Introduction

If China is not mentioned, any dialogue on global industrialization is incomplete. With abundant skilled labor and low production costs,China has proved itself to be a strong manufacturing center.

In particular, the furniture industry has been growing steadily locally and internationally. It is expected that the industry will grow at a CAGR of 7% in the forecast period. China's furniture industry is one of the largest furniture industries in the world. It is also one of the major manufacturers, consumers and exporters of furniture. The production end of China's furniture industry accounts for nearly 40% of the world's furniture output.

In China, there are more than 50000 manufacturers in this industry, with a variety of options. In addition,the preferential price of wholesale procurement and the manufacturers’ ability to quickly complete large orders are all important reasons why China has become a major furniture exporter. Therefore,buying  home furniture in China is a smart choice,which will help you save a lot of time and money.

Home furniture market overview in China

In recent years, China's home furniture market has developed rapidly. The increase of family income and the improvement of living conditions urge people to increase investment in home decoration. According to the data of China's fifth census, there are about 350 million households in all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government in mainland China. If the furniture is replaced every ten years, it is equivalent to about 35 million households renewing furniture every year; According to the average 1000 rmb per household, the total amount of furniture renewal can reach 35 billion rmb per year.

1.What are the factors driving the demand of China's home furniture market?

-Population division by age group

According to index Mundi (July 2019), 47.84% of people in China are between 25-54 years old, and this age group is considered to be the main working age. According to the data of the National Bureau of statistics, China's per capita disposable income increased by 7.5% in 2018.

-The prime working class

In the process of urbanization, China's main working class now likes to settle in cities and towns. This working class has become a major home furniture consumer group. In addition, by the end of 2020, the transformation of 37.6 million houses will be completed under the national policy of supporting low labor cost. These renovated houses will also produce a demand for home furniture.

-Rural and urban home furniture demand

Emerging business districts in China's second and third tier cities are rising, and the surrounding customers have great consumption potential. Now is a good time for home furniture manufacturers to enter the second and third tier cities. At the same time, with the economic development of the mainland and the improvement of farmers' living standards, the rural home furniture consumption market is also a main market that can not be ignored. At present, the demand for home furniture in the rural market is increasing at the rate of 20% - 30% every year. According to expert calculation, the annual consumption of the national rural home furniture market is about 10 billion rmb.

-Demand for medium and high-end furniture

With the continuous improvement of people's income and living standards, as well as the rapid development of interior decoration industry, consumers' taste has also improved. People's requirements for the style, grade and quality of home furniture products and attention to the living environment are constantly improving and strengthening, and the demand for medium and high-grade products is on the rise. According to a survey of home furniture consumers by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, middle-class mainland consumers pay more and more attention to home decoration. 73% of the respondents said they are more willing to spend more money to buy or replace home decoration products than before, and the trend has an important impact on their purchase decisions.

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2.What challenges the China's home furniture industry is facing?

-The fierce competition promotes the further improvement of brand concentration

At present, the home furniture industry is in the stage of complete competition. There are more than 50000 furniture enterprises and more than 4000 furniture brands in China. No brand has a share of more than 1%. However, with the improvement of competition and the enhancement of brand awareness of consumers' home furniture consumption, the home furniture industry is experiencing a fierce competition stage from low to high brand concentration.

-Pressure of sales channel reform

In recent years, the scale and number of home furniture stores have increased sharply, developing to the group chain. It is undeniable that large business platforms are the key to the emergence of many brands. At the same time, the rents of hypermarkets and large commercial platforms are rising, which has increased the operating pressure of manufacturers and businesses to a certain extent.

In this case, powerful manufacturers adopt the mode of walking on two legs. On the one hand, cooperate with large business platforms and open more in store stores with the help of giants; On the other hand, open large independent stores in strategic cities according to their strength. Opening an independent store requires high financial strength and speed of new product development. It is difficult to succeed quickly without rich product series and multiple target consumer groups.

-Consumers pay more attention to brand in home furniture selection

Consumers’ home furniture consumption emphasizes personalization, and the brand effect is prominent. Young consumers pay the most attention to product design, and the proportion of consumers under the age of 25 who pay more attention to product appearance design is as high as 52%. The brand effect is the most significant among the consumer groups under the age of 30. 38% of the consumers aged 25-30 believe that the brand is the first factor to affect their purchase decision. At the same time, the proportion of attention to the brand factor in the group under the age of 25 also accounts for nearly 20%. The group aged 40-45 is most concerned about the after-sales factors of home furniture products.

