Sales up again by autumn

The German furniture industry has again started into autumn business with more positive figures. This is reported by the VDM on the basis of official sales statistics (Federal Statistical Office). Up to and including September 2019, sales increased in all segments of the industry. In addition, the positive order entries also point to better capacity utilization by the end of the year.

"Despite a still challenging market situation due to the rapidly increasing concentration in the furniture trade, the situation of the companies stabilized again at the beginning of autumn after a weak year so far", says Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the Federal Association VDM and the Herford Furniture Trade Associations.

In September 2019, the entire German furniture industry was able to increase its sales by 6.7 percent and thus almost offset the declines that had accumulated so far. However, an additional working day compared to the same month last year must be taken into account. The bottom line for the first nine months of the current year is therefore a barely relevant decline in sales of 0.2 percent. The 477 companies operating nationwide with more than 50 employees generated total sales of 13.25 billion euros and employed a total of 84,572 people as of the reporting date.

The German kitchen furniture industry once again contributed to the stabilization, with sales rising by 10.03 percent in September compared to the same month last year. For the first nine months of the year, this results in a cumulative increase in sales of 3.1 percent, which is attributable in particular to good business abroad (+5.8 %). Sales to other EU countries rose particularly sharply by 6.8 percent, while domestic sales increased by 1.3 percent.

With a view to the rest of 2019, the figures from the internal order panel of the Association of the German Kitchen Furniture Industry show that orders for autumn trade fairs have risen noticeably. Up to and including September, the value of incoming orders was 4.8 percent higher than in the same period of the previous year. Orders from abroad rose particularly sharply by 5.5 percent. This indicates stable capacity utilization until the end of the year. "Kitchens 'Made in Germany' are apparently becoming more and more popular and the export strategies of our companies are paying off perceptibly," said Kurth.