARKET SHARES BY COUNTRY: Sales of office furniture in a sample of companies, 2015.

• 7.1 Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden)
• 7.2 Western Europe (Belgium, France, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom)
• 7.3 Central Europe (DACH: Austria, Germany, Switzerland)
• 7.4 Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain)
• 7.5 Central-Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia)
• 7.5 Sales of office furniture in a sample of European companies, 2016 in the Extra-European Union and Russia, Middle-East, Asia-Pacific, North America, Central-South America, Africa)

APPENDIX 1: International Trade tables

APPENDIX 2: List of Mentioned Companies

Selected companies mentioned:

Among top European office furniture manufacturers: Steelcase, Kinnarps, Nowy Styl, Ahrend Group, Haworth Europe, Herman Miller Europe, Sedus, Senator