The garden furniture market - Italy

The garden furniture market covers the entire range of outdoor furniture: garden chairs, garden sheds, but also lamps, tables and big appliances. The market, in global stagnation for five years, is mainly characterized by the level of renovations, replacement purchases are more important than original equipment purchases. Because of the very long life of the furniture, brands therefore rely on three factors to increase their sales: fashion and design effects, the construction of new homes and the mobility of the population. The furniture sector is very healthy in Italy, being one of the world's top exporters. The garden furniture market has been steadily growing since the turn of the decade and is currently valued between 425 and 450 million euros. It is driven by consumer attention to outdoor furniture but remains strongly influenced by its seasonality and economic cycles as a whole. Although demand remains linked to these exogenous factors, a new trend is taking hold: last minute purchases. Contrary to what one might think, the buying habits of these products - often associated with an important and thought out investment - can represent an impulsive expenditure. In the meantime, the supply side is attempting to stimulate purchasing decisions with a greater frequency in innovation, translating in an increasing attention paid to design and manufacturing materials. To date, there are a few thousand companies active in the production of garden items, whose survival is questioned by a progressively more competitive climate. In fact, the market is characterized by intense competition between the various distribution channels, such as large furniture manufacturers, outdoor furniture specialists, supermarkets, DIY stores, large gardening centres and classic furniture stores now have to cope with the remarkable growth of e-commerce. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic was beneficial to this market. With people spending more time at home, they turned to furnishing, decorating and rendering their outdoor living spaces more comfortable and welcoming.