The furniture market - Portugal

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

The furniture market is mainly a renewal market, i.e. a market where replacement purchases are more important than first purchases. Because of the long life of furniture, brands rely on three factors to increase their sales These include the effects of fashion (especially cooking), new housing construction and population mobility.

In a market historically controlled by actors present in physical points of sale As a result, traditional brands are finding themselves increasingly challenged by the rise of online retailing and the growth of the second-hand market.

There are generally several types of furniture

• Furniture (tables, sideboards and other cabinets) ;
• Kitchen furniture ;
• Upholstery (sofas, armchairs and stools) ;
• Bed linen ;
• Bathroom furniture ;
• Garden furniture.

According to APIMA (Associação Portuguesa das Indústrias de Mobiliário e Afins - Portuguese Association of Furniture and Related Industries), this sector and its exports have grown by 100% in the last 6 years of which more or less 30% are intended for the French market . The main obstacle today is the lack of skilled labour for production, which prevents further growth of the sector, which already has about 30,000 employees. [ Obervador ]

Today, the sector is fragmented into more than 5,200 companies, most of them SMEs. One of the main drivers of this industry is the increase in the disposable income of the Portuguese. In this context, the domestic market is expected to grow by 1.6% per year between 2020 and 2023).