This report series covers the five leading economies of Western Europe. The furniture sector is a difficult one to analyse, mainly due to the fact that even these large economies still have very fragmented markets. Smaller specialist players still have an important role to play and make up more than 50% of the furniture sector in the markets we have covered. Furniture is a difficult sector in which to build up significant economies of scale (without going down the IKEA flat pack route), a fact that has protected the independents. However, the arrival of non-specialists and the impact of the successful chains is sure to lead to a greater degree of consolidation in the future.

We have provided profiles of the largest furniture chains in Europe. Smaller profiles have also been provided on other significant players involved in these five markets.

The subject of this report is furniture retailing, however due to the increasing convergence of furniture with other complementary sectors such as electricals and DIY, there are very few large players that now focus on the provision of furniture alone. We have provided information on players that achieve the majority of their turnover from the sale of furniture, so mixed goods retailers such as the grocers or department stores are referred to but no firm coverage is provided of them.

While our spending figures refer to all spending on furniture, retail sales figures are more difficult to separate. In France for example, the retail sales figure for furniture retailers’ sales is actually higher than consumer spending in the sector. This can be attributed to the aforementioned sector blending that is seeing more and more furniture specialists expanding their offer into related fields.

The furniture sector is facing major challenges:

Softer housing market in many countries is reducing the desire to invest in the home and add value.

Economic issues are undermining consumer confidence leading to greater reluctance regarding the purchase of big-ticket furniture items.

Specialists are facing greater competition from department stores, grocers and even some clothing retailers.