Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia: a significant drop in sales of Russian furniture is expected for 2020

According to the RF Ministry of Industry and Trade, the decline in furniture output in January–October 2020, despite the feverish demand in the summer months, totaled 2.5% YoY. An even more significant decline in sales of Russian furniture is expected for the entire 2020.

The segments of kitchen and other board furniture (wardrobes, drawer units for living rooms and bedrooms) suffered the most, their output fell by more than 20%. For example, the output of kitchen furniture decreased between January and October 2020 from 24.8 to 19.8 billion rubles (by value). The output of tables for kitchens and living rooms decreased by 8.5%: from 12.4 to 11.3 billion rubles.

Alexander Shestakov, President of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, also notes the detrimental impact of the pandemic: “Another negative tendency for the industry that evidently appeared after the lockdown is a drop in the average furniture purchase amount by 12–15%. This is due to the reduction in effective demand and this tendency will only intensify amid the continuing decline in personal income. Combined with the 20–25% increase in the furniture production costs over the past half a year, the profitability in the industry will drop to 1% or, at best, to 2% this year. Large enterprises will be able to survive, small and medium-sized ones will not, we are already observing that such companies are leaving the market en masse. The furniture industry is now on the brink of survival.”