-Pressure from foreign home furniture competition

With the reduction of China's furniture import tariff to zero on January 1, 2005, the obstacles and prices of imported furniture have been reduced. Countries all over the world have turned the home furniture industry to China. In recent years, there has been a peak of the transfer of foreign home furniture enterprises to China, and the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Foreign capital participation in competition is mainly concentrated in hypermarkets, professional monopoly and shopping centers. At present, many home furniture enterprises in the United States, France, Spain and other countries have opened home furniture stores in the mainland.

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3.How is the development trend of China’s home furniture industry?

-Market space: the development space of home furniture market is still huge

The continuous innovation of the market products, the recovery of the real estate market has brought new consumption upsurge; the economic development has promoted the improvement of consumption capacity and consumption level; the demand for high-end home furniture has expanded, and rural urbanization has spawned new home furniture purchases.

-Product R & D: the pattern of product development style has initially taken shape

Several major domestic home furniture brands have formed distinctive product styles, and 54% of consumers favor modern / simple / fashionable styles. In addition, product R & D pays more attention to serialization and integrated development, emphasizing texture and fashion.

-Channel trend: big store, innovation, diversity, experience

In 2012, home furntiure market sales weakened, leading to the malaise of marketplace and the diversification of business; The channels of household enterprises sink to the third and fourth tier market one after another, and deal with the market decline through a variety of channel combinations; E-commerce channels have begun to take shape in the industry and become one of the mainstream channels of low-end / middle-end products .

-Competition pattern: Manufacturing / sales oriented towards strategic marketing mode

Fierce competition forces powerful enterprises to change from tactical management to strategic management with brand as the core, and strategic marketing is becoming more and more prominent. At present, there are strong brand representatives in the category field, such as Qumei Furniture, Federal Home, Kuka Home,Kinwai Furniture, etc.

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What areas the local home furniture industry is concentrated in China?

1.Pearl River Delta Furniture Industry Zone

With Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Shunde, Foshan as the center, Guangdong province is the largest home furniture industrial zone in China. This region is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, with rich labor resources, early start of home furniture manufacturing, many industrial clusters, complete industrial supply chain, developed sales market and obvious brand advantages. The output value of furniture accounts for one third of the country, and most products are exported to the American market. Among them, Shunde, Foshan has become an integrated base for home furniture production, sales, supporting and wholesale, and Lecong Town has become the largest home furniture distribution center in China.

2.Yangtze River Delta Furniture Industry Zone

With Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai as the center, it is the area with the fastest growth rate of home furniture. The region has developed information, convenient transportation, good manufacturing industry foundation and relatively concentrated talents. The home furniture market has a large capacity, high product quality and grade, and the enterprise management is good. The output value of home furniture also accounts for one third of the country, mainly for export, and Europe and the United States are its main export markets.

3.Bohai Rim Furniture Industrial Zone

With Beijing as the center, radiating Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong and other places, and relying on the Bohai economic circle for development,this area has a long history of home furniture manufacturing, rich resources and superior geographical location. The scale of home furniture enterprises and consumer groups are large, the mature professional home furniture sales market and home furniture marketing enterprises are concentrated, the industrial chain is becoming more and more perfect, and the products are mainly sold domestically.

4.Northeast Furniture Industrial Zone

Mainly along Shenyang and Dalian, it radiates Heilongjiang and other old industrial bases in Northeast China, and mainly relies on the rich wood resources of Daxing'an Mountains and Xiaoxing'an Mountains and the imported wood from Russia to develop the production of solid wood furniture. The production strength of solid wood furniture enterprises is in the leading position in the country, mainly exported to Northeast Asia and Europe, and the domestic market share is relatively small.

5.Western Furniture Industrial Zone

With Chengdu, Sichuan as the key development area, furniture products are supplied to the three-level markets in the central and western regions. Local governments listed the furniture industry as a pillar industry and increased support. The mature and convenient logistics foundation of the industrial zone is favored by coastal enterprises. In addition, with the development of inland cities and the continuous expansion of furniture demand, the local furniture industry gradually undertakes the industrial gradient transfer in coastal areas.

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Who is the main target of China's home furniture export?

