COMPANY SERVICES FINISHES BLOG CONTACT NEWS THE ITALIAN FURNITURE INDUSTRY: EXPORTS KEEP GROWING Italy is fourth out of the world’s top five furniture exporters and this perhaps deserves some consideration. Until 2006, Italy was the world’s largest exporter and then, when China joined the WTO and the market expanded throughout the world, new balances were created. China is now far out of reach at the top of the world ranking, while Germany and Italy, Europe’s top performers, continue to be in the top five exporters. However, new players have joined the scene, and these include Poland, which has climbed up to third in the rankings, and Vietnam, which in fifth place, continues to enjoy strong levels of growth. However, it is worth looking in more detail at what is happening in the world. China continues to have the largest share in exports, between 35 and 40% of the total. The changes that are taking place in the Chinese market, however, do affect Italian manufacturers directly. Ongoing changes in Chinese consumers, who are beginning to demand better quality and have a continuously increasing purchasing power, means increasing demand for higher-end products, as many Italian-made ones are. Italy, which has a 30% market share in the premium range has seen a double-digit increase in its exports to China (+38% in 2017 and already +8% in the first few months of 2018), making it the highest procurement source for Chinese imports, with a 20% share. The Italian furniture industry Let’s take a look at what is on the horizon for the macro-economic scenario in the Italian furniture industry and the domestic market. In 2018, the Italian domestic market grew by around 0.8%; this applies to all market segments, all geographical areas and all sales channels. This increase is down to a more positive climate and to the bonus mobili tax relief incentive, which has fortunately been renewed for 2019, and has brought a stronger recovery to independent distributors. The Italian furniture market 2015-2021 For the next two year, the situation is a little uncertain. It is already evident that the economy is slowing down: the growth rate for GDP in 2018 has been reduced to 1% in real terms (it was +1.6% in 2017) and no improvements are forecast for the next few years Negative signals are arriving from manufacturing and there is some uncertainty as to prospects in the medium term which affects consumer habits and trends; domestic consumption in families is forecast to grow by a maximum of 1% over the next two years. Luckily, some support is on hand from the export market. As for export markets, the euro is forecast to fall against the dollar and in 2019, this will help to boost demand from non-EU countries, while demand within the EU will probably be less dynamic. An increase in exports of 1.6% is forecast for 2019 and this, together with domestic demand at not particularly brilliant levels, will bring about production increases of 1%. The situation should improve over the next two-year period, with a more positive international picture, which could lead to export growth of 3% which, added to a 1% increase in domestic demand could push production up by 2%. Export It is therefore quite evident that the best opportunities for the Italian furniture industry come from export, which currently accounts for a 58% share of total production and in the next 2-3 years, could reach 60%. But which areas are of greatest interest for Italian furnishing exports? The areas currently moving most are, as always, those in the Asia- Pacific region, which are likely to increase furniture consumption by 4% in 2019 too. Another area of great interest and development is North America. The United States are now Italy’s third-largest export market, while Canada continues to grow, although at a slower rate. The top two markets for Italian exports continue to be France and Germany. The EU, in general, is still a very important market for Italy. We should consider that the market within the EU is rather closed to imports, both in terms of its legislative and regulatory framework and also due to the fact that the world’s major producers are already here, meaning that furniture demand is satisfied from within the EU. However, the larger growth margins are to be found in East European countries that, although their markets are smaller in size, may turn out to be quite interesting. Finally, figures show that exports outside the EU are growing at a faster rate (+2.7%) compared to exports inside the EU (+2.4%). MAY 8, 2019/ NEWS MILAN FURNITURE FAIR 2019 Read more APRIL 8, 2019/ NEWS BECAGROUP.IT WENT ONLINE! 13 March 2019 was an important date for us: it’s the day that becagroup.it went online. What you see before you is the group’s new website. It may not be a huge, but in some way, for us it is. The site you are looking at is the first stage in a larger project that will be with us over the coming months, involving all of our partners and anyone who wants to know more about the world of Italian craftsmanship, of that knowledge that is all our own, with its ability to innovate tradition and which has always been one of our points of excellence. We like to think of our future as the next step in our present, since we are aware of our roots that are deep enough never to freeze over time. Welcome, to all our visitors. MARCH 13, 2019/ PAGES Blog Company Code of Ethics CONTACT FINISHES Home Portfolio Privacy Policy SERVICES THE COMPANY CATEGORIES News ARCHIVE May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 © Copyright - Beca Group | P.Iva: 02497310413 | Cookie Policy | Credits