After the industry cold wave in 2018, in 2019, furniture companies are obviously walking on a more rugged single-plank bridge.
Even the custom-made furniture industry, which has always been flourishing, has not had a good time recently. Some media analyzed the financial data of six large-scale customized companies and compared the revenue growth rates of the first to third quarters of 2017-2018.The upholstery furniture manufacturers need to develop corresponding strategies.

From 2008 to 2015, the revenue of customized furniture companies has always grown at a rate of more than 30%, and now the slowdown is a foregone conclusion.

Market is changeable

The custom fading easily reminds us of the wind and rain that panel furniture has gone through. Looking back to the past, the upsurge of panel furniture is just a short-lived. Nowadays, panel furniture companies are making up for the loopholes of the year, but it is difficult to return to their original status.

The market is changeable. Once the gap is leaked, there will be new companies upstream. Custom furniture is in a dilemma today, will it give up its dominance just like panel furniture in the past?

Will the customized deceleration speed up the finished furniture?

Today, when it comes to custom furniture, we still compare finished furniture with it. While customized furniture is expanding wildly, the market share of finished furniture companies is shrinking step by step. As the custom market turns cold, will it give way to a part of the market that has been swallowed, so that finished furniture companies will be given new vitality?

The answer may not be optimistic.

The main reasons

First of all, the main reasons for the decline in profits in the customization industry are the fierce market competition, the shrinking consumer market and the adjustment of real estate policies. It is different from the dilemma of panel furniture. The main reason for the decline of panel furniture that year was environmental protection. Severely hit by environmental protection, consumers will naturally cast their eyes on solid wood furniture that is the "rival" of panel furniture.

Finished furniture can hardly regain market resources from the current plight of customized furniture. The tightening of the consumer market and the adjustment of real estate policies are problems that the entire furniture industry is facing. The fierce competition in the customization industry is bound to accelerate the speed of market competition for leading companies.

In the midst of the crisis, custom-made companies are looking for changes, turning to new businesses. Most companies are increasing their product categories, from single cabinets and wardrobe customization, to wooden doors, beds, tatami mats, and overall customization. Powerful companies have even added weight to the "whole outfit". Once a company consolidates its position in the packaging industry and even begins to monopolize industry resources, its profitability can hardly be underestimated.

Some customized companies have begun to move to the high-end customized market. They are no longer limited to panel customization, and have begun to take the route of whole wood customization and high-end designer customization to meet the needs of mid- to high-end consumers. The competition at the front end of the market is getting fiercer, leaving little room for finished furniture.

Opportunities and challenges

Is the finished furniture heading for an irreversible decline?

In this story of a mantis hunting a cicada, the finished furniture obviously does not play the role of a oriole. They may have to face another contraction of the market, just like they are facing a deep valley.

But if we say that the finished furniture is completely finished, this is too worrying. At the exhibition site in March, we can still find many finished furniture companies sailing against the current, exploding full of vitality in the cold wave of the industry. Customized home furnishing companies can seek change in a difficult situation, and finished furniture companies may not have new outlets. 2019 may not be a year for finished furniture to turn around, but it is a year full of opportunities and challenges.

What are the opportunities for finished furniture companies? First, most consumers still value design when buying finished furniture. High-end custom furniture is expensive and has a long construction period. In contrast, finished furniture that can be bought and gone is a better choice. At present, well-developed finished furniture companies are playing design cards, especially furniture products that can be linked to culture. Nu Skin Chinese furniture companies have deeply explored Chinese traditional culture and attracted consumers' attention in the wave of "cultural recovery". Nordic and Italian style furniture companies emphasize more on original designers and foreign designers to attract young consumers. This is difficult for general custom companies to do.

Soft decoration

More upholstery furniture manufacturers began to match the soft decoration into the design, and launched multi-category modular furniture, such as sofa with simple coffee table, side table, desk with bookcase , Desk lamps and even cultural and creative products. Many consumers are moved by a certain piece of furniture design, and in the end they are likely to buy a complete set of well-matched furniture products. The emergence of “model houses” of finished furniture has made many young families more excited.

Traditional stores are no longer the only entrance for finished furniture companies. More and more finished products companies choose to settle in large shopping malls to build experience stores, street shops or trendy and fashionable home life museums. In addition, the rapid development of social media has prevented traffic from coming from a single entry point. Using new products and "explosive products" to introduce traffic into stores is also a very efficient means of diversion.

There are also companies that have already taken precautions and built their own production lines to take the route of finished products + customization. In fact, we can cooperate with custom-made companies for win-win development. The cabinet body is customized, and some furniture products that are not suitable for customization, such as sofas, tables, chairs, and beds, can be selected and matched at the finished company. Perhaps this move can also solve the inventory problem of finished furniture companies.

The predicament of customization will not directly contribute to the recovery of finished products, but it still brings a glimmer of hope to finished furniture companies. The exhibition just past gave many furniture companies a boost. Perhaps 2019 in the furniture industry is really not as difficult as we thought.