Overall, China's export markets have increased to more than 100. The world home furniture manufacturing center is moving to China. Developed countries are the main buyers of Chinese home furniture. In China's total home furniture exports, the United States,  Britain and Japan rank first.

1.The US market is the largest market for China's home furniture exports

As the Chinese mainland's home furniture export destination, the US has always been very prominent. Since 1999, China has replaced Canada as the largest home furniture supplier to the United States. In China's home furniture export trade, the United States accounts for the largest share. The export of Chinese home furniture to the United States continues to maintain a development momentum of about 30%, accounting for almost half of the total global home furniture import of the United States.

2.Britain is an important partner in China's home furniture trade

China's exports to EU countries are relatively concentrated in Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Belgium. The above seven countries have accounted for more than 80% of China's total exports to EU. Among them, the export to the UK was the largest, reaching US $151.5 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 53.73%. The rapid growth made it surpass Hong Kong and Japan and become the second largest export destination of Chinese home furniture.

3.Japan is the third largest market of Chinese home furniture

Japan's dependence on imported home furniture has brought huge export opportunities for Chinese home furniture. Since the price of home furniture in mainland China has great advantages, since 2000, mainland China has replaced Taiwan and become the first country (region) among Asian countries that exports home furniture to Japan.

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What kind of foreign popular brands produce home furniture in China?

Even in the west, China has become the most popular home furniture purchase market. Designers rely on it to provide the best quality home furniture at a reasonable price. Even the materials used for all kinds of home furniture are imported from China because their quality is superior. And China knows how to design and manufacture home furniture in western style, rather than simply follow the products produced in Asia, especially in China. This is why China is now becoming a reliable home furniture market in the West and even in the world.

Many foreign leading home furniture designers produce their furniture in China, although usually they avoid talking about it.And what is ironic that home furniture made in Italy or the United States is twice as expensive as home furniture made in China and exported to these countries. Therefore, many Italian and American retailers are interested in Chinese home furniture. Giants such as IKEA and Havertys export home furniture from China and sell it in their stores. Other brands such as Ashley Furniture, Rooms to go, Ethan Allan and Raymour & Flanigan are other companies selling home furniture made in China.

However, in the United States, the cost of buying home furniture has begun to decrease. The U.S. home furniture industry has improved again, and labor costs have also decreased. In addition, many American companies are now working with Italian leather manufacturers to produce leather home furniture. However, the international demand for home furniture in China is still large and will last for a long time.

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What types of home furniture in China can you buy？

There is a wide variety of exquisite home furniture with reasonable price you can choose from in China. The most common types of home furniture you can import from China are the following:

table    chair    bed    couch/ sofa    TV stand    drawer    cabinet    container  

bookcase    mattress    bedstand    dresser    wardrobe   coat rack    coat stand

kitchenware   bathroom fixtures   lighting    mirror   carpet   rug    wallpaper   blinds

There are also pre-designed home furniture items if you want to customize yours. You can choose the design, material, and finishes. No matter what kind of home furniture you want, Chinese furniture manufacturers can always meet your requirement.

Why import home furniture from China?

-Great market potential of home furniture in China

Before China, Italy was the world's largest home furniture exporter. However, in 2004, China became the country with the largest number of home furniture exports. Why so? First, the prices of manufacturing and labor in China are much cheaper than those in Italy. Secondly, the quality of Chinese home furniture products is actually the same as that of Italian furniture.

According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs, China's furniture exports in 2018 were about $53.69 billion, and maintained an upward trend in the following years. Now, as the world's largest home furniture exporter, China occupies a leading position, and the world purchases home furniture from China.

-Abundant supply of home furniture in China

China has more than 50000 furniture manufacturers. Most of these manufacturers are small and medium-sized enterprises. With so many domestic manufacturers, they can produce unlimited quantities of furniture. All types of home furniture design from classical to modern, with quality ranging from high quality to medium. No matter what your price, you can always find the home furniture suitable for you.

With fierce competition among the Chinese home furniture manufacturers, buying Chinese home furniture wholesale, you can greatly reduce this cost. In addition, the price in China is certainly much cheaper than the retail price in your country.

