The UK Bedroom Furniture market was estimated to be worth approximately £580m (MSP) in 2009, representing approximately 13% of the overall Domestic Furniture market. Since 2004 the market has been static and more recently has experienced significant declines in 2008 (4%) and 2009 (6%) and as a result the share of the overall furniture market has declined marginally since 2002.

While this recent deterioration is significant, it is far less than in other consumer durable sectors, such as kitchens, where the market grew sharply between 2004 and 2007, but has since dropped sharply. By contrast the bedroom furniture market has fallen slightly between 2004 and 2007, but then dropped more rapidly since then and is now 12% lower than the 2004 market size, compared to the kitchen furniture sector, which is only 7% down on the 2004 level, despite falling 12% in 2009.

The onset of the housing crisis towards the end of 2007 and the impact of the global credit crunch immediately lowered levels of consumer confidence. The construction industry was particularly badly affected, which in turn impacted adversely on related markets such as furniture, and contributed to growing uncertainty amongst consumers in both 2008 and 2009.

Other pressures within the domestic furniture market include the rapid penetration of low cost imports from the Far East and Eastern Europe, which have driven down prices and margins. Whilst imports have increased significantly in the last decade and currently account for around 71% of the bedroom furniture market, most fitted furniture is manufactured in the UK.

Growing competition in a declining market is also reflected in the increasing number of liquidations in the sector, both at manufacturer and retail level, with MFI, a market leader in this sector, being the major example.

In general, it appears that short term prospects for the next 5 years are likely to prove relatively difficult for the industry, with forecasts showing little or no volume growth in the bedroom furniture market. Most of any future growth within the bedroom furniture sector is expected to come from the lower end of the market and in the short term this sector may gain at the expense of the medium to higher priced end.

In overall terms, bedroom furniture remains a mature market, although future demand will be driven by a steadily increasing number of households and greater pressures on space utilisation and flexibility. Market conditions are likely to remain very competitive in 2010, but should recover in the medium term, although they are unlikely to provide high levels of market growth, as imports continue to drive down prices and margins.