Chinese Bedroom Furniture Makers Regain Strength with Global Recovery

Thanks to the gradual recovery of the global economy, the furniture industry in China is starting to regain strength again. China's furniture exports fell by 7.9% in the first 11 months of 2009, to US$22.24 billion; in November, however, the export figure was almost the same as the year before at US$2.44 billion.

The country's furniture makers are not only seeking to increase sales abroad but are also placing added emphasis on the domestic market, hoping to cash in on the up-market trend of Chinese consumers who have more and more money to spend.

Many believe that branding is a shortcut to increased sales, since consumers in China usually stick to favored brands, and suppliers of bedroom furniture are striving to market products under their own names. The items they offer include beds, clothes cabinets, closets, and dressers, with clothes cabinets and closets being the most popular items at the present time.

One of the leaders in the solid wood bedroom furniture line is Yi Hua Timber, which also manufactures other types of wooden furniture and floorboards. Wooden furniture accounts for 90% of the company's revenues.

Bedroom furniture has played a key role in Yi Hua's development, and its products have established a good reputation in the world market. “We export 100% of our products,” notes a senior company official, “mainly to the United States and Canada, which together take the lion's share of 70% of our shipments. The remaining 30% of our products are sold to Europe, Australia, and South Asia. Our major clients include such famous marketing chains as JCPenney, AGAwarehouse, and FurniturePower.

“Foreign consumers care not only about the quality of the products, but also the design. They usually demand a lot of atmosphere in the interior decoration of their homes, and will spend money to change the mood once in a while. They update their furnishings an average of once every four years; this creates business for us, because they need new models or patterns of furniture items. To meet this need we set up an R&D department in 2003 and have since developed products under own brand in addition to supplying products on an OEM or ODM basis.”

Yihua is now listed on the stock market in China, and is committed to the continuous upgrading of its design and manufacturing capabilities.

Most Promising Items

Furniture experts predict that clothing cabinets and closets will be most promising furniture items in the next decade in China, with an annual market value that is likely to reach 10 billion renminbi (RMB), or about US$1.54 billion. International furniture brands that are vying with domestic suppliers for a part of that market include Denmark Romantic Feeling, Sogal, Holike, Stanley, Kemandor, Snimay, and City Idea.

Denmark Romantic Feeling, a French furniture brand, has been growing very quickly in China. The company produces mainly clothing cabinets and closets, and has established four production bases along with more than 180 sales outlets there. The company reportedly intends to expand the number of its sales outlets in China to over 1,000 within five years.

The main markets for clothes cabinets and closets in China are mostly big cities and densely populated wealthy provinces, including the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, as well as the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong.

A survey recently carried out by a reliable Chinese organization shows that only 6.8% of the urban housing units in China currently have closets, far lower than Europe and the United States with 72%.

The survey also indicates that nearly 30% of those polled intend to purchase clothing cabinets or closets within three to five years, pointing to huge market potential in the years ahead.