In the context of trade war and overcapacity, how can Chinese home furnishing companies better go overseas? Today's home furnishing special project "Go to Sea", and at the same time launch the "Go to Sea Resource Sharing Platform", welcome enterprises with overseas needs to scan the code to fill in the questionnaire and join the group to communicate!
Global procurement and local sales have become a very important mode of operation for the United States furniture industry, and most of the furniture products that can stay in United States are products with high brand premiums and high added value. From China to Viet Nam, Malaysia, Mexico and even Poland, how do United States buyers (purchasing groups) and retailers view these countries of origin? Which ones have more future potential? Today's Home Furnishing "Going to Sea" has launched a special topic - the global furniture procurement map.
In our survey of retailers and manufacturers, we found that:
(1) 84% of retailers believe that the country of origin of furniture is important or very important to some extent.
(2) Among the sales sources of retail stores, the top furniture source countries are ranked as follows: Viet Nam> China >Mexico.
Among manufacturers, the top furniture source countries are ranked >Viet Nam>Mexico China.
(iii) Mexico and Viet Nam, currently the main markets, continue to be at the top of the list of respondents, but respondents are also bullish on India, Indonesia and Cambodia, which are developing their own furniture production capacity.
(iv) Poland, Romania and Hungary are the top European countries, while Brazil also received multiple votes, and Africa was also mentioned.
Source: Home Today
Today's Home summarizes the views of retailers and manufacturers on the strengths and weaknesses of different furniture source countries.
1. United States views of furniture retail retailers
Mexico: "Currently, Mexico has lower labor costs, cheaper freight and easier border crossing. Their craftsmanship and finishes are getting better and better, and they are able to compare with Asian and European products. Many consumers are increasingly bothered by imports from China. ”
India: "This country is big and a player to be reckoned with. They have a large and highly educated workforce. ”
Brazil: "They understand the needs of buyers very well. ”
Indonesia: "The price is stable and the style is fashionable. ”
Hungary: "Although the products are imported from India, Hungary products are considered to be cheaper in Europe. “
Europe: "The quality of the products is good, the style is fashionable, the scale is unique. “
Second, the views of furniture manufacturers in United States
Viet Nam: "With a growing infrastructure, economy and industrial parks. Tariffs on China may increase in the future, but Viet Nam and Cambodia will not. ”
Cambodia: "Labor costs are low, and there are few concerns about tariffs. ”
Indonesia: "Cheap labor, untapped potential." ”
India: "Could be the next source of furniture purchases, with lower prices but limited product output." ”
Romania: "They have a lot of oak and a lot of materials for furniture making. ”
Poland and Eastern Europe: Both are unlikely to grow in their domestic markets.
Taiwan, China: Strong metal and plastics industry.
Mexico: Close to the United States.
Note: Due to the limited sample size, the results of this study are qualitative and should be considered descriptive rather than interpretive.
In order to explore the future prospects of the furniture industry, Today Home will deeply analyze the development of furniture in different countries, as an important window to peek into the future development trend of the global furniture industry.
The first issue of the "Overseas Classic" global furniture procurement map series entered Viet Nam.
The three advantages of "low tariffs, cheap labor and good infrastructure" have helped the rapid development of upholstered, fixed and functional furniture
Viet Nam's development over the past few years has been very rapid, on a par with China. According to Research Today, Viet Nam is the largest furniture importer for the United States in 2023, exporting about $7.76 billion in furniture, up 40% from $5.5 billion before the pandemic in 2019.
During the pandemic, Viet Nam and China fought fiercely for the first place, with both countries narrowly separating themselves in 2020 and 2021. However, in 2022, Viet Nam leads with $1 billion, and in 2023, it beats China by $1.8 billion to become the number one furniture export to the United States (except mattress products).
Viet Nam has many advantages. One is that it was not subject to the high 25 percent tariffs that China has imposed during the Trump administration, and it has been a beneficiary of its tariff wars, and the second is that it has a skilled workforce and is determined to surpass China. Third, its industrialization is developing rapidly and its infrastructure is also very strong.
Matt Sorensen, Vice President of Sales at Classic Home, said: "Four years ago everyone flocked to Viet Nam and Mexico. We still believe that Viet Nam is a great business center with many good factories and competitive products. We believe it will continue to be one of our most important sources of furniture. ”
In Viet Nam, case goods are the best-sellers, but upholstered furniture is also becoming more popular. "We mainly source wood furniture from there, but the upholstered furniture is also good," says Matt Sorensen. Before the pandemic, there were only a handful of manufacturers producing upholstered furniture. Nowadays, many large companies have set up their upholstered furniture production there, such as Cheers-Manwah and Kuka. And Legends has one of the best upholstered furniture manufacturing factories in Viet Nam. ”
In addition, functional furniture manufacturing has also developed significantly in Viet Nam, and fixed furniture manufacturing has also migrated to Viet Nam. Because it can't be folded like functional furniture, and Viet Nam has a low shipping rate, which is very suitable.
David Crimmins, Vice President of Sales at Flexsteel, said: "85% of Flexsteel's business is upholstered furniture, with the largest investments in Viet Nam and Mexico. About 50% of our products come from Asia, mainly Viet Nam. We are moving parts manufacturing from China to Viet Nam because it is necessary to reduce the risk from China. ”
Disadvantages: Low population density and few raw materials are limited in Viet Nam's long-term development possibilities
Despite Viet Nam's many furniture manufacturing advantages, there are concerns about Viet Nam, mainly about its long-term viability.
Industry executives believe that as Viet Nam continues its rapid industrialization process, the country may be less friendly to the furniture industry, as the country's factories will be attracted to more lucrative industries such as electronics and pharmaceuticals.
Pat Watson, Director of Product Development at Martin Svensson Furniture, shared: "Furniture will eventually be pushed out of the market. What you're seeing here is the same thing that's happened in China for the last 20 years. When a society begins to industrialize, furniture is one of the first things to enter because it is raw material and labor-intensive. While it does require skilled labor, it is not as demanding as other industries. ”
Source: Photo.com
"If you look at Viet Nam a few years ago, it didn't have a high level of industrial development. If a pharmaceutical company tries to set up there, it will fail because the local workforce has never worked in any manufacturing industry at all," Pat Watson continued.
"I remember very well 15 years ago, you went to China and there were furniture, shoes and textiles, and then you came back to that store five years later and they had flat-screen TVs, electronics, laptops, etc. Then I go back in five years, and I'll see the pharmaceutical factory and the car factory. ”
Ken Shanks, president of Outlook International, has spent his career helping Asian factories develop furniture. He agreed with Viet Nam's views on development and made predictions that the country would have about 10 years of dominance left.
"I think Viet Nam's development is starting to reach its peak. It has a population of about 100 million, which is less than other competing countries. "It still has a little upside, but it's going to have to move away from the south, where labor and land costs are rising," he said.
China wants to make a profit and market share from higher-value goods, and it will slowly abandon the furniture industry. At the same time, Viet Nam does not have its own wood, it needs to rely on imported materials, and it imports a lot of hardware materials from China. ”
David Crimmins said: "The possibilities for Viet Nam's future development are limited, but there will be no problems for the current period of time, we have at least five years. Viet Nam is currently developing in the direction of rapid economic growth, which can lift millions of people out of poverty. Moreover, Viet Nam is now industrializing faster and faster, and Viet Nam's infrastructure has become very good. It has a better port and better housing for workers. ”
Today's home furnishing special project "Go to Sea", and at the same time launch the "Go to Sea Resource Sharing Platform", welcome enterprises with overseas needs to scan the code to fill in the questionnaire and join the group to communicate!