AMA Research has published the 9th edition of the report ‘Office Furniture Market - UK 2009-2013’. The office furniture market is worth around £670 million in the UK. The market has been under pressure for some years, adversely affected by a poor office construction sector and high levels of commercial office space available, whilst the recent turmoil in global financial markets has had a knock on effect on the economy as a whole. The market is expected to show a further decline in 2009 and it is likely to be 2010 before the market shows any sign of growth.
The current market conditions remain difficult, although the market has been supported by positive performance in the SOHO sector, which has been taking an increasing share of the market as a whole. The market remains highly competitive with surplus supply capacity remaining and, although imports seem to have stopped growing they have been increasing their rate of penetration, resulting in a changing distribution structure.
The report assesses this situation and presents forecasts of performance for the office furniture market, covering desking, seating, storage and other furniture, through to 2013.
The changing nature and impact of the SOHO market, growth of alternative distribution channels.
Office property space activity and likely impacts on the office furniture market.
Changing working practices in the UK and likely impacts on office furniture.
Leading Suppliers profiled:
Senator International Ltd
Herman Miller Ltd
Bisley Office Equipment Ltd
DAMS International Ltd
Steelcase plc
Orangebox Ltd
Gresham Office Furniture Ltd
EFG Office Furniture Limited
TBS (South Wales) Ltd
Morris Office Furniture
Sven Christiansen
Ofquest Ltd
The Furniture Factory
OEP Furniture Group plc
Pledge Office Chairs Ltd,
Verco Office Furniture Ltd
Other Leading Suppliers included:
Carleton Furniture Group Ltd, Komfort Workspace plc, Ahrend Ltd, Black Arrow Group plc, Logic Office Group plc, Haworth Inc, G.G.I. Office Furniture (UK) Ltd, Eurotek Office Furniture Ltd, GDB UK Ltd, Antocks Lairn, Wallis Office Furniture Ltd, Knoll International, Sedus Stoll AG, Dauphin HumanDesign UK Ltd, Paragon Business Products Ltd, Wilkhahn Ltd, Samas, Samuel Bruce Furniture, KI Europe, Techo UK Ltd, Tvilum-Scanbirk A/S, O’Sullivan, Monarch Computer Furniture.
Key areas of coverage in the report include:
THE MARKET
Total office furniture market - analysis of size by value, current situation, historical trends, forecasts, reasons for changes and background influences.
Future prospects of the office furniture market to the year 2013.
Imports and Exports - trade balance, major countries supplying imports.
Key influences on the development of the office furniture market, technology, call centres, the SOHO market, new working practices and environmental considerations.
The office construction market - analysis by size, public/private sector mix, historical trends and future prospects, RMI and its influence on market trends.
THE PRODUCTS
Major product groups within the office furniture market, share of the market.
Desking market - analysis by size, historical trends with forecasts to 2013.
Trends in functionality and design, other desking trends including pedestals, impact of changing working practices and technological developments, future prospects, greater market fragmentation.
Seating market - analysis by size, historical trends, forecasts to 2013.
Mix of seating market by type i.e. adjustable/non-adjustable, reasons for growth of adjustable, influence of changing regulations, new product features, material usage, different types of seating, innovations.
Storage market - size by value with historical trends and forecasts to 2013.
Mix of storage units by material and mix by type i.e. shelving/cabinet/cupboards.
Other office furniture e.g. mobile computer trolleys, partitioning/screening.
SUPPLIERS AND DISTRIBUTORS
Major suppliers, market shares, product and market positioning.
Key company information for major companies. Changes in market structures.
Other suppliers involved in desking & tables, seating, storage & partitioning.
Major channels of distribution - shares by type of channel, areas of growth and decline, future trends and opportunities.
Key outlets involved in the major channels of distribution.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
Prospects for the Office Furniture market - major factors influencing short and longer term prospects.
Developments in the major product and market sectors.
Supplier and distribution developments.
Additional Information
The UK office furniture market has been in decline since 2001, when the industry suffered a sharp deterioration in performance, as a result of the sharp downturn in the IT and internet sectors in particular. This had an adverse effect on business confidence generally and in the service sector in particular. These factors have led to a difficult trading period for office furniture suppliers and distributors through to 2007, although there was a marginal upturn in 2006. There is still a surplus of supply capacity over demand, despite some well known companies having ceased to trade and this has resulted in suppliers having to cut prices further to maintain share.
However, the home office sector of the market has shown some growth over this period underpinning the overall market, although mainstream office furniture suppliers and distributors have not always benefited from this trend.
Future prospects for the office furniture sector in the medium term are very uncertain. The economy is now in recession and the latest forecasts indicate that it will be at least 2010 before business confidence returns. The commercial new build sector has been deteriorating throughout 2008 and there are currently high levels of availability in office space, particularly in the City, where several new office schemes are still seeking tenants.
The environmental considerations of manufacturing and supplying furniture are becoming more important in influencing the sourcing of raw materials and the design, manufacture and distribution of office furniture. The BIFMA has issued guidelines, which includes policies on environmental management systems, sustainable business codes and the use of renewable resources. This is a factor likely to impinge on every supplier, whether from the UK or overseas.
Imports and exports are significant factors in the market with imports reaching £302.9m in 2007, compared with exports of £151.4m. Imports rose strongly from £209.7m in 2002 to £303.6m in 2006, despite the poor performance of the market as a whole, but remained fairly static in 2007. Desking and tables continue to account for the largest share of imports - 35% in 2007 - although this share has declined significantly in the last two years, following large increases in imports of storage, seating and other office furniture.
The two main distribution channels for office furniture are via the dealer network (46%) or directly to end users (26%). Retail furnishing groups and miscellaneous outlets account for 15% of the market, whilst superstores and mail order account for the remaining 13%, with both categories benefiting from continuing growth in the SOHO market.
Sales of office furniture are estimated to decline by 7% to £670m in 2008, by a further 12% to £590m in 2009, and to £550 in 2010 before levelling out to £565m in 2011. This compares with total sales of £720m in 2007. The market is expected to experience modest growth rates of 2% per annum from 2010 onwards.
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