1.1 Market definition

Reaching all types of consumers and presenting a very wide range of products, the furniture market nevertheless remains mainly a renewal market, i.e. a market in which replacement purchases are more important than purchases of first equipment. Because of the longer life of furniture, retailers rely on three factors to increase sales: fashion, new home construction and population mobility.

In a market historically controlled by players present in physical sales outlets (Ikea, But, Maisons du Monde, Gifi, etc.), traditional retailers are finding themselves in a difficult position.), traditional retailers are increasingly faced with the rise of e-commerce and the second-hand market and must therefore adapt to the new realities of the market. We generally distinguish several types of furniture:

Furniture
Kitchen furniture
Upholstery (sofas, armchairs and benches)
Bedding
Bathroom furniture
Garden furniture

The following study focuses on the product segments mentioned above, thus excluding complementary products such as decorative objects, lighting, household appliances and tableware from this market.

1.2 A booming global market

According to Global Market Insights data, the global furniture market was estimated to be worth more than $*** billion in **** and is expected to grow at *% annually through ****. It is mainly driven by US and Asia-Pacific demands, which are the largest but also the most dynamic markets (***).

Furniture market size World, ****-****, ...

1.3 The French market in transition

The way the size of the furniture market is measured by the various furniture organizations and federations (***) changed in ****, making the figures published before and after that date incomparable. Prior to ****, the market had demonstrated a certain stability with a stable turnover for about ten years. The furniture market is historically ...

1.4 An unbalanced foreign trade

Here we consider data provided by UN Comtrade for the product codes below:

****: Seats convertible or not into beds and parts thereof (***) ****: Furniture and parts thereof ****: Mattress supports, bedding, fitted with springs or upholstered, whether or not covered

France is much more of an importer than an exporter in the ...

1.5 The impact of covid on the furniture market

The year ****: a year apart

The year **** saw a decline in the furniture market of *.*%, equivalent to nearly *** million euros in sales. [***] The catastrophic start to the year, with a drop in activity of more than **% at the end of April ****, was made up for in the following months thanks to ...

2.1 A culturally strong demand

A survey conducted by YouGov in **** allows us to realize how significant interior design is in the lives of the French. Indeed, **% of French people said they attach importance to interior design, with **% even saying they are very interested. The French need their own interior design to feel at home. This ...

2.2 The purchase decision

As the furniture sector includes a large number of products, it is important to know which product categories are driving the market. Furniture accounts for the largest share of purchases (***).

Furniture sales by product category France, ****, in Source: ****

When it comes to purchasing criteria for furniture, the first criterion is price ...

2.3 A sector strongly linked to the real estate market

The furniture market is strongly linked to the real estate market in France, both new and old. Thus, a good indicator to take into account is the number of real estate transactions. Indeed, with each transaction, new owners are likely to invest in interior design and therefore in furniture for their ...

2.4 A growing demand for used furniture

The sale of second-hand furniture between individuals is growing rapidly. According to Daniel Fontaine, head of the FNAEM (***) [***]

The used furniture market thus allows the entry to new players in the overall furniture market, including online resale platforms of personal goods. In ****, only **% of home decor consumers reported buying exclusively new ...

2.5 Review of the fastest growing segment : the garden

The Promojardin website published in **** its review of the year ****, it reports a *.*% increase in market sales in **** driven by an increase in household consumption combined with mild and sunny weather.

garden market sales growth France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

In summary, Promojardin segments the market into the following categories: Landscaping, ...

2.6 The French's favorite furniture brands

The graph below was obtained from the survey conducted by OpinionWay about the favorite brands of the French in March ****. It is the answers of the respondents to the question "do you like this brand of furniture?" for each brand, the percentage corresponds to the share of respondents who answered " ...

3.1 Typology of market players

The production and distribution process of the furniture market can be broken down as follows:

Upstream of the sector, we find the forestry operators who provide the raw material The producers of screws and bolts, the manufacturers of wood panels and veneers, the producers of flat glass and the plastics processing ...

3.2 The different market players

The furniture sector is a highly competitive market. In ****, it included ***** companies (***) and employed **,*** employees [***]

Yet, despite this multitude of companies, the sector remains dominated by large groups. The three leaders (***) if we still calculated according to the old method. [***]

Leaders in the furniture market France, ****, in % Source: ****

One of the ...

3.3 Distribution channels

There are different distribution channels in the furniture market. We distinguish :

The large distribution of furniture Mid-range/high-end furniture (***) Specialists (***) The big DIY stores E-commerce (***) Other channels (***)

In ****, the preferred distribution channel for the French was the large-scale distribution of furniture, with **.*% of the market share. Specialized sales outlets were the ...

4.1 Different product categories

If we look at the websites of the different furniture and decoration brands, we can distinguish several categories of products on the furniture market. For example, on the French website of Ikea we find the following products (***):

Sofas Armchairs and sofas TV furniture Bookcases and shelves Office and living room storage Buffets ...

4.2 Prices in the furniture sector

The great diversity of the furniture offer exposed above logically implies a very wide range of prices according to the type of article considered and its quality. It is therefore difficult to give an overview of the prices charged on the furniture market. Nevertheless, we can consider the major price trends ...

4.3 Technological advances allow for changes in supply

Recent technological developments have allowed Ikea to launch an augmented reality (***). This technology could help e-commerce to fill its gaps and overcome the fact that customers can not touch or test the furniture online, they can now at least have an idea of what their home will look like with such ...