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In 2005, the UK Office Furniture market was worth around
£715 million at MSP.
The UK Office
Furniture market has been in decline since 2001, when the industry and
the business environment suffered a sharp deterioration, as a result of
the sharp downturn in the IT and internet sectors in particular, and the
resultant affect of this on business confidence generally and in the
service sector in particular. These factors have lead to a difficult
trading period for office furniture through to 2005.
Indeed the market
has continued to contract through 2005, with companies having to cut
prices further to maintain share, due to a surplus of supply capacity
over demand. The home office sector of the market has shown some growth
over this period underpinning the overall market.
Future prospects are more optimistic for the Office
Furniture sector in the medium term. The commercial new build sector has
improved throughout 2005 and 2006. This should lead to more positive
business confidence and a more positive office furniture industry as a
result, over the next few years.
This had been a difficult market in recent years, with
high levels of availability in office space, though available office
space in London is currently on a reducing trend. Although the
commercial new build sector has performed better since 2004, this will
take time to impact directly upon the office furniture market, though it
should lead to increased business confidence and business investment.
Key influences in the market included commercial property
activity, ‘off-shoring’ and technological developments, including better
cable management and the increased use of wireless technologies around
the office.
Imports and
exports
are significant, relative to the scale of the UK Office Furniture market
with imports currently valued at £260 million and exports at £136
million.
Imports have risen
steadily and in 2005 there was an 11% rise on the level of imports
driven mainly by the increase of imports from China and the United
States, in certain sectors of the office furniture market.
Exports have
increased in recent years and 2005 saw a 12% increase, driven primarily
by the increase in the export of seating products to Ireland.
All sectors experienced a rise in the level of imports, with
Storage/Screens seeing the biggest rise. EC Countries continue to
dominate office furniture imports with Italy and Germany being the major
trading partners. Outside the EC, imports from China have risen sharply,
while there has also been a rise in levels from the US.
Similarly levels
of exports also increased throughout each sector, with seating
experiencing the biggest rise.
The market is comprised of four separate product sectors,
which includes desking (the main sector accounting for 41%), seating,
storage and screening / others. The overall percentage shares have
remained reasonably stable since 2004.
In 2005, the Desking market was worth an estimated £295
million at manufacturers sales prices (msp). This sector consists of
three sub sectors, which include executive, systems and economy
stand-alone desking.
The Seating sector is the second largest product sector
in the Office Furniture market and is currently valued at around £226
million.
While ergonomic seating is still
an important issue, the market is becoming ever more budget led with
ergonomic seating ranges becoming more available in the mid and to some
extent lower market segments.
In the Storage sector the trend over recent years has
been towards more aesthetically pleasing wood finishes, although metal
products remain the most popular for shared storage. The market is
estimated to be worth £132 million in 2005. One of the primary drivers
in the storage sector is the increased requirement for personal storage
and integrated storage, partly due to increased employee mobility and
changing working practices.
The ‘Screening/ Others’ sector incorporates both
screening and other products such as computer trolleys. This market
sector is estimated to be valued at £62 million in 2005, with the
continuing demand for screen systems in open plan offices fuelling the
sector.
The Office Furniture market remains fiercely competitive
with a large number of suppliers within the market and with a number of
acquisitions and some companies going into administration. In terms of
the overall shares, there has been some movement, in 2005, the top six suppliers accounted for 36% of the market by value,
this a slight decrease of 1% on 2003. The largest supplier in the
UK is generally regarded as Herman Miller, with
Senator and Bisley close behind in terms of market share.
Other significant suppliers include Dams
International, Komfort
Office Environments,
Steelcase,
EFG Matthews and Kinnarps.
The two main distribution channels for Office Furniture
are via the dealer network or direct to end users.
Retail and superstore sales have increased as a result of continuing
growth in the SOHO market. There has also been small increase in
Internet sales particularly through e-procurement. | 
