FURNITURE MARKET IN CHINA

Objectives

The objective of this market briefing is to provide a general overview of Chinese

furniture industry.

Information Sources

Key sources of information for this report include all background information, several secondary

sources such as Association of China Furniture Industry, China Customs, interviews with industry

experts and proprietary databases.

In the report, sources are mentioned for chart, tables and key data. Secondary sources include dozens

of Chinese and English sources (News reports, publications, trade journals, government statistics and

bulletins, etc, as well as all companies’ web sites, press release etc.).

Market overview

China’s furniture industry has grown rapidly since China started its market-oriented economic reform

and opening towards the outside world in 1978s. China's furniture production and export have shown

rapid growth in the last ten years.

According to the data from China National Furniture Association, the production value of China

furniture industry in 2008 was US$ 42.81 billion, increased 20.38% compared with year 2007. The

total sales revenue for furniture manufacture industry was US$ 41.20 billion, increased 20.6%

compared with year 2007. As to the export value of China furniture industry, the total export value is

US$ 27.58 billion in 2008, increased 21.94% compared with year 2007. China has replaced Italy as the

first country to export the furniture and accounting over 20% of the total world trade in 2008.

In 2008, the total volume of furniture production was 518.7 million pieces, dropped 1.91% compared

with year 2007. A wide of variety of raw materials are used in production, including wood, rattan,

plastic and metal. Wooden furniture used to be the major production and exports of the industry, but

recently it has been overtaken by metal furniture. The total production for wooden furniture was 189.5

million pieces while the total production for metal furniture was 264.4 million pieces in 2008.

China offers a huge potential market for furniture makers. The increasing consumption power of

Chinese people, its booming property market and promising tourist industry would drive the demand

for both residential and hotel furniture, as well as other higher-end products.

According to official statistics, each year China completes infrastructure area of 1.2 billion square meters, among which 500 million square meters are for civilian households. That is to say, each year

about 5 million families need to upgrade their furniture, not to mention the booming demands for

office and public facilities. China National Furniture Industry Association estimates that by the end of

2010, the total output value of Chinese furniture industry will reach USD 40 billion, among which

export value will account for 25% of the total.

Lured by the market potential, some foreign companies are actively seeking for suitable entry to the

Chinese furniture market. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and some other international cities in China

now act as platforms for these companies to enter the mainland market with its long-time experience in

production and distribution network on the mainland, as well as the reputation for their good quality,

integrity, reliable delivery and management.