Europe Office Furniture Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Europe Office Furniture Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The office furniture market in Europe is anticipated to witness strong growth in the forecast period. Some of the major factors attributing to this growth are the increasing number of offices in the region, and the emerging trends for office spaces such as flex offices and coworking spaces.

The European furniture sector is still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, with no certainty yet that the most dramatic swings in supply and demand are in the past. The contraction in 2020 was particularly large in the office furniture sector, following the decline in investment by both industry and the service sector.

Office furniture accounts for nearly 10-15% of the overall furniture consumption in Europe. The top five producers of office furniture in the region are Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. This region also exports office furniture products to North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle east. Almost 40% of the European exports of office furniture originate from Italy and Germany as these are the major manufacturing countries for office furniture.

European office furniture production increased significantly in the past 6 months. Around 84% of the office production in Europe originates in Western Europe, and the remaining production happens in Central Eastern Europe.

Office furniture consumption in Europe has also increased in the past few years, indicating the rising demand for furniture products in the region. Some of the major countries in the region that produce office furniture include Austria, Italy, France, and Spain in the western European market. Germany, Italy, Poland, France, and United Kingdom are the major producers of office furniture products in the Eastern part of Europe. However, Germany, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom, and France rank among the top 12 furniture manufacturers worldwide and hold a combined share of 66% of Europe's furniture production.

In terms of materials used, there is a trend away from the use of wood in EU office furniture production towards plastic and metal, although wood still accounts for important shares of production (80% in office desks, 30% in worktops, 50% in cabinets, storage and filing system and wall to wall units).

The German office furniture segment has been recording a stable upward trend for the past five years with a steady rise in the annual sales of office furniture in the country. The main drivers of growth were high-quality ergonomic swivel chairs, which encourage health-promoting seating, and furniture for communication zones. There is also a rising Demand for work tables with adjustable heights.

The demand for office furniture is also increasing in domestic businesses in the country due to the support of new work environments. There is also an increasing demand for ergonomic equipment for home offices, and other workplaces outside of the company locations are also increasing. Industry experts see digitization as a key factor in the continued strong demand for redesigned office workplaces.

Some of the major export markets of office furniture include France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland, and there was also increased demand from Italy, the Benelux countries, and Eastern Europe.

The European office furniture market is fragmented with the presence of players Steelcase, Kinnarps, Nowy Styl, and Herman Miller Europe. The European furniture manufacturers have a good reputation worldwide due to their creative capacity for new designs and responsiveness to new demands. The industry is able to combine new technologies and innovation with cultural heritage and style, and provides jobs for highly skilled workers.

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