22/03/2013
Executive Summary
This Key Note Market Report analyses the UK market for office furniture, between 2007 and 2011. The market, as analysed for the purposes of this report, covers three main sectors: metal furniture; wooden furniture; and upholstered swivel seating. Metal furniture is further separated into three sub-sectors: metal drawing tables; metal furniture of a height not exceeding 80cm; and metal furniture of a height exceeding 80cm. In 2011, the UK market had an estimated value of £760.6m, a slight increase of 0.5% on the previous year.
Since the onset of the global economic recession, business confidence has been severely affected, with significant decline in the value of business investment since 2008. This has, in turn, negatively impacted the number of new businesses within the sector, thereby reducing the demand for office furniture. The majority of companies within the market have been affected by this drop in demand, with reduced turnover and pre-tax profit.
The economic situation has also led to increasing prices of raw materials, leading to higher manufacturing costs, an issue exacerbated by rising levels of inflation, and falling demand. In particular, Government subsidies for the production of biomass energy — which requires large quantities of wood — has increased the price of wood significantly. This has led the wood-panel industry to increase its prices and, as a major consumer of wood-panel products, the furniture industry has been adversely affected.
Trends in office layout and design also greatly impact the office furniture market. Increasingly, compact electronics and the ability to network data and peripheral hardware — such as printers — has resulted in less need for large desk space, and therefore greater demand for smaller desking. Flexible workstations, that can be moved, combined or separated depending on specific requirements, are also gaining an increasingly significant position within the office environment.
Key Note forecasts that the UK office furniture market will grow annually between 2012 and 2016, however this year-on-year growth will be subdued. Due to the poor economic climate; the Government’s commitment to reduce the budget deficit; and the maturity of the market, sales of office furniture are unlikely to experience significant growth in the short-term future.
