INTRODUCTION and OVERVIEW 

AMA Research have published the 4th edition of the ‘Home Office Furniture Market – UK 2006’ - incorporating original input it represents the most informed and up-to-date review of this market and is excellent value for money. With an estimated value of over £210 million in 2005, the home office furniture market is forecast to maintain reasonably healthy growth rates in the short-medium term, depending on external economic and other micro market factors.

Areas covered in the report include:-

• THE MARKET - market size, market growth, key trends & influencing factors

• PRODUCT MIX - analysis by product sector (desking, seating and storage), product trends and developments.

• SUPPLIERS - review of the supply structure, market shares and company profiles.

• DISTRIBUTION - review of key distribution channels, shares and company profiles.

• FUTURE PROSPECTS

Areas of particular interest include:

• Market performance of home office furniture and analysis of key product sectors including a review of the overall furniture sector and comparison with other consumer durable sectors

• Flexible working practices, particularly home working, becoming more common.

• A substantial increase in imports maintaining pressure on UK manufacturers.

• Growth in the flat pack sector of the market.

• A fall in consumer confidence and a slowdown in the housing market restricting sales during 2005. A fall in RMI spending also restricting market sales.

• Market consolidation and closure of major suppliers such as Courts.

This analysis is based on research into the suppliers and distributors of home office furniture products from published data, industry sources, government statistics and trade interviews, coupled with our experience and understanding of the furniture industry.

Key areas covered in the report include:

MARKET

• Overall furniture market size, recent trends, reasons for change, mix of different furniture sectors fitted/free standing mix.

• Market background - developments of market from 1999.

• Analysis of home office furniture market - size by value, historical trends, forecasts to 2009.

• Current situation - recent market performance, factors bolstering this market as well as identification of factors restricting growth.

• Future prospects for the home office furniture market, reasoning behind forecast trends.

• Household penetration levels - current levels and future estimates, rates of growth, product comparison.

• Impact of flexing working hours leading to a greater increase of teleworkers/home workers.

PRODUCT MIX

• Total Office Furniture Product Mix - % split desking, seating storage and others

• Home Office Furniture Product Mix – by product type and product sector, current trends in design, materials, colours and added value.

• Home Office Desking Seating & Storage - Historical and current trends

• Furniture types - mix of fitted and flat pack home office furniture and key trends.

• Product styles - style and design trends, contemporary and traditional styles, growth of other niche sectors.

DISTRIBUTION / SUPPLIERS

• Mix of furniture manufacturers by turnover size.

• Major manufacturers - market shares of leading manufacturers, product and market positioning, growing companies.

• Major channels of distribution - shares by type of outlets, areas of growth/decline, future trends.

• Summary of key companies within major channels of distribution.

• Imports and Exports of home office furniture – increase in the amount of imports into the UK market in recent years.

• Analysis of Supply Structure - background, import levels, supplier category split

• Profiles of Leading Home Office Furniture Suppliers & Office Furniture Suppliers - market position, analysis of activities, financial information etc.

DISTRIBUTION

• Analysis of Market Structure - office furniture supply structure and home office furniture market infrastructure

• Distribution Channel Shares - analysis of office furniture and home office furniture shares by value and trends/developments in shares.

• Role of Distributors - review of major national distributors, company profiles.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

• Technological Developments - current and future developments within hardware, communications, software and the Internet, and how they could impact the market.

• Growth potential for home office furniture - key areas of growth.

• Developments in the major product and market sectors.

• Continued growing influence of home / teleworking.

• Market size forecasts to 2009 by value.

MARKET PROSPECTS

• Impact of design influence home office furniture.

• Growing impact of teleworkers, and the growing number of homeworkers.

• Increased Internet usage, supported by continued steady growth of PC ownership,

The report contains around 80+ pages and around 20+ tables of ORIGINAL research and comment on the UK Home Office Furniture industry, providing incisive and thought provoking views on its future development.