In its recent study, “Top 200 Furniture Manufacturers Worldwide”, CSIL listed the largest companies in terms of furniture turnover. This group of companies produces a total turnover of around USD 180 billion, of which nearly USD 120 billion, according to CSIL estimates, is related specifically to the furniture sector.
The concentration ratio of the Top 200 furniture manufacturers in the world furniture industry has continued to increase in the last years, reaching more than 20% of world furniture production. The Top 200 are spread all over the world. They have headquarters in 30 countries. Regarding furniture turnover, top companies from Asia and the Pacific account for nearly 40% of the total furniture turnover generated by the top 200 companies. European and Americas companies account for 30% each.
The total turnover of the Top 200 furniture manufacturers increased by over 30% from 2017 to 2022 (more than compensated for the pre-pandemic level). The trend indicates that the growth of the Top 200 companies was higher than that of the sector in terms of sales. In 2020, the decrease in sales of the Top 200 manufacturers had been contained compared to the world furniture production, driven by larger financial capabilities that allowed leading companies to quickly re-align business strategies, implement new sales channels (e.g. online), and reposition their supply chain.
Preliminary results show that in 2022, the Top 200 companies maintained the same level as in 2021, whereas world furniture production decreased by 3%. Their performances differ accordingly to the geographical areas and the furniture segments. Asian manufacturers have grown impressively over the last five years. European players have shown promising results, particularly in 2021 (surpassing the pre-pandemic level). North American manufacturers experienced significant development in 2019 and stabilized in 2021.
Strategies of delocalization and differentiation of companies’ manufacturing footprint have been accelerated over the last few years, driven by an increasing need to contain logistic and transport costs, reducing the time-to-market. About half of the Top 200 companies have manufacturing activities outside their headquarters country. Companies that mostly delocalize part of their production abroad have headquarters in North America, followed by Asian manufacturers and European companies.
About 80 M&A operations have been identified among the Top 200 furniture companies since the beginning of 2019, averaging 20 significant operations per year. American and Italian companies were the most active in recent years, concluding around 40 M&A operations among the sample of the Top 200 companies, followed by companies headquartered in China and the United Kingdom.
CSIL constantly updates a comprehensive set of companies’ information, including financial figures, employment, export sales, and product portfolio, supported by different sources of information: an extensive database of companies that includes historical data on main financial indicators; annual reports of companies quoted on the stock exchange; specialist sector press, companies’ websites, and press statements; CSIL’s field research, including online surveys and direct interviews conducted during the year.
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