In the last five years, upholstered furniture production has risen by 24% across the world and by 67% in China, where 47% of all upholstered furniture is made today. In Europe, production has shifted towards Poland and Romania, and is enjoying a new dynamic in North America. Looking towards 2017, consumption is clearly on the rise for the furniture industry, but it will be localized: +6% in China and India; +3% in the United States, Poland and the rest of the world; less than 1% in the rest of Europe.
Upholstered furniture manufacturers are engaged in a race against the clock. Slow to embrace modernization, today they are aware they must automate production to boost flexibility, and take manufacturing into account at the very start of the design process to control costs and delivery times. In order to differentiate and to entice consumers, many manufacturers are reinforcing design activities. Their objective is to offer original, customizable models in a wide range of materials. Environmental criteria are also increasingly taken into account.
