1.1 Presentation

The office furniture market in France includes all the players involved in the design of workspaces, including manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Office furniture is designed specifically for use in commercial and corporate spaces, such as meeting rooms, individual workstations, cafeterias and lounges. It can be segmented by product type (seating, workstations, tables, storage units and accessories) or by material (wood, plastic, metal, fabric and leather).

The global office furniture market has been growing well in recent years, with some estimates putting the market's compound annual growth rate at 4.66% over the period 2020-2026.

In France, the market is in good health. It is still growing at a significant rate of +6% in 2021. But the market suffers from strong international competition: since 2018, foreign groups hold a major part of the market (51%).

The distribution players today share the market between resellers (41%), direct sales by manufacturers (33%), mass retail (21%) and online sales (5%).

The trend in the market is towards the sale of services, such as design advice. Thus, within the market itself, the sale of services is experiencing the most significant growth.

The return of the matter of well-being in the workplace is leading to a trend towards the reinvention of the workspace. In France, the traditional office is losing ground to flex offices and co-working spaces. In these new spaces, comfort is the key word. Thus, the demand is turning towards quality while maintaining its requirements in terms of optimization.

1.2 A growing global market

According to Icrowdfr, the global office furniture market was estimated to be worth $** billion in **** and is expected to grow at a CAGR of *.*% to reach $**.** billion by ****. This growth is largely due to the emergence of the service economy in many developing countries.

Global Office Furniture Market World, ****-****, US$ ...

1.3 The French market is in good shape

According to a report published by Ameublement Français, a professional organization for furniture and space planning players of the market, the French office furniture market is in good shape and has been able to recover from its loss of turnover due to Covid-**.

The French office furniture market France, ****-****, ...

1.4 Foreign trade

France is largely an importer of office furniture: imports increased by **.**% in **** to *** million euros, but remained well above exports. Exports increased by **.**% compared to the previous year. In **** they represented ***.* million euros. To study the foreign trade figures we used the CPF code: **.** "Office and store furniture".

Foreign trade in ...

1.5 The impact of covid-19 on the office furniture market

The impact of covid-** on office furniture producers

Office and store furniture manufacturing turnover index France, ****-****, Base *** in **** Source: ****

NAF code: **.**Z "Manufacture of office and store furniture

The graph above highlights the sales indices over two different periods: the first one from February **** to February ****, a period that covers ...

2.1 Construction of non-residential premises

Space started and built France, Aug. **** - Nov. ****, in thousands of square meters Source: ****

The construction of non-residential premises inherently fuels the office furniture market, as these will need to be furnished and fitted out. As a result, there will be slow and steady growth in the area of premises under ...

2.2 Older office real estate hits record highs

The demand for furniture also depends on the number of real estate transactions. Furniture is indeed a capital good with a much lower purchase frequency than other consumer goods, especially for professionals whose objective is to maximize the life of their furniture due to its cost. However, when a professional conducts ...

2.3 Demand trends

In general, demand for capital goods can be supported by new trends that reflect a search for well-being and comfort. The attention paid by companies to their furniture therefore has a positive effect on the furniture market by supporting the demand for renewal and thus contributes to sustaining national production. In ...

3.1 Overview of the value chain

Source: ****

3.2 The manufacture of office furniture

change in the number of office and store furniture manufacturing companies France, ****-**** Source: ****

change in the number of employees of office and store furniture manufacturers France, ****-****, in units Source: ****

The office furniture sector is in a phase of concentration: between **** and **** the number of companies working in this sector ...

3.3 Stores selling office furniture

Source: ****

In France, in ****, the number of office furniture wholesalers was estimated at *** (***). The Ile-de-France region had a preponderant place since, **,**% of the wholesale businesses of office furniture were present on the region in ****, and these companies employed *** people, that is to say **,**% of the total number of employees.

3.4 Distribution channels

Distribution of sales

Direct sales were the main distribution channel in ****. Indirect sales are not far behind and take the *nd place with **% of the market share according to French Furniture. Finally come sales via partners with *.*% of the market share.

Distribution of sales by distribution channel France, ****, % Source: ****

In addition, ...

4.1 Top selling products

Office furniture sales are dominated by seating, desks and tables and storage, which accounted for almost **% of total billings in ****.

Breakdown of office furniture sales by product France, ****, % Source: ****

Between **** and ****, all growth rates for these categories are negative due to the Covid-** crisis: from -**.*% for display furniture to -**.*% ...

4.2 Price comparison

Classic products

The trend is to move upmarket. Producers insist on design, height-adjustable desks are progressing, as well as ergonomic and executive chairs. France has its elite producers with Caray, France Bureau and Silvera.

The distinction between high-end and low-end is particularly significant in terms of price, as shown in Table ...

5.1 Regulatory framework

When selling new furniture, the labeling of a number of characteristics is mandatory:

The price and the enumeration of the items offered for that price, such as the delivery that would or would not be included, the main materials, the manufacturing process, the finish, etc. The overall dimensions, environmental contribution, Biocidal ...

5.2 NAF classification

The manufacture of home textiles is referenced by Insee under code **.**Z entitled "Manufacture of office and store furniture".

It groups together the following items:

the manufacture of seating for offices and shops, hotels, restaurants and public premises; manufacture of seats for theaters; manufacture of special furniture for stores: counters, display ...