the wallpaper market | France

Wallpaper is a material used to cover and decorate the walls or internal partitions of a house or a building. The need to decorate walls has ancient origins, whereas the introduction of paper as a material dates back to the twelfth century in Europe, through its import from China.

There are generally 3 types of wallpaper:

- The traditional wallpaper, printed on paper;

- “Non-woven" wallpaper, composed not of paper but of polyester and cellulose fibers;

- Vinyl wallpaper, printed on a layer of PVC.

In addition to these relatively common products, there is a variety of wallpapers made of original materials, including metal wallpaper, flock velvet wallpaper.

The years 1970-1980 are perceived as the golden age of wallpaper. In France, 100 million rolls of wallpaper were sold each year before the massification of supply finally tired consumers and the market began to decline with structurally lower consumption volumes. This decrease has led to the closure of several companies such as Abelia (in 2005) or Essef (in 2006).