STEPHEN POWNEY: HOW HAS THE EUROPEAN FURNITURE SECTOR FARED DURING THE PANDEMIC?
EDI SNAIDERO (ES): It was a difficult year for the European furniture industry but not dramatic – the sector reduced 7.4% in 2019-20. Some sub-sectors were more affected, such as the office furniture sector which was down 11%. The kitchen segment was only -0.1% and was one of the better performing areas, showing the focus was on the home. The pandemic brought people home and home became more important than before. Home furniture had a reduction of 10%, but within this bedroom and kids’ furniture had a wonderful performance because of e-learning. One of the main factors affecting the furniture industry was the closing of shops for specific periods in several countries. Quarter 3 and Q4, 2020 were wonderful because there was a recovery in almost all sectors and this is a very good sign for the future, despite all the difficulties with logistics and lack of material.
ULRICH BUHLER (UB): The furniture industry is a very important customer group for Egger, roughly 40% of our turnover. And 80% of our business is related to interior design, shopfitting and carpentry etc.
The first phase of lockdown was a shock for everybody, especially the UK and France. Then in July 2020 we saw a sharp increase in order income from all the customer bases in all the markets.
In the first lockdown we did not see any hit from the building industry, which is 10-15% of our turnover. A lot of construction sites have remained open so we have been able to supply our customers, even the DIY shops have been opened.
Shopfitting and trade fair related business was hit very hard by the Covid pandemic, but we see this recovered at the end of 2020. So, since the last quarter of 2020 all market segments are far above previous levels. Our industry is faced with order incomes of +15-20% compared to regular levels. The panel industry is working 24/7 so there is no capacity left and if demand exceeds existing capacity, then lead times will rise. Everybody is trying their best to serve the market and be stable. In the first phase of the pandemic, 30% of the panel industry stopped production or reduced production significantly. We cannot recover the volume that has been lost. I think this is one of the effects – the sharp hit followed by a fast recovery resulted in many cases in empty warehouses because there had been no stock building.
PAOLO FANTONI (PF): Unofficial data from the EPF is that the decrease in [panel product] volumes in 2020 is estimated at about 2% below 2019 levels, which is quite extraordinary and reflects the exceptional recovery since June, 2020. Companies did run through [at high business levels] the second half of the year and we took advantage of existing warehouse stock levels to satisfy the huge demand which had arisen. Unfortunately, I have to say that in 2021 we won’t have that same situation and there will probably be a bit more difficulty in meeting demand. The level of activity of Q1 2021 and Q4 of 2020 statistics show how the volumes of the furniture industry overall are around 15-20% of normal years. There is a differentiation within this – contract furniture, not only for the office but also for hotels and restaurants did suffer and is still suffering heavily, not to mention for shopfitting and for exhibitions, where we estimate reductions of volumes for 2019-20 of 85-90% in Italy.
https://www.wbpionline.com/features/the-pandemics-impact-on-the-furniture-sector-8828067/