- Exquisite and unique home furniture in China

In China's home furniture market, you can easily find distinctive home furniture, such as Chinese solid wood furniture.They are made of high-quality wood without any glue, nails or screws. Because furniture manufacturers believe that nails will rust and glue will loosen, which will greatly reduce the service life of furniture. They design furniture in a way that allows all parts to be connected to each other to eliminate the use of glue, nails or screws and each component can be seamlessly connected without making the connection visible. It seems that only one piece of wood was used to build the whole project.

-Easy to import home furniture from China

Chinese home furniture manufacturers have a strategic position in the country, so it is easier to import and export, even for the international furniture market. China has five major ports, which are located in the Bohai Sea, Yangtze River Delta, southeast coast, Pearl River Delta and southwest coast. These ports with superior geographical location provide good congenital conditions for China's home furniture export.

FAQ of importing home furniture from China

1.How much cheaper is home furniture in China?

Many foreign furniture companies place orders for factories that produce exactly the same home furniture, but there are no logos: the same hands, the same equipment, the same materials, just for completely different money. Of course, there is also a problem of control, which is very important. You must either control the production process of the order or accept the products already produced.

Generally speaking, Chinese home furniture is always cheap, especially when we talk about expensive items.

2.At what order quantity should I purchase home furniture in China?

From the perspective of choice, it makes sense if you are willing to spend at least $10000 on buying home furniture in China.With such a budget, you may not save a lot of money, but you can afford better and more interesting things.

If you want to save more money, you may need to have a budget of $50000.If the budget is small, you will buy it at ordinary stores with few discounts.

3.How long will it take Chinese suppliers to produce my home furniture?

There are two main factors that can affect the timeline of your order. Order quantity has a direct effect on the timeline of your order. With smaller orders, it can take a long time to produce and ship them because they are not a priority for Chinese suppliers. On the other hand, larger orders get moved up in the queue because there is an economic incentive to do so. Product complexity is another factor that directly affects the timeline of your order. Generally speaking, the more complex your furniture product is, the longer it will take to manufacture. There are always exceptions to this rule, but it's a helpful way to gauge how long you should expect your order to take.

4.What discount do Chinese furniture suppliers offer?

Generally speaking, they can reduce the price by 5-10%. Chinese suppliers believe they have made cheap and volume transactions.In addition, there are many kinds of furniture products in China. If you see a high price, you can continue to search and further find products of the same quality but at a reasonable price.

5.Would it be a good idea for you to look for Chinese furniture factories yourself?

Not recommended. If you are not an expert in this field and only evaluate pictures, you will not be able to choose anything correctly.Because any supplier in China, in fact, is not just China,the product albums published online are very beautiful. But in fact, not every supplier's home furniture is cool. Some suppliers do it well and some don't.After all, the product albums online are the same for everyone,isn’t it? But it would be great if your guide knew that.

See Furniture in China-A Complete Guide for Buyers which would guide you to successfully complete your home furniture purchasing plan.

Conclusion

In recent years, China's home furniture industry has experienced rapid development and coordinated development of related industries. The production brand, technical level, standardization work, industrial scale and market circulation have been comprehensively improved. The scale of home furniture industry is expanding, and the characteristics of home furniture industry cluster have been formed. Industry standards have been accelerated, and raw materials have shown a diversified trend. With the significant improvement of the technical level and the rapid growth of the market, a home furniture sales model with Chinese characteristics has been formed.

Of course, in this state, China's home furniture industry is also facing new challenges: from low-cost competition to improving the scientific and technological content and added value of products; from simple products to products and services;from mass production to personalized design. Recently, with the decline of traditional home furniture performance and the increase of personalized customized home furniture market, many traditional home furniture manufacturers are facing bankruptcy. At the same time, the personalized customized design home furniture industry has seen the rise of production line transformation and whole house customization, as well as cross-border industries such as real estate, home appliance enterprises, IT enterprises.

Under the background of increasing economic globalization and China's increasing economic status, with the progress of China's home furniture industry, as well as the strength of more private home furniture enterprises and foreign-funded home furniture enterprises, China's home furniture industry shows a new vitality and appearance. The export volume has increased rapidly in recent years. The high-speed sales growth and huge export trade figures are predictable.

About Simonsense   

Simonsense is a professional and reliable One-stop Furniture Solution Maker. We dedicate to helping buyers,designers as well as resellers to buy dream furniture directly from China to accomplish their projects. With over 10 years’ experience and rich resources, we manage to save time and money for our clients.Feel free to contact us for a chat about home furniture purchasing.